| Abstract: | In this paper, we present an application of a parallel‐in‐time algorithm for the solution of the unsteady Navier–Stokes model equations that are of parabolic–elliptic type. This method is based on the alternated use of a coarse global sequential solver and a fine local parallel one. A standard finite volume/finite differences first‐order approach is used for discretization of the unsteady two‐dimensional Navier–Stokes equations. The Taylor vortex decay problem and the confined flow around a square cylinder were selected as unsteady flow examples to illustrate and analyse the properties of the parallel‐in‐time method through numerical experiments. The influence of several parameters on the computing time required to perform a parallel‐in‐time calculation on a PC cluster was verified. Among them we have analysed the influence of the number of processors, the number of iterations for convergence, the resolution of the spatial domain and the influence of the time‐step sizes ratio between the coarse and fine grids. Significant computer time saving was achieved when compared with the single processor computing time, particularly when the spatial dimension of the problem is low and the temporal scale is large. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. |
