High performance conjugate heat transfer with the openpalm coupler

Abstract

Optimizing gas turbines is a complex multi-physical and multi-component problem that has long been based on expensive experiments. Today, computer simulations can reduce design process costs and are acknowledged as a promising path for optimization. Although the simulations of specific components of gas turbines become accessible, these stand-alone simulations face a new challenge: to improve the quality of the results, new physics must be introduced. Based on the simulation of conjugate heat transfer within an industrial combustor to predict the temperature of its walls, the current work aims at studying the scalability of code coupling on HPC architectures. Coupling accurately solvers on massively parallel architectures while maintaining their scalability is challenging. The strategy investigated relies on recent developments made in a generic parallel coupler. Performance tests have been carried out until 12,288 cores on the CURIE supercomputer (TGCC / CEA). Results show a good behavior and advanced analyzes are carried out in order to draw new paths for future developments in coupled simulations.