Geometry-Defining Processors for Interactive Design and Analysis: Human Interface and Parallel Solution

随着工程设计的发展，系统定义和性能分析之间存在着持续的相互作用。因此，一个成功的计算机辅助设计系统不仅必须支持方便的交互式三维几何定义和修改的工具，而且还必须为快速系统仿真提供算法和计算资源。三维几何定义和高速计算的这些关键问题由几何定义处理器以统一的方式解决，该处理器将根据这项研究拨款进行探索。几何定义处理器，或称GPD，是安装在物理几何封装中的微处理器，可以手动组装或重新配置。单个GPD具有关于其自身参数的信息，能够与邻近的GPD通信，并且能够执行独立的数值计算。一组GPD既能定义三维系统几何结构，又能作为最佳连接的并行处理器运行，有效地求解设计评估所需的相关连续体偏微分方程组。结合使用的简单性和强大的计算能力，GPD设计系统应该在广泛的工程应用中被证明是有用的。

As an engineering design evolves, there is a constant interplay of system definition and performace analysis. A successful computer-aided design system must, therefore, not only support tools for convenient interactive three-dimensional geometry definition and modification, but also provide algorithms and computational resources for rapid system simulation. These critical issues of three-dimensional geometry definition and high speed computation are addressed in a unified fashion by the Geometry-Defining Processor to be explored under this research grant. Geometry-Defining Processors, or GPDs, are microprocessors housed in physical geometric packages that can be manually assembled or reconfigured. An individual GPD has information on its own parameters, is able to communicate with neighboring GPDs, and is capable of performing independent numerical computations. An assembly of GPDs is able to define both a three-dimensional system geometry and, operating as an optimally connected parallel processor, efficiently solve the associated continuum partial differential equations needed for design evaluation. Combining simplicity-of-use with powerful computational capabilities, the GPD design system should prove useful in a broad range of engineering applications.