Multivac 1.9 - user's guide version 1

Introduction

Multivac is a C++ object-oriented library that provides Front Tracking Algorithms. Multivac implements the Level Set Method and the Fast Marching Method and it can be used in a large variety of problems dealing with numerical simulation of interface propagation in 2D. This library has been successfully used to simulate a firespread model, for example.

This guide should allow new users to run Multivac for their own applications, even if they are not familiar with level set methods. It is advocated that a new user first: (1) reads this guide, (2) tries to run examples provided with Multivac and (3) displays the results thanks to the scripts (MultivacDisplay) available on Multivac homepage ( http://spacetown.free.fr/fronts/).

This manual will not explain in detail the different algorithms nor the programming techniques used to create Multivac. More information about the different methods (the underlying theory) used by Multivac can be found in the book by J. A. Sethian: Level Set Methods and Fast Marching Methods, Cambridge University Press. Some further explanations, as well as other books on these two techniques, can be found on Stanley Osher's web site: http://www.math.ucla.edu/~sjo/ and on J. A. Sethian's web site: http://math.berkeley.edu/~sethian/level_set.html.

Multivac is provided under the GNU General Public License. It was written by Vivien Mallet for the NSF project Caliente.

This guide was written by Vivien Mallet (who should be contacted for questions or comments) and is based on an earlier user's guide written by Grégory Croué.

Multivac homepage: http://spacetown.free.fr/fronts/.