ParCYCLIC: Finite Element Modeling of Earthquake Liquefaction Response on Parallel Computers

This paper presents the computational procedures and solution strategy employed in ParCYCLIC, a parallel nonlinear finite element program developed based on an existing serial code CYCLIC for the analysis of cyclic seismically-induced liquefaction problems. In ParCYCLIC, finite elements are employed within an incremental plasticity, coupled solid-fluid formulation. A constitutive model developed for simulating liquefaction-induced deformations is a main component of this analysis framework. The elements of the computational strategy, designed for distributed-memory messagepassing parallel computer systems, include: (a) an automatic domain decomposer to partition finite element mesh; (b) nodal ordering strategies to minimize storage space for matrix coefficients; (c) an efficient scheme for the allocation of sparse matrix coefficients among the processors; and (d) a parallel sparse direct solver. Application of ParCYCLIC to simulate 3-D geotechnical experimental models is demonstrated. Not only good agreement is achieved between the computed and recorded results, but also the computational results show excellent parallel performance and scalability of ParCYCLIC on parallel computers with large number of processors.