On the Performance of a 2D Unstructured Computational Rheology Code on a GPU

Abstract

The present work explores the massively parallel capabilities of the most advanced architecture of graphics processing units (GPUs) code named "Fermi", on a two-dimensional unstructured cell-centred finite volume code. We use the SIMPLE algorithm to solve the continuity and momentum equations that was fully ported to the GPU. The benefits of this implementation are compared with a serial implementation that traditionally runs on the central processing unit (CPU). The developed codes were assessed with the bench-mark problems of Poiseuille flow, for Newtonian and generalized Newtonian fluids, as well as by the lid-driven cavity and the sudden expansion flows for Newtonian fluids. The parallel (GPU) code accelerated the resolution of those three problems by factors of 19, 10 and 11, respectively, in comparison with the corresponding CPU single core counterpart. The results are a clear indication that GPUs are and will be useful in the field of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) for rheologically simple and complex fluids.