Simulation at the gate level is computationally very expensive. Parall
el processing is one technique to reduce simulation time. Possessing k
nowledge of the distribution of computational activity in simulation c
an aid in parallelizing it efficiently. We present a new characterizat
ion of the distribution of the computational workload in fault simulat
ion. An empirical analysis shows that the workload distribution is cir
cuit specific, and is largely independent of the vector set being simu
lated. An inexpensive method to predict the workload distribution is a
lso discussed.