35
THE DIRECT SOLUTION OF THE DISCRETE POISSON EQUATION ON IRREGULAR REGIONS BY B. L BUZBEE F. W. DORR J. A. GEORGE G. H. GOLUB STAN-CS-71-195 DECEMBER, 1970 t COMPUTER SCIENCE DEPARTMENT School of Humanities and Sciences STANFORD UN IVERS lTV leproclucecl by NATIONAL TECHNICAL INFORMATION SERVICE 5pringfield, VL 22151 .

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THE DIRECT SOLUTION OF THE DISCRETE

POISSON EQUATION ON IRREGULAR REGIONS

BY

B. L BUZBEE

F. W. DORR

J. A. GEORGE

G. H. GOLUB

STAN-CS-71-195

DECEMBER, 1970

• t

COMPUTER SCIENCE DEPARTMENT

School of Humanities and Sciences

STANFORD UN IVERS lTV

leproclucecl by

NATIONAL TECHNICAL INFORMATION SERVICE

5pringfield, VL 22151 .

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Unclassified .. '"t" Url \ " 8 SS I I C'8 tOft

DOCUMENT CONTROL DATA • R & D f$t"t'urir ,- cl•• • ilir•t"'" of t ltl•. body of ltbJ. trart •nd ind~a infl anno t•ti ott IUU "' ' b t en rerefl when the ~v•t•ll r•port Is rla s alfl•d)

I O U I GIN A Tl NG ACTIVIT V (Corporate autltOt) 2a. AEF'OR T SECUR I T Y CLASSI I' I C ATION

Computer Science Department Unclassified Stanford University - lb. I:>AOUP . Stanford, Calif. 94305

J AEPORT TITLE

THE DIRECT SOLUTION OF THE DISCRETE POISSON EQUATION ON IRREGULAR REGIONS

• OESCA IPTIVE NO T ES ('T)>pe of re-I-~~ lnclueiYa Mlee)

Technical Report, December 1970 ~ - AU THOAISI (Fi re I--· mi llllla lnlllaf, laal --)

B.L. Buzbee, F.W. Dorr, J .A. George, G.H. Golub

6 - AEPOAT DATE 7a. TOTAl. NO . 0~ PAGF.S l'b. N024~ AEn

December 1970 30 ea. CONTAACT OA GAANT NO . ta. OA IGINATOA'S AEPOAT NUM8EAISI

U00014-67-A-00112-0029 b . PAOJEC T NO . NR 044-211 Technical Report No. STAN-CS-71-195

c . also A.E.C. AT (04-3) 326, PA 30 lb. OTHEA AEPOAT NDISI (An .. Oilier n..,berl lltal may be aul,.ed lhle ,.pori)

II. Los Alamos Laboratory Report LA 4553 10 . DISTAI8UTION STATEMENT

Releasable without limitations on dissemination.

11 . SUPPI.E .. ENTA.Y NOTES 12 . SPONSOA •NG .. II.ITAAY ACTIVITY

Mathematics Program orr· .-;e of Naval Research . Arlington, Virginia 22217

IJ . A8STAACT

J I ..

There are several very fast direct methods which can be used to solve the discrete Poisson equation on rectangular domains. ~show that these methods can also be used to treat problems on irre ar regions. 1

"

(PAGE 1) Unclassified

S/N 0101·807·6801 security Clauifi.cation

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•imwmmmmmi

Security CI«t«i(ic«tion

KEY wonot nOLC HOLE

Poisson equation

Discrete

Partial differential equation

Elliptic difference equation

Computer solution

DD .^..1473 BACK, (PAGE 2)

Unclassified Security Clasiificatlon

**■■■*•■***■■■ ■«■Ml

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*

THE D~T SOLUTIOO OF THE DISCRETE

FOISSON ~UATION ON IRRrouLAR REGIONS

by

* B. L. Buzbee 1 F. w. Dorr, J. A. George, G. H. Golub

To be issued simultaneously as Los Alamos Scientific

La~'oratory Report LA 4553.

Computer Science Department, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305. !search supported by the Office of Naval Research under grant No. NOO -67-A-00112-00291 and by the Atanic Energy Camnission under grant No AT(04-3)326, PA30.

Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory of the University of California, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87544. Research supported by the U. s. Atanic Energy Camnission under Contract No. W-7405-ENG-36.

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^mmm^^^mm

Abstract

There are several very fast direct methods which can be used to

sol/e the discrete Poisson equation on rectangular dcmains. We show that

these methods can also be used to treat problems on irregular regions.

