Journal of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute of Korea ISSN:1229-3059(Print) 2287-2302(Online) 한국전산구조공학회 논문집

Parallel sparse solvers are essential for solving large-scale finite element models. This paper introduces the combination of iterative and direct solver that can be applied efficiently to problems that require continuous solution for a subtly changing sequence of systems of equations. The iterative-direct sparse solver combination technique, proposed and implemented in the parallel sparse solver package, PARDISO, means that iterative sparse solver is applied for the newly updated linear system, but it uses the direct sparse solver’s factorization of previous system matrix as a preconditioner. If the solution does not converge until the preset iterations, the solution will be sought by the direct sparse solver, and the last factorization results will be used as a preconditioner for subsequent updated system of equations. In this study, an improved method that sets the maximum number of iterations dynamically at the first Krylov iteration step is proposed and verified thereby enhancing calculation efficiency by the frequency domain analysis.