Parallelization of an Adaptive Multigrid Algorithm for Fast Solution of Finite Element Structural Problems
Adaptive mesh refinement selectively subdivides the elements of a coarse user supplied mesh to produce a fine mesh with reduced discretization error. Effective use of adaptive mesh refinement coupled with an a posteriori error estimator can produce a mesh that solves a problem to a given discretization error using far fewer elements than uniform refinement. A geometric multigrid solver uses increasingly finer discretizations of the same geometry to produce a very fast and numerically scalable solution to a set of linear equations. Adaptive mesh refinement is a natural method for creating the different meshes required by the multigrid solver. This paper describes the implementation of a scalable adaptive multigrid method on a distributed memory parallel computer. Results are presented that demonstrate the parallel performance of the methodology by solving a linear elastic rocket fuel deformation problem on an SGI Origin 3000. Two challenges must be met when implementing adaptive multigrid algorithms on massively parallel computing platforms. First, although the fine mesh for which the solution is desired may be large and scaled to the number of processors, the multigrid algorithm must also operate on much smaller fixed-size data sets on the coarse levels. Second, the mesh must be repartitioned as it is adapted to maintain good load balancing. In an adaptive multigrid algorithm, separate mesh levels may require separate partitioning, further complicating the load balance problem. This paper shows that, when the proper optimizations are made, parallel adaptive multigrid algorithms perform well on machines with several hundreds of processors.
- Research Organization:
- Lawrence Livermore National Lab., CA (US)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- US Department of Energy (US)
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-48
- OSTI ID:
- 15005342
- Report Number(s):
- UCRL-JC-147742
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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