The code on this folder aim to model the sandpile avalanche model as presented by Bak, Tang and Wiesenfeld (1988). The user is required to enter three parameters: the size of the matrix (which represents a 2D plane), the number of grains which will be randomly distributed along the matrix and the time interval between them. The program computes each iteration and, if a condition for avalanche is met (which is the rule that a single element from the matrix cannot contain more than 4 grains), the four grains are distributed to the adjacent elements, remaining 1 grain. The aim of this simulation is to show how simple systems evolve into chaotic configurations. The output can be visualized in Paraview (www.paraview.org).
Reference: Bak, Per, Chao Tang, and Kurt Wiesenfeld. "Self-organized criticality." Physical review A 38.1 (1988): 364.
Paraview (https://www.paraview.org/) is required for data visualization.
Compilation:
make clean
make all
To run the program, 4 arguments are needed: matrix size, total number of grains, grain printing interval and type of simulation (0 for grain at center point or 1 for grain at random point).
./avalanche 50 5000 5 0
This command will run the program with matrix size of 50, 5000 total number of grains (5000 iterations), matrix output every 5 grain interval and grain always placed at the center point at each iteration. A video with this example can be found on the /examples folder.
Video snapshot at the end of the simulation
./avalanche 50 10000 5 1
This command will run the program with matrix size of 50, 5000 total number of grains (5000 iterations), matrix output every 5 grain interval and grain always placed at a random point at each iteration. A video with this example can be found on the /examples folder.
Video snapshot at the end of the simulation
For visualization of the program output, run the following command:
paraview output/
In Paraview, choose "open files" and then select the generated .vtk files.