Page 6: BY - apps.dtic.mil · The tJpe ot application ve have in mind tor this .thod is one in vbich we h4ve to solTe a maber ot equations A !i = !i. . In this case 1 ve cCIIIP'lte the capacitance

mmmmmmmmmemmmmf^m^^rs^

1. Introduction. Within the past few years, several very fast and accurate

direct methods have been developed for solving finite difference approximations

to the Poisson equation,

Au = f in R ,

i u = g on oR .} These methods can usually be applied only on rectangular regions, although the

differential operator and boundary conditions can be more general than those in

the Poisson equation. In this paper, we will show how these algorithms for

rectangular domains can also be used effectively on irregular regions. The

approach used is similar to that employed by Hockney [16, 17], Buneman [7],

and George [lh]. We also mention the work of Angel [1-h], Angel and Kalaba [5b

Collins and Angel [9], Kalaba [20], end Roache [22] on the use of direct methods

for problems in irregular regions.

We will not discuss the details of any specific direct method. A survey ■

of these procedures is given in [11], and in particular we cite the recent work I

of Buneman [6], B^zbee, Golub, and Nielson [8], and Hockney [l6].

We will also not consider the derivation of the finite difference equations

that approximate the partial differential equation. This subject is treated in

detail by Forsythe and Wasow [15], and we assume that the problem has been

reduced to finding the solution of a matrix equation Ax = y . The matrix A

is frequently very large and sparse, but its structure does not permit the

application of the most efficient direct methods. For our computational procedure,

we alter certain rows of A to obtain a matrix B , and we will show how to

define a modified right-hand side z so that the solution x also satisfies the

equation Ex = z . The matrix B is chosen so that these equations can be

solved by the direct methods.

i

Page 7: BY - apps.dtic.mil · The tJpe ot application ve have in mind tor this .thod is one in vbich we h4ve to solTe a maber ot equations A !i = !i. . In this case 1 ve cCIIIP'lte the capacitance

<I.<J».I«PII...W<..U < ... HL ^ iiiMim^mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmfmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

This method is computationally advantageous when we are solving a

sequence of equations Ax. = y. . This situation frequently arises in

time-dependent partial differential equations, in nonlinear problems, and in

linear problems where the right-hand side is varied but the region and

differential operator remain the same. After some initial computation, each

solution x. can be obtained in approximately twice the time required for

the solution of an equation Bx = z .

In Gections 2 and 3 we derive this algorithm in a general form. We

describe a number of applications of the method in Sections h- and 5^ and in

Section (• we present some computational results.

Page 8: BY - apps.dtic.mil · The tJpe ot application ve have in mind tor this .thod is one in vbich we h4ve to solTe a maber ot equations A !i = !i. . In this case 1 ve cCIIIP'lte the capacitance

2. Method ot Solution if det B ~ 0 • Suppose that we are gtven an n by n

matrix A and an integer p with 1 ~ p ~ n • We wish to modify p rows of A .

to obtain another matrix B. Without loss of general.i.ty we a.Ssume that the

first p rovs of A are to be changed, since we can achieve this situation

b;y multiplying A by a suitable permutation matrix. However 1 we emphasize

that this multiplication should not be done expllci t~ in the ccmputation&l

procedure. Rather, the rearrangement of raws should be done implicit~ by

indexinB. The direct methods mentioned later in the paper require that B

has a particular structure 1 which couid be altered by the permutation

transformation.

Partition A in the form

A=(~) ' where ~ is a p by n matrix am A2 is an (n- p) b;y n matrix. We then

write

where B1 is a p by n matrix. For the remainder of this section_, we

assume that det B ~ 0 •

Suppose we are given a linear equation A!= l . We partition ! in

the same 118¥ as A 1 and write

3

Page 9: BY - apps.dtic.mil · The tJpe ot application ve have in mind tor this .thod is one in vbich we h4ve to solTe a maber ot equations A !i = !i. . In this case 1 ve cCIIIP'lte the capacitance

■ im i mmKmmmmmammimimmmmm^mmtmimt^mmmimmmrimttmmKe^HmmKf^^Hrß

Let y be any vector of the form

y = '

\l2/

If W Is &n arbitrary nonsingular p by p matrix, ve define an n by p

matrix W by

W W =

0

Define the p by p matrix C by

C = A1B'1 W .

Following Hockney [l6], we call C the capacitance matrix/ Assume that there

exists a p by 1 vector ß that is a solution to the equation

Cß « y - A B"1^ . (1)

Since A and B differ only in the first p rows, it is easy to verify that

a solution x to the equation Ax = y is given by

x = B"1^ + Wß) .

We first show that this method of obtaining the solution x will be valid

whenever the original system Ax = y is consistent.

