Optimization of finite-element software using data-compression techniques

In the past there has been a great amount of effort directed toward improving the performance of finite-element analysis (FEA) software through improvements in equation-solving techniques. In contrast, little attention has been given to the area of improving the input/output (I/O) transfer rate between program core and disk storage. This paper presents a method for improving the performance of FEA software by reducing the quantity of data that must be transferred between program core and disk. This is accomplished by using data-compression techniques to compress the data during program execution, resulting in substantial decreases in program execution time and disk space usage. The paper presents a compressed I/O library written in C and the installation of the library into two FEA programs written in C and in Fortran. Results are given for personal computer, workstation, and supercomputer platforms.