Open Access

ARTICLE

A GPU-Based Parallel Algorithm for 2D Large Deformation Contact Problems Using the Finite Particle Method

Wei Wang^1,2, Yanfeng Zheng^1,3, Jingzhe Tang¹, Chao Yang¹, Yaozhi Luo^1,*

1 College of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China
2 Center for Balance Architecture, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310028, China
3 Architectural Design and Research Institute of Zhejiang University Co., Ltd., Hangzhou, 310028, China

* Corresponding Author: Yaozhi Luo. Email:

Computer Modeling in Engineering & Sciences 2021, 129(2), 595-626. https://doi.org/10.32604/cmes.2021.017321

Received 01 May 2021; Accepted 26 July 2021; Issue published 08 October 2021

Abstract

Large deformation contact problems generally involve highly nonlinear behaviors, which are very time-consuming and may lead to convergence issues. The finite particle method (FPM) effectively separates pure deformation from total motion in large deformation problems. In addition, the decoupled procedures of the FPM make it suitable for parallel computing, which may provide an approach to solve time-consuming issues. In this study, a graphics processing unit (GPU)-based parallel algorithm is proposed for two-dimensional large deformation contact problems. The fundamentals of the FPM for planar solids are first briefly introduced, including the equations of motion of particles and the internal forces of quadrilateral elements. Subsequently, a linked-list data structure suitable for parallel processing is built, and parallel global and local search algorithms are presented for contact detection. The contact forces are then derived and directly exerted on particles. The proposed method is implemented with main solution procedures executed in parallel on a GPU. Two verification problems comprising large deformation frictional contacts are presented, and the accuracy of the proposed algorithm is validated. Furthermore, the algorithm's performance is investigated via a large-scale contact problem, and the maximum speedups of total computational time and contact calculation reach 28.5 and 77.4, respectively, relative to commercial finite element software Abaqus/Explicit running on a single-core central processing unit (CPU). The contact calculation time percentage of the total calculation time is only 18% with the FPM, much smaller than that (50%) with Abaqus/Explicit, demonstrating the efficiency of the proposed method.

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