Node-based parallel computing of three-dimensional incompressible flows using the free mesh method

The present report discusses node-based parallel computing of three-dimensional incompressible flows using a node-based finite element method named the free mesh method (FMM). The FMM has two advantages over the finite element method. One advantage of the FMM is that this method is quite suitable for massively parallel computing because all computational procedures, from the mesh generation to the solution of a system of equations, can be performed in parallel in terms of nodes. Another advantage of the FMM is that finite element mesh is not required as input data so that the analyst need only prepare data concerning the nodes in the analysis domain. The present method is implemented on distributed memory systems, such as a parallel supercomputer Hitachi SR8000. The performance of the proposed method is demonstrated by computing a lid-driven cavity problem. A numerical example is used to show that the FMM can achieve high parallel performance by a simple distribution operation of computational loads among multiprocessors.