Theorem. If aet B /? 0 , then

det c __ CdetAjidetw} detB

- Hockney actually refers to C as the capacitance matrix. Since C may be singular in our development, we have adopted the present notation.

- —' '

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U the !J!t• Az • 7 ia conaiatent, tben Bq. (1) is &l.so consistent. - -~· Partiticm B-1

in tbe tara

were D1 ia n 'br p aD4 D2 ia n 'br (n- p) • It tben tollon tb&t

det C • det (-'l_ D1) det W

• det (A B-1) 4et W

( det A)( det W) • detB •

To prove the consistency atat8111!11lt1 suppose t! r • 0 • Write - -~) ,

5

Page 11: BY - apps.dtic.mil · The tJpe ot application ve have in mind tor this .thod is one in vbich we h4ve to solTe a maber ot equations A !i = !i. . In this case 1 ve cCIIIP'lte the capacitance

and def'ine 8D D b7 1 veetar r b7 -

We then have

T

( -1) -AB ! "' = 0 - •

I

Since the system Ax = y ia asSUIIled to be consi:ateut, we therefore have - --T T ! ! = o 1 which ia the same as ! <z1 - ~!2> • o • But then

• 0 I

Vhic:h ia the consiateney condition f'or Eq. (1).

The Woodbury f'ormula [18, pp. 123- J.a..l tor the i.Jlverae of' a •trix

(B + F G) is

This equation baa been uaed in direct .tboda tor ao1vi!C the Poisson equation

by George [ 14] , aDd tor the bih&rJIIcllic eqaatiaa 'b7 OolDb h5 l • It A ia DOll•

si!J8U].ar ve write

A = B + FG ,

6

Page 12: BY - apps.dtic.mil · The tJpe ot application ve have in mind tor this .thod is one in vbich we h4ve to solTe a maber ot equations A !i = !i. . In this case 1 ve cCIIIP'lte the capacitance

where r • i I &Dd G is the p by n •triJt given by

For the eue 1D vhich A is nonsiDgul&r 1 tlle algoritblll we have derived is

eqa.ival.ent to uaiD& the Wooc!bur7 formula tor A -l •

Suppose that we have a very etticieut method tor solving equations ot

the tara B z = v • The solution ot the equation Ax = y then proceeds in ,_ ~ ,., ,.,

the tol..1Dir1Dc steps:

( 1) CCIIIP'lte C • ~ B -l i , - -1-(2) ec.pute X • B 7 1 - -

(3) Solve the equation C! • !I. - ~! 'l'he solution x can then be obtained tr<11 the tOl'IIIUla -

-1- -X • B (y + W~) • - - -

- - -l-It it is possible to store the vector x &Dd the Mtrix B"" B W 1 then ..c. - -can &lao be cc.patecl tr<11

(2)

(3)

The decision whether to uae lq. (2) or Eq. (3) vaul.d be lllllde on conaideration

ot storage requira.uts, &Dd on the relative sp eel ot solving the 87Bt• in

lq. ( 2) veraua JIUltip~ by the Mtrix in lq. ( 3) • For probl_. ariaiD&

trca elliptic ditterence equaticma, it is trequent:cy better to uae Bq. (2)

becsuae B has a baDd atrueture1 but the -.trix i Jlllll' be tull..

The tJpe ot application ve have in mind tor this .thod is one in vbich

we h4ve to solTe a maber ot equations A !i = !i. . In this case 1 ve cCIIIP'lte

the capacitance -.triX aDd tactor it aa pet ot a preprocessing atap. The

solution ot each equation A !i = !i. is then approximate:cy aa taat aa the tille

7

Page 13: BY - apps.dtic.mil · The tJpe ot application ve have in mind tor this .thod is one in vbich we h4ve to solTe a maber ot equations A !i = !i. . In this case 1 ve cCIIIP'lte the capacitance

m* mimmmmmmmmmmm\tm\. i ii .Hin i '

it takes to solve two equations Bz = w .

To be specific, let e(n) denote the number of arithmetic operations

necessary to solve a system B z = w . Then to compute C and form its LU

decojapositicn in a preprocessing stage requires approximately

pe(n) + l^p n + k2p^

operations (cf. [19, Sec. 2.l]). In many cases the matrix h- is sparse,

and this estimate is

pe(n) + kjp3 CO

operations. To coorpute the solution to a particular equation Ax s y xising

Eq. (2) takes an additional

.2 20(n) + l^pn + k-p*

operations. If A_ is sparse and we let ¥ a I , this estimate can be replaced

by

2 2e(n) + kgp'

operations. To compute a particular solution using Eq. (3) requires

(5)

r

e(n) + k,pn + kgp' (6)

operations. In general this estimate cannot be reduced, because the matrix

B may be full.

