An Element-Based Concurrent Partitioner for Unstructured Finite Element Meshes

A concurrent partitioner for partitioning unstructured finite element meshes on distributed memory architectures is developed. The partitioner uses an element-based partitioning strategy. Its main advantage over the more conventional node-based partitioning strategy is its modular programing approach to the development of parallel applications. The partitioner first partitions element centroids using a recursive inertial bisection algorithm. Elements and nodes then migrate according to the partitioned centroids, using a data request communication template for unpredictable incoming messages. Our scalable implementation is contrasted to a non-scalable implementation which is a straightforward parallelization of a sequential partitioner. The algorithms adopted in the partitioner scale logarithmically, as confirmed by actual timing measurements on the Intel Delta on up to 512 processors for scaled size problems.

• Type: Conference
• Year: 1996
• Where: IPPS
• Authors: Hong Q. Ding, Robert D. Ferraro
• Keywords: Concurrent Partitioner, Distributed And Parallel Computing, IPPS 1996, Partitioner, Partitioning Strategy