Estimation Method of the Optimum Relaxation Factor for the Successive Overrelaxation Method

New estimation method of the optimum relaxation factor for the successive overrelaxation method (SOR) is proposed, and the efficiency of the new method is surveyed through a number of numerical experiments. This method can a priori determine the value of the factor by using only the topological properties of the problem, and it is valid for a sparse set of linear equations obtained by using the five-point difference scheme for any rectangular area with arbitrary boundary conditions. The experiments clarify that the method can estimate good approximate value of the factor.