Page 14: BY - apps.dtic.mil · The tJpe ot application ve have in mind tor this .thod is one in vbich we h4ve to solTe a maber ot equations A !i = !i. . In this case 1 ve cCIIIP'lte the capacitance

munvn

f

5. Method of Solution If rank(B) = n-1 . The method derived in Section 2

gives a procedure for finding a p by 1 vector & such that a solution x

to Ax = y also satisfies the equation

Bx = y +

If B is singular, it may not be possible to find such a vector 5 . To show

T this, suppose B v = 0 but v / 0 . In order for 6 to exist, we must

satisfy the consistency condition

v ( y + £ ^ e ) = 0 .

~ i=i 1 ~1 (7)

T T If v e. = 0 for 1 < i < p and v y / 0 , it is not possible to satisfy

Eq. (7) • However, if A is nonsingular this difficulty does not arise,

T T because then the only vector v satisfying B v = 0 and v e. = 0 for

l<i<p is v = 0.

We will now describe an algorithm we have used when rank(B) = n-1 and

A is nonsingular. There are two advantages in treating this particular case.

First, the construction is quite simple, and it is easy to see how the method

could be extended to a more general matrix B . Second, the case rank(B) = n-1

has a special significance in the solution of partial differential equations,

because this condition is satisfied by the matrix corresponding to the

Neumann problem. For simplicity, we assume that the matrix W of Section 2

is the identity matrix.

Theorem 2. Assume that A is nonsingular and rank(B) = n-1 , and let u

T and v be two non-zero vectors satisfying Bu = B v = 0 . Then there exists an

T integer k with 1 < k < p such that v e / 0 . Define a constant

I !■ 1- "■

Page 15: BY - apps.dtic.mil · The tJpe ot application ve have in mind tor this .thod is one in vbich we h4ve to solTe a maber ot equations A !i = !i. . In this case 1 ve cCIIIP'lte the capacitance

'" • ?'■ "'■«- w^

T -1 a = (v ek) ,

and let x be a solution to

Bx = y - (a v y) e,

For 1 < i < p and i / k let Ji be a solution to

BTI. = e. - (a / e.) e. , ~x ~i ~ ~:/ -k

and let TL = u . Let C be the p b^; p matrix vhose i-th column is

the vector A, T). • Then C is nonsingular^ and, if ß is the solution to

Cß = ^ - /^ x ,

the solution x to Ax = y is given b^

x = x + £ ßi T]. 1=1

Proof. If we partition v in the same way as y , we have

m m rp T1 T1 T1 T1

A v = A v + A v and B v = B, v + A? v . Tnus if B v = 0 and

v = 0 we would have A v = 0 . Since A is nonsingular and v ^ 0 this

cannot happen, and hence v, / 0 .

To prove that C is nonsingular, we show that Cß = 0 implies ß = 0 .

P Suppose ß is an arbitrary vector such that Cß = 0 . Then ^ = E ^i 3i

satisfies Ax = 0 , and hence x = 0 . This implies that Bx = 0 , or

t ßi~ei = a(.t ßiV~ e~J~* ' 1 — -L i -L

10

MMa^M^B^HMB^HBMiMI HMMK.1

Page 16: BY - apps.dtic.mil · The tJpe ot application ve have in mind tor this .thod is one in vbich we h4ve to solTe a maber ot equations A !i = !i. . In this case 1 ve cCIIIP'lte the capacitance

Thus ß. = 0 for 1 < i < p and i / k , and the condition x = 0 then

implies that ß = 0 . Thus ß = 0 , and so C is nonsingular.

Remark. As we discussed in Section 2, the computation proceeds in the following

steps:

(1) Ccmpate (and factor) C ,

(2) Compute x ,

(3) Solve for ß .

The solution x can then be obtained from the fo^ula

~ ~ i=i 1 ~a

However, if tl e problem arises from a partial diffBrential equation, it is more

efficient computationally to obtain x in the form

A o X = X + ß u ,

where x is a solution to

and

Bi = y - (a vx y) e + f ß.(e. ~ ~ ~ - ~k .6^ i „i

i/k

(a vT e )e )

ß = [uT x+ f ß. uT » -T ^- T '"I ~ ~ i=l 1 ~

T^ - u1 x][u u]'

11

i „m^gMMM

I

Page 17: BY - apps.dtic.mil · The tJpe ot application ve have in mind tor this .thod is one in vbich we h4ve to solTe a maber ot equations A !i = !i. . In this case 1 ve cCIIIP'lte the capacitance

SZWBBKBBBBBBBtmmmmBBmmmmmmmmmmimimmmmmmmmimmmm n . i..

