The Finite Element Method (FEM) is a popular technique often used in the study of fracture and structural mechanics. We have developed a parallel framework[11], called the CHARM++ FEM Framework to make it easy to parallelize a serial FEM code. The framework handles the finite element mesh that discretizes the problem domain, partitioning the mesh for parallel execution, and providing easy to use communication primitives defined on the mesh.
There are several obstacles to solving FEM problems on very large machines. First, we must generate a mesh of sufficient size; second, unless the mesh is enormous, we must deal with the problem's small grainsize.