Parallel iterative methods for variational integration applied to navigation problems

Abstract Discrete variational methods have shown an excellent performance in numerical simulations of different mechanical systems. In this paper, we introduce an iterative method for discrete variational methods appropriate for boundary value problems. More concretely, we explore a parallelization strategy that leverages the power of multicore CPUs and GPUs (graphics cards). We study this parallel method for first-order and second-order Lagrangians and we illustrate its excellent behavior in some interesting applications, namely Zermelo’s navigation problem, a fuel-optimal navigation problem, and an interpolation problem.