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14 - The multigrid method

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 June 2012

Taras Gerya
Affiliation:
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH-Zurich)
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Summary

Theory: Principles of multigrid method. Multigrid method for solving the Poisson equation in 2D. Coupled solving of momentum and continuity equations in 2D with multigrid for the cases with constant and variable viscosity.

Exercises: Programming of multigrid methods for solving the Poisson equation and coupled solving of the momentum and continuity equations in 2D.

Multigrid – what is it?

The use of direct methods to solve the system of equations places a strong limitation on the maximum possible number of nodal points within a numerical grid due to limitations in computer memory and computational speed. This limitation is particularly critical in 3D where, to reach the same resolution as in 2D (tens and hundreds of grid points in each direction), the amount of linear equations to be solved increases by at least two orders of magnitude and the number of computational operations required to solve the same equations grows by at least three orders of magnitude. Try to increase resolution in your visco-elasto-plastic code (Exercise 13.2) by two to three times in each direction and you will see how much slower it will compute …

Therefore, for very high resolution in 2D and for a moderate resolution in 3D, we are forced to use iterative methods which do not have such strong memory limitations. However, many iterative methods also have the problem that they require an increasing number of iterations with an increasing number of grid points (Fig. 14.1).

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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2009

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  • The multigrid method
  • Taras Gerya
  • Book: Introduction to Numerical Geodynamic Modelling
  • Online publication: 05 June 2012
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511809101.015
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  • The multigrid method
  • Taras Gerya
  • Book: Introduction to Numerical Geodynamic Modelling
  • Online publication: 05 June 2012
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511809101.015
Available formats
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To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • The multigrid method
  • Taras Gerya
  • Book: Introduction to Numerical Geodynamic Modelling
  • Online publication: 05 June 2012
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511809101.015
Available formats
×