U. Applicatlong to Partial Differential Equations by Imbedding. Suppose we

are given a two-dinensional bounded regl.on R in the x - y plane, and we wish

to find a solution u to the Poisson equation,

Au = f in R ,

u = g on OR ,

We assume that this differential equation is approximated by a finite differ-

ence equation (cf. Forsythe and Waaow [13]). Thus we have a finite set of

unknowns {U. | 1 < 1 s; n } which approximate the solution u at the grid

points. If we denote by A. a finite difference approximation to the Laplacian

operator A , by R. the discrete interior of the grid, and by ö R. the discrete

boundary of the grid, then the discrete Poisson equation cai be written in the

form

Z^U = f in ^ ,

U = g on öRh .

Let R/ be a discrete rectangular region such that R. c ft/ and

«JI^CR/UöR/ , and let S. = ö R. n Rj! . Extend the functions f and g

to the regions R/ and ^R. U dR/ respectively, and consider the equation

(8)

V =f * K -* (9)

U = g on^u^R^ .

We will solve Eq. (9), and the solution U will then also satisfy Eq. (8).

Equation (9) Is a linear equation in the unknowns {U. jliisn}.

Observe that we may have increased the number of unknowns by the imbedding

process, so that tu £ n . We write Eq. (9) as a matrix equation AU = V ,

12

i.ni. ■■■■■i... |i|Mt>|faM,M,tM<,,MM,^<M,,,^.a|ii|,MM,<|,>a|M||MM|a<||^^^||a,M,M^<M>agiMMHMMM

Page 18: BY - apps.dtic.mil · The tJpe ot application ve have in mind tor this .thod is one in vbich we h4ve to solTe a maber ot equations A !i = !i. . In this case 1 ve cCIIIP'lte the capacitance

" —■ "1 ■ mmmm wmmmmm* l-'1111 nmvwvm" i pi III UJ^ i ^mw^^^m* mmMJjmv^mi*. •■mi«

and the matrix A can frequently be chosen to be block tr.'.dia^onal with

tridiagonal matrices as the non-zero blocks (cf. [15]).

Let p be the number of grid points in 3. . We modify the p rows of

A and V corresponding to the equations

U = g on S. h »

and replace them with the equations

V = = f on S.

This defines a new matrix B and a new right-hand side V. An equation

BU = V corresponds to the difference equation

V = f

U = g

in R^

on ÖR^ (10)

Since R/ is a rectangular region, we have very fast methods for solving

Eq. (10). We can now apply the method of Section 2 to solve the equation

AU = V by using the modified matrix B .

To illustrate this construction, let R be a rectangular region with

an interior rectangle removed, such as that shown in Figure 1. For simplic-

ity, we assume that the discrete boundary ö R. is a subset of ö R , The

imbedding rectangle is ^ = ^ U S U T. . The only function extension re-

quired for this example is that f be defined (arbitrarily) in Su U T. .

To define this extension, we can set f s 0 in SLU T. , or we can define f

so that it is continuous in all of R/ . The advantage of using R continuous

f is that the solution to Eq. (10) is then smooth. However, the direct

methods used to solve Eq. (10) are so accurate that the smoothness of the

solution does not appear to influence the oonrputational results. Therefore,

i:

L MMHMfl

Page 19: BY - apps.dtic.mil · The tJpe ot application ve have in mind tor this .thod is one in vbich we h4ve to solTe a maber ot equations A !i = !i. . In this case 1 ve cCIIIP'lte the capacitance

in the examples ve h&ve conaidered, we extend t b,- setting f • 0 in

If we J.et W • I in the method of Section 21 this a.lgoritbm is closely

connected with the discrete Green• a function for the region Bb (cf. U3 1

pp. 3l.4-3lBl). In tact, the method is then equivalent to add1na suitable

multipl.es of the discrete Green• s function for the points on ~ so tbat

the bound.az7 ccm4:itions on ~ will be satisfied. Since we have Dirichlet

bound.a.r,r ccmditicms on ~ 1 by a proper ordering of the unknowns we can write

~=(I 0) •

Since B is positive definite 8Dd

C = (I I

we see that C is &lao positive definite in this case. This is advantaceous

because Choleslq decaaposition can then be used to caapute an LL T decomposi­

tion of C (ct. [12 1 Chap. 231).

