A parallel domain decomposition finite element method for massively parallel computers

Abstract

New massively parallel computer architectures have revolutionized the design of computer algorithms, and promise to have significant influence on algorithms for engineering computations. The traditional global model method has a limited benefit for massively parallel computers. An alternative method is to use the domain decomposition approach. This paper explores the potential for the domain decomposition strategy through actual computations. The example of a three-dimensional linear static finite element analysis is presented on the BBN Butterfly TC2000 massively parallel computer with up to 104 processors. The numerical results indicate that the parallel domain decomposition method requires a lower computation time than the parallel global model method. Also, the parallel domain decomposition approach offers a better speed-up than does the parallel global model method.