gprMax (http://www.gprmax.com) is open source software that simulates electromagnetic wave propagation. It solves Maxwell's equations in 3D using the Finite-Difference Time-Domain (FDTD) method. gprMax was designed for modelling Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) but can also be used to model electromagnetic wave propagation for many other applications.
gprMax is currently released under the GNU General Public License v3 or higher (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html).
gprMax is written in Python 3 (https://www.python.org) and includes performance-critical parts written in Cython/OpenMP (http://cython.org).
If you use gprMax and publish your work we would be grateful if you could cite our work using:
- Warren, C., Giannopoulos, A., & Giannakis I. (2016). gprMax: Open source software to simulate electromagnetic wave propagation for Ground Penetrating Radar, Computer Physics Communications (http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cpc.2016.08.020)
For further information on referencing gprMax visit the Publications section of our website (http://www.gprmax.com/publications.shtml)
gprMax/
conda_env.yml
CONTRIBUTORS
docs/
gprMax/
LICENSE
README.rst
setup.cfg
setup.py
tests/
tools/
user_libs/
user_models/
conda_env.ymlis a configuration file for Anaconda (Miniconda) that sets up a Python environment with all the required Python packages for gprMax.CONTRIBUTORScontains a list of names of people who have contributed to the gprMax codebase.docscontains source files for the User Guide. The User Guide is written using reStructuredText (http://docutils.sourceforge.net/rst.html) markup, and is built using Sphinx (http://sphinx-doc.org) and Read the Docs (https://readthedocs.org).gprMaxis the main package. Within this package the main module isgprMax.pyLICENSEcontains information on the GNU General Public License v3 or higher (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html).README.rstcontains getting started information on installation, usage, and new features/changes.setup.cfgis used to set preference for code formatting/styling using flake8.setup.pyis used to compile the Cython extension modules.testsis a sub-package which contains test modules and input files.toolsis a sub-package which contains scripts to assist with viewing and post-processing output from models.user_libsis a sub-package where useful modules contributed by users are stored.user_modelsis a sub-package where useful input files contributed by users are stored.
The following steps provide guidance on how to install gprMax:
- Install Python, required Python packages, and get the gprMax source code from GitHub
- Install a C compiler which supports OpenMP
- Build and install gprMax
You can watch screencasts that demonstrate the installation and update processes at http://docs.gprmax.com/en/latest/screencasts.html
We recommend using Miniconda to install Python and the required Python packages for gprMax in a self-contained Python environment. Miniconda is a mini version of Anaconda which is a completely free Python distribution (including for commercial use and redistribution). It includes more than 300 of the most popular Python packages for science, math, engineering, and data analysis.
- Install Miniconda (Python 3.5 version) from http://conda.pydata.org/miniconda.html (help with Miniconda installation from http://conda.pydata.org/docs/install/quick.html)
- Open a Terminal (Linux/macOS) or Command Prompt (Windows) and run the following commands:
$ conda update conda
$ conda install git
$ git clone https://github.com/gprMax/gprMax.git
$ cd gprMax
$ conda env create -f conda_env.yml
This will make sure conda is up-to-date, install Git, get the latest gprMax source code from GitHub, and create an environment for gprMax with all the necessary Python packages.
If you prefer to install Python and the required Python packages manually, i.e. without using Anaconda/Miniconda, look in the conda_env.yml file for a list of the requirements.
- gcc (https://gcc.gnu.org) should be already installed, so no action is required.
- Installations of Xcode on macOS come with the LLVM (clang) compiler, but it does not currently support OpenMP, so you must install gcc (https://gcc.gnu.org). This is easily done by installing the Homebrew package manager (http://brew.sh) and running:
$ brew install gcc --without-multilib
- Download and install Microsoft Visual C++ Build Tools 2015 Update 3 directly from http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=691126. Use the default installation options.
You can also download Microsoft Visual C++ Build Tools 2015 by going to https://www.visualstudio.com/downloads/, and the section Other Tools and Frameworks -> Microsoft Visual C++ Build Tools 2015 Update 3.
