A parallel finite element contact/impact algorithm for non‐linear explicit transient analysis: Part II—Parallel implementation

Abstract

Abstract A parallel implementation of the contact algorithm discussed in Part I of this paper has been developed for a non‐linear dynamic explicit finite element program to analyse the response of three‐dimensional shell structures. The parallel contact algorithm takes advantage of the fact that in general only some parts of the structure will actually be in contact at any given time. Special interprocessor communication routines and a method which enables individual processors to dynamically build local contact domains during execution have been developed. The performance of the parallel contact algorithm has been studied by executing the program on 128 processors of a distributed‐memory multiprocessor computer.