If the grid on ~ baa B points on a side, we have n = ~. In that

case 1 we can solve the sy-stem B U • V in approximate~ - -8 (B) = 5 m2 lo~ B

operations (cf. [111 p. 26o]). The preprocessing then takes

operations ( cf. Bq. (4)). To solve Bq. (8) for a particular choice of f

and g by usi.De Bq. (2) with W = I takes an additional

Page 20: BY - apps.dtic.mil · The tJpe ot application ve have in mind tor this .thod is one in vbich we h4ve to solTe a maber ot equations A !i = !i. . In this case 1 ve cCIIIP'lte the capacitance

—„.„_ .,.„ ^-*—.—"-- "■■|| Juli. ..-— •- rm .,._„._.„, t

10N2log2N + k6p2

operations (cf. Eq. (5)). If we use Eq. (3) to compute the solution, it

takes an additional

5N2log2N + ^p/* kgp2

operations (cf. Eq. (6)). Thus if p » log^N it is faster to use Eq. (2)

to ccnrpute the solution. We also observe that for this problem the matrix

B" is full [2^, p. 85], so to store B in using Eq. (3) wuuld require plr

locations. Thus for large values of p and N it is both faster and more

eccnondcal in terms of storage to use Eq. (2) to compute the solution to a

particular equation.

It should be clear that the imbedding procedure can be applied to other

elliptic difference operators with other types of boundary conditions. To

be a practical procedure, we simply require that we have a fast method for

solving the imbedded problem in the rectangular region.

As another example, consider the region shown in Figure 2. This problem

arises in tne time-dependent study of a rotating fluid [10], and the fluid surface

is moving slowly. We are ^i^en Dirichlet boundary data on S, , and Neumann

boundary data on 3R - S . The imbedding rectangle is R/ = R U S U T , and

we use Neumann boundary conditions on OR' . Thus B corresponds to the Neumann

problem on R' , and trie rank of B is n - 1 . The method of Section 3 can then

be applied, and direct methods for solving the rectangular Neumann problem are

given in [ 8 ].

For an example with the Poisson operator in another geometry, consider

the region in the z-r plane shown in Figure 3. This problem arises in the

15

1 • in t^tummmmiA

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mmsmmtmm

time-dependent study of a plasma [21], and a Poisson equation must be solved

at each time step. The boundary conditions are Dirichlet on S and Neumam

(1) .,(5) on ÖR1

1) . We use Neumann boundary conditions on ^ and ^ and

n -„v /M /(2) „w Dirichlet boundary conditions on dR/Vfc; and ^R/^'' for the imbedding

region ^ = ^ U S U T • The elliptic difference equation in R' is solved

by the method of matrix decomposition [8].

16

■ '-■ — — - -■ • ■ J

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mm

5. Applications to Partial Differential Equations by Splitting. There are

many problems for which the imbedding approach is not an economical algorithm.

For example. Imbedding the region in a rectangle may introduce an excessively

large number of additional tm^nowis that are not necessary to the solution of

the original problem. Another instance is one in which the differential oper-

ator or the mesh size changes in different parts of the region. In this

section, we give two such exaarples. In each case, the method of Section 2

can be used to split the problem into two rectangular problems, which can be

solved by the usual direct methods.

Consider the elongated L-shaped region in Figure kf and the equation

V =f in ^ ' U = g on ÖE^ .

We assume that points on the line marked T, are all grid points. To define

the matrix B, we replace the equations

v = = f on T,

by the equations

U = g on T. ,

where g has been (arbitrarily) extended to T. . The solution of an equation

BU = V now consists of solving the two rectangular problems

Vi = = f in K (i)

U. = g on dlC (i)

for i = 1 , 2 . We can then apply the method of Section 2 to solve the original

17

aim IHMHaMlli

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—'—mmmm " ' .

problem. This algorithm is similar to one developed in [ 8, Sec. 9] for

non-rectangular regions.

As another example, consider the multiple-material problem shown in

Figure 5. The differential equation is

and

aix) a-^x)

a2(x)

in R (1)

in R (2)

The functions ^(x), a2(x), and T(y) are assumed to be smooth. Dirichlet

data is given on ö R , and we require that a -jrr be continuous across the

boundary between R^ ' and Ir ' . The cooputational procedure is essentially

the same as that for the L-shaped region. The only difference is that in

forming the matrix B we replace the equations for the continuity of o-r^

across the line T. by the equations

U = g on T.

As before, the equation BU = V corresponds to the two rectangular problems

öu. ^ (*iW ^) + ^ (^) IST) = **' y) in R (i)

\ (x, y) = g(x, y) on ö >(i)

for i = 1, 2 . These problems can be solved directly by the method of matrix

decomposition [ 8 , Sec. 8]. A similar method can be used for the case in

which rCy) is only piecewise smooth.

