James F. Kelly

Continuous and discontinuous Galerkin methods for a scalable three-dimensional nonhydrostatic atmospheric model: Limited-area mode

This paper describes a unified, element based Galerkin (EBG) framework for a three-dimensional, nonhydrostatic model for the atmosphere. In general, EBG methods possess high-order accuracy, geometric flexibility, excellent dispersion properties and good scalability. Our nonhydrostatic model, based on the compressible Euler equations, is appropriate for both limited-area and global atmospheric simulations. Both a continuous Galerkin (CG), or spectral element, and discontinuous Galerkin (DG) model are considered using hexahedral elements. The formulation is suitable for both global and limited-area atmospheric modeling, although we restrict our attention to 3D limited-area phenomena in this study; global atmospheric simulations will be presented in a follow-up paper. Domain decomposition and communication algorithms used by both our CG and DG models are presented. The communication volume and exchange algorithms for CG and DG are compared and contrasted. Numerical verification of the model was performed using two test cases: flow past a 3D mountain and buoyant convection of a bubble in a neutral atmosphere; these tests indicate that both CG and DG can simulate the necessary physics of dry atmospheric dynamics. Scalability of both methods is shown up to 8192 CPU cores, with near ideal scaling for DG up to 32,768 cores.

Implicit-Explicit Formulations of a Three-Dimensional Nonhydrostatic Unified Model of the Atmosphere (NUMA)

We derive an implicit-explicit (IMEX) formalism for the three-dimensional (3D) Euler equations that allow a unified representation of various nonhydrostatic flow regimes, including cloud resolving and mesoscale (flow in a 3D Cartesian domain) as well as global regimes (flow in spherical geometries). This general IMEX formalism admits numerous types of methods including single-stage multistep methods (e.g., Adams methods and backward difference formulas) and multistage single-step methods (e.g., additive Runge--Kutta methods). The significance of this result is that it allows a numerical model to reuse the same machinery for all classes of time-integration methods described in this work. We also derive two classes of IMEX methods, one-dimensional and 3D, and show that they achieve their expected theoretical rates of convergence regardless of the geometry (e.g., 3D box or sphere) and introduce a new second-order IMEX Runge--Kutta method that performs better than the other second-order methods considered. We...

An efficient grid sectoring method for calculations of the near-field pressure generated by a circular piston.

An analytical expression is derived for time-harmonic calculations of the near-field pressure produced by a circular piston. The near-field pressure is described by an efficient integral that eliminates redundant calculations and subtracts the singularity, which in turn reduces the computation time and the peak numerical error. The resulting single integral expression is then combined with an approach that divides the computational grid into sectors that are separated by straight lines. The integral is computed with Gauss quadrature in each sector, and the number of Gauss abscissas in each sector is determined by a linear mapping function that prevents large errors from occurring in the axial region. By dividing the near-field region into 10 sectors, the raw computation time is reduced by nearly a factor of 2 for each expression evaluated in this grid. The grid sectoring approach is most effective when the computation time is reduced without increasing the peak error, and this is consistently accomplished with the efficient integral formulation. Of the four single integral expressions evaluated with grid sectoring, the efficient formulation that eliminates redundant calculations and subtracts the singularity demonstrates the smallest computation time for a specified value of the maximum error.

Fractal ladder models and power law wave equations.

The ultrasonic attenuation coefficient in mammalian tissue is approximated by a frequency-dependent power law for frequencies less than 100 MHz. To describe this power law behavior in soft tissue, a hierarchical fractal network model is proposed. The viscoelastic and self-similar properties of tissue are captured by a constitutive equation based on a lumped parameter infinite-ladder topology involving alternating springs and dashpots. In the low-frequency limit, this ladder network yields a stress-strain constitutive equation with a time-fractional derivative. By combining this constitutive equation with linearized conservation principles and an adiabatic equation of state, a fractional partial differential equation that describes power law attenuation is derived. The resulting attenuation coefficient is a power law with exponent ranging between 1 and 2, while the phase velocity is in agreement with the Kramers-Kronig relations. The fractal ladder model is compared to published attenuation coefficient data, thus providing equivalent lumped parameters.

A time-space decomposition method for calculating the nearfield pressure generated by a pulsed circular piston

A time-space decomposition approach is derived for numerical calculations of the transient nearfield pressure generated by a circular piston. Time-space decomposition analytically separates the temporal and spatial components of a rapidly converging single integral expression, thereby converting transient nearfield pressure calculations into the superposition of a small number of fast-converging spatial integrals that are weighted by time-dependent factors. Results indicate that, for the same peak error value, time-space decomposition is at least one or two orders of magnitude faster than the Rayleigh-Sommerfeld integral, the Schoch integral, the Field II program, and the DREAM program. Time-space decomposition is also faster than methods that directly calculate the impulse response by at least a factor of 3 for a 10% peak error and by a factor of 17 for a 1% peak error. The results show that, for a specified maximum error value, time-space decomposition is significantly faster than the impulse response and other analytical integrals evaluated for computations of transient nearfield pressures generated by circular pistons.

