A vectorized particle tracer for unstructured grids

Abstract

A vectorized particle tracer for unstructured grids is described. The basic approach is to use elementary properties of the linear basis functions to search for particles on the grid using the element last occupied as an initial guess. To permit vectorization, a simple binary sort of the particles is performed every timestep such that all particles that have as yet not found their host element remain at the top of the list. In this way, vector-loops can be easily formed. Timings taken from a numerical example indicate that speed-ups of the order of 1:14 can be obtained on vector-machines when using this algorithm.