Parallel-vector computation for linear structural analysis and non-linear unconstrained optimization problems

• Published in: Computing systems in engineering 1991-01, Vol.2 (3-Feb)
• Main Authors: Nguyen, D. T., Al-Nasra, M., Zhang, Y., Baddourah, M. A., Agarwal, T. K., Storaasli, O. O., Carmona, E. A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Computer Programming And Software
• ISSN: 0956-0521

Several parallel-vector computational improvements to the unconstrained optimization procedure are described which speed up the structural analysis-synthesis process. A fast parallel-vector Choleski-based equation solver, pvsolve, is incorporated into the well-known SAP-4 general-purpose finite-element code. The new code, denoted PV-SAP, is tested for static structural analysis. Initial results on a four processor CRAY 2 show that using pvsolve reduces the equation solution time by a factor of 14-16 over the original SAP-4 code. In addition, parallel-vector procedures for the Golden Block Search technique and the BFGS method are developed and tested for nonlinear unconstrained optimization. A parallel version of an iterative solver and the pvsolve direct solver are incorporated into the BFGS method. Preliminary results on nonlinear unconstrained optimization test problems, using pvsolve in the analysis, show excellent parallel-vector performance indicating that these parallel-vector algorithms can be used in a new generation of finite-element based structural design/analysis-synthesis codes.