13

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It Is clear that this splitting method can be applied to the Poisson

equation in regions such as that in Figure 5 when different mesh sizes are

used in IT ' and Ir ' . The method developed in [ 8, Sec. 8] can also be

adapted to include rectangular problems with irregular meshes.

19

- ■ . . . — J

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n

6. Congnitatlonal Results. In Table 1 we have tabulaued some computational

results for two regions of the form of Figure 1. In each case, a square

with sides of length 1 has a symmetrically located square removed from its

center. For region 1 the inner square has sides of length -*-, and for

region 2 the inner sides are of length -j—. We solve the Poisson equation

2 2 with Dirichlet boundary conditions for the function u(x , y) = x + y .

This function was selected because there is no truncation error, and all of

the measured error is due ;o inaccuracies in the solution of the difference

equations. All of the computations were performed on a CDC 6600 camputer.

The iterative methods used are:

SOR : point successive overrelaxation [25, p. 58],

SLQR: successive line overrelaxation [25, p. 8o],

ADI : Peaceman-Rachford alternating direction implicit iteration

[2ht chap. 61.

The iteration parameters used are those for the imbedding rectangle R/ , and

for ADI the parameters for cycles of length four are calculated by the

Wachspress algorithm [2^, Chap. 6], The initial guess is identically zero,

and the iterations are terminated when the maximum difference between iterates

-5 is less than 10 ^ .

The direct method used is variant one of the Buneman algorithm [ S , Sec. 111.

Preprocessing times are given in Table 2, Computational results for a similar

problem are given in [1^3.

The problem described in Section k for the region in Figure 2 has been

treated by Daly and Nichol3 [10]. The mesh used has 25 x ho = 920 points.

Using the direct method of matrix decomposition, a particular solution requires

about 30 - 50^ of the time required for a point Gauss-Seidel iterative procedure.

20

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The problem discussed in Section k far the region in Figure 3 has been

treated by Morse and Rudsinski [21 ]. The mesh used has 52 x 98 » 509^

points, and the preprocessing time is approocimately 150 seconds. The region

and differential operator are very seldom changed, so the factored capacitance

matrix is stored on magnetic tape. Thus there is essentially no preprocessing

time for the execution of the program. To solve for a particular solution

requires about 2 seconds, which is approximately kof, of the time required for

a successive line overrelaxation iterative procedure.

21

■-- - - --■-— - - ■—-^-i-^^^^-^-^—^->-.-J--^~»^«—^^^^.-

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m^^mmmm*^

Table 1. Conputatlonal results for solving the discrete Poisson equation.

Region h P Method Maximum Error

Computation Time (Sec.)

Scaled Computation

Time

SOB 5.02 (-6) 3.586 21.866

1 32

16 SLOR 7.63 (-6) 2.65^ 16.183

ADI 2.36 (-6) 1.126 6.878

1 Direct 4.^ (-13) 0.161* 1.000

SOR 8.12 (-6) 29.588 ^5.99^

l 32 SLOR 7.95 (-6) 21.h2b 32.072

ADI 5.1*1 (-6) 5.6^2 8.1^6

Direct 1.90 (-12) 0.668 1.000

SOR 2.35 (-6) 3.570 21.250

i 52

32 STAR 6.U8(-6) 2.558 15.226

ADI 2.11 (-6) 0.870 5.179

2 Direct 3.77 (-15) 0.168 1.000

SOR 2.02 (-6) 29.631+ 10.565

1 & SLOR 9.96 (-6) 20.510 50.162

ADI 5.57 (-6) 5.352 7.81*1

Direct 1.5^ (-12) 0.680 1.000

2?

MCJ

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^m^Bmm^^m^mmmmmmn^m

Table 2. Preprocessing time for the direct method results in Table 1.

Region h Preprocessing Tine (Sec.)

1

1 32 1.062

1 SIT S.ÖTO

2

l 32 2.188

1 SIT 17.698

25

Mi>a-u~u~B^B1^M

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^T^^i^-n^-rw^nm^m*

:Q:

CO

111111111111 ^d.

H p.

>» I

H

« •p

§

03

H

«

2U

- - ■■ - -

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1 ™ " ' ^^m^^mmimmmmmmmmm^mt^ mmmmmmmmm*

• • ■ • i

• •■•*••••< • •••••••• ■ ••■•••••'

• •••••••• • ••••••••

• • ■ • <

• • • • i

> ■ # » » • f » » • » »

H

Q:

OJ

I

25

Lj^—MMMk^Maa

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F" ^^^mmm P^IJ.II.|l|lll|.«^V 1 ■■■• ^ ^ '-—T-

CM

Q:

I i

H

8

(TO

26

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j.^JilJ. MI»>»-»"M-IH1WH,»J .IIIIWHU-. .■^■■■LW'iu-'y"'w|.*"1.'1." ".WU

H

+>

g

«

• • • • .

