analisi delle prestazioni del cluster risc-v: monte cimone

Gli sforzi di ricerca relativi all'High Performance Computing, nel corso degli anni, hanno prodotto risultati importanti inerenti all'incremento delle prestazioni sia in termini di numero di operazioni effettuate per periodo temporale, sia introducendo o migliorando algoritmi paralleli presenti in letteratura. Tali traguardi hanno comportato cambiamenti alla struttura interna delle macchine; si è assistito infatti ad un'evoluzione delle architetture dei processori utilizzati e all'impiego di GPU come risorse di calcolo aggiuntive. La conseguenza di un continuo incremento di prestazioni è quella di dover far fronte ad un grosso dispendio energetico, in quanto le macchine impiegate nell'HPC sono ideate per effettuare un'intensa attività di calcolo in un periodo di tempo molto prolungato; l'energia necessaria per alimentare ciascun nodo e dissipare il calore generato comporta costi elevati. Tra le varie soluzioni proposte per limitare il consumo di energia, quella che ha riscosso maggior interesse, sia a livello di studio che di mercato, è stata l'integrazione di CPU di tipologia RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computer), in quanto capaci di ottenere prestazioni soddisfacenti con un impiego energetico inferiore rispetto alle CPU CISC (Complex Instruction Set Computer). In questa tesi è presentata l'analisi delle prestazioni di Monte Cimone, un cluster composto da 8 nodi di calcolo basati su architettura RISC-V e distribuiti in 4 piattaforme (\emph{blade}) dual-board. Verranno eseguiti dei benchmark che ci permetteranno di valutare: le prestazioni dello scambio di dati a lunga e corta distanza; le prestazioni nella risoluzione di problemi che presentano un principio di località spaziale ridotto; le prestazioni nella risoluzione di problemi su grafi e, nello specifico, ricerca in ampiezza e cammini minimi da sorgente singola.

Analisi di pushover 3D per strutture in c.a.

In the present study, a new pushover procedure for 3D frame structures is proposed, based on the application of a set of horizontal force and torque distributions at each floor level; in order to predict the most severe configurations of an irregular structure subjected to an earthquake, more than one pushover analysis has to be performed. The proposed method is validated by a consistent comparison of results from static pushover and dynamic simulations in terms of different response parameters, such as displacements, rotations, floor shears and floor torques. Starting from the linear analysis, the procedure is subsequently extended to the nonlinear case. The results confirm the effectiveness of the proposed procedure to predict the structural behaviour in the most severe configurations.

Calibration of the detector flight models for the HERMES and SPIRIT nanosatellite missions

The High Energy Rapid Modular Ensemble of Satellites (HERMES) is a new mission concept involving the development of a constellation of six CubeSats in low Earth orbit with new miniaturized instruments that host a hybrid Silicon Drift Detector/GAGG:Ce based system for X-ray and γ-ray detection, aiming to monitor high-energy cosmic transients, such as Gamma Ray Bursts and the electromagnetic counterparts of gravitational wave events. The HERMES constellation will also operate together with the Australian-Italian SpIRIT mission, which will house a HERMES-like detector. The HERMES pathfinder mini-constellation, consisting of six satellites plus SpIRIT, is likely to be launched in 2023. The HERMES detectors are based on the heritage of the Italian ReDSoX collaboration, with joint design and production by INFN-Trieste and Fondazione Bruno Kessler, and the involvement of several Italian research institutes and universities. An application-specific, low-noise, low-power integrated circuit (ASIC) called LYRA was conceived and designed for the HERMES readout electronics. My thesis project focuses on the ground calibrations of the first HERMES and SpIRIT flight detectors, with a performance assessment and characterization of the detectors. The first part of this work addresses measurements and experimental tests on laboratory prototypes of the HERMES detectors and their front-end electronics, while the second part is based on the design of the experimental setup for flight detector calibrations and related functional tests for data acquisition, as well as the development of the calibration software. In more detail, the calibration parameters (such as the gain of each detector channel) are determined using measurements with radioactive sources, performed at different operating temperatures between -20°C and +20°C by placing the detector in a suitable climate chamber. The final part of the thesis involves the analysis of the calibration data and a discussion of the results.

Set up of a procedure for correlation analysis between current discharge and dose delivery in a pulsed power plasma device for medical application

This thesis work aims to find a procedure for isolating specific features of the current signal from a plasma focus for medical applications. The structure of the current signal inside a plasma focus is exclusive of this class of machines and a specific analysis procedure has to be developed. The hope is to find one or more features that shows a correlation with the dose erogated. The study of the correlation between the current discharge signal and the dose delivered by a plasma focus could be of some importance not only for the practical application of dose prediction but also for expanding the knowledge anbout the plasma focus physics. Vatious classes of time-frequency analysis tecniques are implemented in order to solve the problem.