Comparison of Iterative Methods for Computing the Pressure Field in a Dynamic Network Model

In dynamic network models, the pressure map (the pressure in the pores) must be evaluated at each time step. This calculation involves the solution of a large number of nonlinear algebraic systems of equations and accounts for more than 80 of the total CPU–time. Each nonlinear system requires at least the partial solution of a sequence of linear systems. We present a comparative study of iterative methods for solving these systems, where we apply both standard routines from the public domain package ITPACK 2C and our own routines tailored to the network problem. The conjugate gradient method, preconditioned by symmetric successive overrelaxation, was found to be consistently faster and more robust than the other solvers tested. In particular, it was found to be much superior to the successive overrelaxation technique currently used by many researchers.