Interface preconditionings for domain-decomposed convection-diffusion operators

The performance of five different interface preconditionings for domain-decomposed convection-diffusion problems, including a novel one known as the spectral probe is tested in a three-dimensional parameter space consisting of mesh parameters, Reynolds number, and domain aspect ratio. The preconditioners are representative of the range of practically computable possibilities that have appeared in the literature for the treatment of nonoverlapping subdomains. Numerical examples show that no single preconditioner can be considered uniformly superior or uniformly inferior to the rest, but that knowledge of the particulars of the shape and strength of the convection is important in selecting among them in a given problem.