retQSS: A Novel Methodology for Efficient Modeling and Simulation of Particle Systems in Reticulated Geometries

TL;DR

retQSS introduces a versatile and efficient framework for simulating particle systems in complex reticulated geometries, leveraging discrete-event methods and Modelica for improved performance and accuracy across diverse applications.

Contribution

It combines QSS-based discrete-event simulation with Modelica modeling to create a general-purpose, efficient particle simulation methodology for reticulated geometries.

Findings

retQSS matches or outperforms domain-specific tools

Seamless translation of state-events into time-events

Flexible application across multiple domains

Abstract

This work presents retQSS, a novel methodology for efficient modeling and simulation of particle systems in reticulated meshed geometries. On the simulation side, retQSS profits from the discrete-event nature of Quantized State System (QSS) methods, which enable efficient particle tracking algorithms that are agnostic of the application domain. On the modeling side, retQSS relies on the standardized Modelica modeling language, yielding compact and elegant specifications of hybrid (continuous/discrete) dynamic systems. Combined together, these features offer a sound, general-purpose framework for modeling and simulation of particle systems. We show how the state-events that arise when particles interact with a reticulated mesh are seamlessly translated into easily tractable time-events. The latter can substantially improve simulation performance in scenarios where discontinuities dominate the computational demand. We showcase the flexibility of our approach by addressing four case studies arising from different application domains. Performance studies revealed that retQSS can perform similarly to, and even outperform, well-known domain-specific particle simulation toolkits while offering a clear and sound accuracy control interface.