GNGTS – Atti del 18° Convegno Nazionale / 09.02
F.J. Sabadell (1) , F. Maggio (2) and G. Fotia (2)
(1) Seismology group University of Zaragoza, Spain
(2) CRS4, Uta (CA)
The use of parallel computers makes feasible to simulate elastic waves throughout large heterogeneous structures, and new domain decomposition methods can be used to increase their efficiency and decrease the computing time spent in the simulation. In this paper we review some parallel algorithms for elastic waves propagation in complex heterogeneous media, with attention to the development of hybrid numerical methods.
Very often this type of simulations is based on low order methods, namely finite elements (FEM) and especially finite differences (FDM). An appealing alternative consists in employing high order methods, like spectral elements (SEM). This technique has attractive properties regarding accuracy, error tolerance and savings of computational effort and memory storage. On the other hand, FEM are better suited for handling problems involving non-linear behaviours or singularities, and allow a more effective mesh refinement. Furthermore, FEM have been used since a long time for dealing with structural engineering applications, where realistic geological media are coupled with the foundations of large structures like bridges or dams.
As a current develoment of parallel algorithms for elastic wave propagation, on the basis of these considerations, we show s solution for a hybrid method able to couple the SEM and the FEM in order to exploit the main advantages of both methods.
We present the last results of our research concerning the development of the method, including the optimization of the performance, and illustrate the flexibility of the algorithm by means of numerical examples with applications in geophysics and engineering seismology.