Variational multiscale stabilization of high-order spectral elements for the advection-diffusion equation

One major issue in the accurate solution of advection-dominated problems by means of high-order methods is the ability of the solver to maintain monotonicity. This problem is critical for spectral elements, where Gibbs oscillations may pollute the solution. However, typical filter-based stabilization techniques used with spectral elements are not monotone. In this paper, residual-based stabilization methods originally derived for finite elements are constructed and applied to high-order spectral elements. In particular, we show that the use of the variational multiscale (VMS) method greatly improves the solution of the transport-diffusion equation by reducing over- and under-shoots, and can be therefore considered an alternative to filter-based schemes. We also combine these methods with discontinuity capturing schemes (DC) to suppress oscillations that may occur in proximity of boundaries or internal layers. Additional improvement in the solution is also obtained when a method that we call FOS (for First-Order Subcells) is used in combination with VMS and DC. In the regions where discontinuities occur, FOS subdivides a spectral element of order p into p 2 subcells and then uses 1st-order basis functions and integration rules on every subcell of the element. The algorithms are assessed with the solution of classical steady and transient 1D, 2D, and pseudo-3D problems using spectral elements up to order 16.

A fast near-field method for calculations of time-harmonic and transient pressures produced by triangular pistons

Analytical expressions are demonstrated for fast calculations of time-harmonic and transient near-field pressures generated by triangular pistons. These fast expressions remove singularities from the impulse response, thereby reducing the computation time and the peak numerical error with a general formula that describes the near-field pressure produced by any triangular piston geometry. The time-domain expressions are further accelerated by a time-space decomposition approach that analytically separates the spatial and temporal components of the numerically computed transient pressure. Applied to a Hanning-weighted input pulse, time-space decomposition converts each spatio-temporal integral into six spatial integral evaluations at each field point. Time-harmonic and transient calculations are evaluated for an equilateral triangle with sides equal to four wavelengths, and the resulting errors are compared to pressures obtained with exact and approximate implementations of the impulse response method. The results show that the fast near-field method achieves smaller maximum errors and is consistently faster than the impulse response and methods that approximate the impulse response.

FracFit: A robust parameter estimation tool for fractional calculus models

Anomalous transport cannot be adequately described with classical Fickian advection-dispersion equations (ADE) with constant coefficients. Rather, fractional calculus models may be used, which capture salient features of anomalous transport (e.g., skewness and power law tails). FracFit is a parameter estimation tool based on space-fractional and time-fractional models used by the hydrology community. Currently, four fractional models are supported: (1) space-fractional advection-dispersion equation (sFADE), (2) time-fractional dispersion equation with drift (TFDE), (3) fractional mobile-immobile (FMIM) equation, and (4) temporally tempered Levy motion (TTLM). Model solutions using pulse initial conditions and continuous injections are evaluated using stable distributions or subordination integrals. Parameter estimates are extracted from measured breakthrough curves (BTCs) using a weighted nonlinear least squares (WNLS) algorithm. Optimal weights for BTCs for pulse initial conditions and continuous injections are presented. Two sample applications are analyzed: (1) pulse injection BTCs in the Selke River and (2) continuous injection laboratory experiments using natural organic matter. Model parameters are compared across models and goodness-of-fit metrics are presented, facilitating model evaluation.

Transient Fields Generated by Spherical Shells in Viscous Media

The lossless impulse response method models transient wave propagation generated by finite apertures, including focused radiators, while neglecting frequency‐dependent attenuation. Therefore, an analytical time‐domain expression that incorporates loss, diffraction, and focusing is needed for calculations of transient pressures produced by spherical shells in attenuating media. To derive an impulse response expression in lossy media, the Green’s function to the Stokes wave equation, which models viscous loss, is decomposed into into diffraction and loss factors. By utilizing a previously derived fast nearfield expression for a baffled, spherical shell, a single integral expression, involving the error function, is derived for the lossy impulse response. This expression generalizes a previous expression that was derived for on‐axis pressures (Djelouah et al., 2003). The resulting impulse response simultaneously accounts for frequency‐squared dependent attenuation and diffraction and is straightforward to ev...

Causal impulse response for circular sources in viscous media.

The causal impulse response of the velocity potential for the Stokes wave equation is derived for calculations of transient velocity potential fields generated by circular pistons in viscous media. The causal Greens function is numerically verified using the material impulse response function approach. The causal, lossy impulse response for a baffled circular piston is then calculated within the near field and the far field regions using expressions previously derived for the fast near field method. Transient velocity potential fields in viscous media are computed with the causal, lossy impulse response and compared to results obtained with the lossless impulse response. The numerical error in the computed velocity potential field is quantitatively analyzed for a range of viscous relaxation times and piston radii. Results show that the largest errors are generated in locations near the piston face and for large relaxation times, and errors are relatively small otherwise. Unlike previous frequency-domain methods that require numerical inverse Fourier transforms for the evaluation of the lossy impulse response, the present approach calculates the lossy impulse response directly in the time domain. The results indicate that this causal impulse response is ideal for time-domain calculations that simultaneously account for diffraction and quadratic frequency-dependent attenuation in viscous media.