A review of parallel finite element methods on the DAP (Q579888)

This paper reviews the research work that has been done to implement the finite element method for solving partial differential equations on the ICL distributed array processor (DAP). A brief outline of the principle features of the method is given, followed by details of the novel techniques required for implementation on the highly parallel architecture. Various methods of solution of the finite element equations are discussed; both direct and iterative techniques are included. The current state-of-the-art favours the use of the preconditioned conjugate gradient method. Some suggestions for future research work on parallel finite element methods are made.