Block-iterative finite element computations for incompressible flow problems

Abstract

A block-iterative finite element procedure is presented for two-dimensional fluid dynamics computations on multiply-connected domains based on the vorticity - stream function formulation of the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations. The difficulty associated with the convection term in the vorticity transport equation is addressed by using a streamline-upwind/Petrov-Galerkin scheme. Element-by-element preconditioned iteration techniques with high degree of vectorization and high computational speed are employed to solve the linear equation system for each block. Performance evaluations show the potential of these techniques to be used for large-scale computations.