Once you have installed the aforementioned tools follow these steps to build and install gprMax:
- Open a Terminal (Linux/macOS) or Command Prompt (Windows), navigate into the top-level gprMax directory, and if it is not already active, activate the gprMax conda environment
source activate gprMax(Linux/macOS) oractivate gprMax(Windows). Run the following commands:
(gprMax)$ python setup.py build
(gprMax)$ python setup.py install
You are now ready to proceed to running gprMax.
gprMax in designed as a Python package, i.e. a namespace which can contain multiple packages and modules, much like a directory.
Open a Terminal (Linux/macOS) or Command Prompt (Windows), navigate into the top-level gprMax directory, and if it is not already active, activate the gprMax conda environment source activate gprMax (Linux/macOS) or activate gprMax (Windows)
Basic usage of gprMax is:
(gprMax)$ python -m gprMax path_to/name_of_input_file
For example to run one of the test models:
(gprMax)$ python -m gprMax user_models/cylinder_Ascan_2D.in
When the simulation is complete you can plot the A-scan using:
(gprMax)$ python -m tools.plot_Ascan user_models/cylinder_Ascan_2D.out
Your results should like those from the A-scan from a metal cylinder example in introductory/basic 2D models section (http://docs.gprmax.com/en/latest/examples_simple_2D.html#view-the-results).
When you are finished using gprMax, the conda environment can be deactivated using source deactivate (Linux/macOS) or deactivate (Windows).
There are optional command line arguments for gprMax:
-nis used along with a integer number to specify the number of times to run the input file. This option can be used to run a series of models, e.g. to create a B-scan.-mpiis a flag to switch on the Message Passing Interface (MPI) task farm. This option is most usefully combined with-nto allow individual models to be farmed out using MPI. For further details see the Parallel performance section (http://docs.gprmax.com/en/latest/openmp_mpi.html)-taskid, is used along with a integer number to specify the task identifier for job array on Open Grid Scheduler/Grid Engine (http://gridscheduler.sourceforge.net/index.html)')-benchmarkis a flag to switch on benchmarking mode. This can be used to benchmark the threading (parallel) performance of gprMax on different hardware. For further details see the benchmarking section (http://docs.gprmax.com/en/latest/benchmarking.html)--geometry-onlyis a flag to build a model and produce any geometry views but not run the simulation. This option is useful for checking the geometry of the model is correct.--geometry-fixedis a flag that can be used when running a series of models where the geometry does not change between runs, e.g. a B-scan where only sources and receivers, moved using#src_stepsand#rx_steps, change from run to run.--opt-taguchiis a flag used to run a series of simulations using a optimisation process based on Taguchi's method. For further details see the user libraries section (http://docs.gprmax.com/en/latest/user_libs_opt_taguchi.html)--write-processedis a flag to write an extra input file after any Python code and include commands in the original input file have been processed.-hor--helpcan be used to get help on command line options.
For example, to check the geometry of a model:
(gprMax)$ python -m gprMax user_models/heterogeneous_soil.in --geometry-only
For example, to run a B-scan with 60 traces:
(gprMax)$ python -m gprMax user_models/cylinder_Bscan_2D.in -n 60
- Open a Terminal (Linux/macOS) or Command Prompt (Windows), navigate into the top-level gprMax directory, and if it is not already active, activate the gprMax conda environment
source activate gprMax(Linux/macOS) oractivate gprMax(Windows). Run the following commands:
(gprMax)$ git pull
(gprMax)$ python setup.py cleanall
(gprMax)$ python setup.py build
(gprMax)$ python setup.py install
This will pull the most recent gprMax source code form GitHub, remove/clean previously built modules, and then build and install the latest version of gprMax.
Periodically you should update conda and the required Python packages. To update conda, with the gprMax environment deactivated, run the following command:
$ conda update conda
Then you can update all the packages that are part of the gprMax environment by activating the gprMax environment and running the following command:
(gprMax) $ conda env update -f conda_env.yml