J . 1 . U i I I 1 U U 1 1 1 I 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 i , TT TT.-rr.-n > « • » •

<••••<

• ••••*•

• ••■«••••«• • ••••••••••• • ••■•••••••

tdh*A*^M#

27

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WMTV

I K

JS +>

23

■> ..=...:.-. ^

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References

[1] E. Angel, "Discrete invariant imbedding and elliptic boundary-value problems

over irregular regions," J. Math. Anal. Ap;pl., 23 (1968), p;p. 471-484.

[2] E. Angel, "Dynamic programming and linear partial differential equations,"

J. Math. Anal. Appl. 1 23 (1968), pp. 628-638.

[3] E. Angel, "A building block technique for elliptic boundary-value problems

over irregular regions," J. Math. Anal. Appl., 26 (1969), pp. 75-81.

[ 4] E. Angel, "Inverse boundary-value problems: elliptic equations," J. Math.

Anal. Appl., 30 (1970), pp. 86-98.

[ 5] E. Angel and R. Kal.aba, "A one sweep munerical method for vector-matrix

difference equations with two-point boundary conditions," Report 70-16,

Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Southern California,

Los Angeles, 1970.

[ 6] . ~· Buneman, "A canpact non-iterative Poisson solver," Report SUIPR-294,

;Institute for Plasma Research, Stanford University, Stanford, California,

1969.

[7] o. Buneman, "Computer simulation of the satellite photosheath,"

Report ESRm-92, European Space Research Institute, Rome, 1970.

[8] B. L. Buzbee, G. H. Golub, and C. w. Nielson, "On direct methods for

solving Poisson's equations," SIAM J. Numer. Anal., to appear.

[9] D. c. Collins and E. Angel, "The diagonal decomposition technique applied

to the dynamic programming solution of elliptic partial differential

·equations," J. Math. Anal. · Appl., to appear.

[10] B. Daly and B. Nichols, Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory, Los Alamos,

New Mexico, personal communication, November 1970.

[ll] F. w. Dorr, "The direct solution of the discrete Poisson equation on a

rectangle," SIAM Rev., 12 (1970), pp. 248-263.

[12] G. E. Forsythe and C B. Moler, Canputer Solution uf LineE-.r Algebraic

Systems, Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, 1961.

29

Page 35: BY - apps.dtic.mil · The tJpe ot application ve have in mind tor this .thod is one in vbich we h4ve to solTe a maber ot equations A !i = !i. . In this case 1 ve cCIIIP'lte the capacitance

[13] G. E. Forsythe and w. R. Wasow, Finite-Difference Methods for Partial

Differential Equations, Wiley, New York, 196o.

[14] J. A. George, "The use of direct methods for the solution of the discrete

Poisson equat ion on non-rectangular regions," Report STAN-cS-70-159,

Computer Science Department, Stanford University, Stanford, California, 1970.

[15] G. H. Golub, "An algorithm for the discrete biharmonic equation,"

unpublished, 1970.

[16 ] R. w. Hackney, "The potential calculation and some applications,"

Methods in Canputational Physics, 9 (1970), pp. 135-211.

[ 17] R. W. Hockney, "POT4 - a fast direct Poisson-solver for the rectangle

allowing some mixed boundary conditions and internal electrodes,"

to appear.

[ 18 ] A. S. Householder, The Theory of Matrices in Numerical Anal;ysis, Blaisdell,

New York, 1964.

[19] E. Isaacson and H. B. Keller, Anal;ysis of Numerical Methods, Wiley,

New York, 1966 .

[20] R. Kalaba, "A one sweep method for linear difference equations with two

point boundary conditions," Report 69-23, Department of Electrical

Engineering, University of Sou~nern California, Los Angeles, 1969.

[21] R. L. Morse and L. Rudsinski, Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory, Los Alamos,

New Mex ico, personal communication, August 1970.

[ 22 ] P. J. Roache, "A direct method for the discretized Poisson equation,"

Report SC-RR-70-579, Sandia Laboratories, Albuquerque, New Mexico, 1970.

[ 23 ] R. S. Varga, Matrix Iterative Analysis, Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs,

New .Jersey, 1962.

[24 ] E . L. Wachspress, Iterative Solution of Elliptic Systems, Prentice-Hall,

Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, 1966 .

30