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    SimScale DocumentationKnowledge BaseMemory Allocation Error

    Memory Allocation Error

    Created On
    byStanislaus Cristo

    Error

    Memory allocation error. In order to prevent this error, please choose a machine with more computing cores and use less cores for the computation. Another option would be to change the linear system solver to an iterative solver like PETSC.

    Error

    An error appeared while allocating memory. If you are using the Multfront or LDLDT solver, please choose a larger machine by increasing the number of computing cores. For the MUMPS and PETSC solvers you should additionally reduce the number of parallel processes used for the computation to allow a higher RAM per CPU ratio.

    What Happened?

    The solver failed while allocating memory during the simulation run.

    What Could Be the Possible Reason?

    This error occurs when there are insufficient memory resources for the generated mesh.

    What Can I Do Now?

    Follow the steps below to resolve this error:

    • Use the out-of-core memory functionality: If you are using the ‘MUMPS’ solver, activate the ‘Out-of-core’ function for Memory management in the Numerics settings. This enables memory management optimized for minimal RAM usage. However, the computation speed will be reduced since a portion of the data is written to the hard disk.
    changing memory management algorithm to resolve memory allocation error
    Figure 1: Change Memory management to ‘Out-of-core’ to allow writing data to the hard disk.
    • Change the equation solver: If you are using a direct solver such as ‘MultFront’, ‘MUMPS’ or ‘LDLT’, try changing to an iterative solver like ‘PETSC’ under Numerics. Iterative solvers generally use less memory than direct solvers but may cause instability.
    changing to iterative solvers to resolve memory allocation error
    Figure 2: Change solver to ‘PETSC’ so calculations will use less memory.

    Note

    The following steps are applicable only to Professional Users since it involves increasing the number of cores or decreasing the number of parallel processes.

    • Increase the number of cores: Machines with more cores will generally have more memory resources available. This can be done by going to Simulation control in your workbench and choosing a larger Number of processors. For example, for a mesh with more than a million nodes, assign at least ‘8’ cores.
    simulation control settings
    Figure 3: Increase the number of processors to access more memory resources.
    • Increase the RAM-per-CPU ratio: If the solver you are using is ‘MUMPS’ or ‘PETSC’, reduce the Number of parallel processes under Simulation control. This is because these linear solvers are parallelized in a way where the memory consumption does not depend on the total available memory of the machine, but instead on the available memory per computing core. Therefore, during memory allocation, more memory will be available for each CPU.
    reduce the number of parallel processe
    Figure 4: Reduce the Number of parallel processes under Simulation control to increase the ratio between the RAM for each CPU.

    Important Information

    If none of the above suggestions solved your problem, then please post the issue on our forum or contact us.

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    Last updated: September 15th, 2023

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