Implementation of implicit finite element methods for incompressible flows on the CM-5 (Q1913180)

A parallel implementation of an implicit finite element formulation for incompressible fluids on a distributed-memory massively parallel computer is presented. The dominant issue that distinguishes the implementation of finite element problems on distributed-memory computers from that on traditional shared-memory scalar or vector computers is the distribution of data (and hence workload) to the processors and the non-uniform memory hierarchy associated with the processors, particularly the non-uniform costs associated with on-processor and off-processor memory references. The discussion relies primarily on abstract features of the hardware and software environment and should be applicable, in principle, to a variety of distributed-memory system. The actual implementation is carried out on a Connection Machine CM-5 system with high performance communication functions.