diff --git a/crates/solver/src/cholesky.rs b/crates/solver/src/cholesky.rs
index a753e66..9c24db1 100644
--- a/crates/solver/src/cholesky.rs
+++ b/crates/solver/src/cholesky.rs
@@ -151,6 +151,11 @@ fn ereach(a: &UpperColumns, k: usize, parent: &[usize], stack: &mut [usize], mar
     top
 }
 
+/// The entries of the Cholesky factor of `a`'s pattern, in its own order, without values.
+pub(crate) fn factor_entries(a: &UpperColumns) -> usize {
+    symbolic(a).1.iter().sum()
+}
+
 /// The elimination tree and the entry count of each column of L, without computing values.
 fn symbolic(a: &UpperColumns) -> (Vec<usize>, Vec<usize>) {
     let parent = etree(a);
diff --git a/crates/solver/src/ordering.rs b/crates/solver/src/ordering.rs
index 4e04340..b6e4cbd 100644
--- a/crates/solver/src/ordering.rs
+++ b/crates/solver/src/ordering.rs
@@ -9,6 +9,17 @@
 //! unstructured problems for parallel processing*, Computing Systems in Engineering 2:135–148,
 //! 1991, with vertex separators). Ties are broken by node index, so the ordering is
 //! deterministic.
+//!
+//! A plane cuts a thin curved wall (a shell meshed with solids, a bellows, a revolved part) many
+//! times, so its separators are large there. [`graph_dissection`] takes its separators from the
+//! graph instead: a middle level of the breadth-first level structure rooted at a
+//! pseudo-peripheral node (A. George, J. W. H. Liu, *An automatic nested dissection algorithm for
+//! irregular finite element problems*, SIAM J. Numer. Anal. 15(5):1053–1069, 1978; the
+//! pseudo-peripheral node of N. E. Gibbs, W. G. Poole, P. K. Stockmeyer, *An algorithm for
+//! reducing the bandwidth and profile of a sparse matrix*, SIAM J. Numer. Anal. 13(2):236–250,
+//! 1976), which cuts such a wall across its surface. [`fill_reducing_order`] computes both and
+//! keeps the one whose Cholesky factor has fewer entries; the symbolic count costs O(|L|) time
+//! and O(n + |A|) memory, small next to the numeric factorization.
 
 /// Parts this small are ordered as they come.
 const LEAF: usize = 16;
@@ -86,6 +97,179 @@ pub fn nested_dissection(xyz: &[[f64; 3]], adjacency: &[Vec<usize>]) -> Vec<usiz
     order
 }
 
+/// The nested dissection order of the nodes that fills the factor less: by coordinate planes or
+/// by the graph's level structures. Ties keep the coordinate order.
+pub fn fill_reducing_order(xyz: &[[f64; 3]], adjacency: &[Vec<usize>]) -> Vec<usize> {
+    let by_planes = nested_dissection(xyz, adjacency);
+    let by_graph = graph_dissection(adjacency);
+    if fill(adjacency, &by_graph) < fill(adjacency, &by_planes) { by_graph } else { by_planes }
+}
+
+/// Searches for a pseudo-peripheral node per part.
+const PERIPHERAL_SEARCHES: usize = 8;
+
+/// The breadth-first level structure of the nodes with `owner == token` reached from `root`.
+/// Marks each reached node's level in `level` (which must be `usize::MAX` there on entry).
+fn level_structure(adjacency: &[Vec<usize>], root: usize, token: usize, owner: &[usize], level: &mut [usize]) -> Vec<Vec<usize>> {
+    let mut out = vec![vec![root]];
+    if let Some(l) = level.get_mut(root) {
+        *l = 0;
+    }
+    loop {
+        let depth = out.len();
+        let mut next = Vec::new();
+        for &v in out.last().into_iter().flatten() {
+            for &w in adjacency.get(v).into_iter().flatten() {
+                if owner.get(w) == Some(&token)
+                    && let Some(l) = level.get_mut(w)
+                    && *l == usize::MAX
+                {
+                    *l = depth;
+                    next.push(w);
+                }
+            }
+        }
+        if next.is_empty() {
+            return out;
+        }
+        out.push(next);
+    }
+}
+
+/// Clears the levels of `structure`'s nodes.
+fn clear(level: &mut [usize], structure: &[Vec<usize>]) {
+    for &v in structure.iter().flatten() {
+        if let Some(l) = level.get_mut(v) {
+            *l = usize::MAX;
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+/// A permutation of the nodes by nested dissection on the graph alone (George & Liu 1978, see
+/// the module notes): each part's separator is the nodes of its middle level that touch the
+/// next level. Disconnected parts are ordered one after the other. Ties go by node index, so
+/// the ordering is deterministic.
+pub fn graph_dissection(adjacency: &[Vec<usize>]) -> Vec<usize> {
+    let n = adjacency.len();
+    let mut order = Vec::with_capacity(n);
+    // The part each node is in (a token per part), and its level in the current search.
+    let mut owner = vec![0usize; n];
+    let mut level = vec![usize::MAX; n];
+    let mut token = 0usize;
+    enum Task {
+        Split(Vec<usize>),
+        Emit(Vec<usize>),
+    }
+    let mut stack = vec![Task::Split((0..n).collect())];
+    while let Some(task) = stack.pop() {
+        let part = match task {
+            Task::Emit(sep) => {
+                order.extend(sep);
+                continue;
+            }
+            Task::Split(p) => p,
+        };
+        let Some(&first) = part.first() else { continue };
+        if part.len() <= LEAF {
+            order.extend(part);
+            continue;
+        }
+        token += 1;
+        for &v in &part {
+            if let Some(o) = owner.get_mut(v) {
+                *o = token;
+            }
+        }
+        let degree = |v: usize, owner: &[usize]| adjacency.get(v).map_or(0, |row| row.iter().filter(|w| owner.get(**w) == Some(&token)).count());
+        // A pseudo-peripheral root: from the first node, move to the least connected node of the
+        // last level while that deepens the structure.
+        let mut structure = level_structure(adjacency, first, token, &owner, &mut level);
+        for _ in 0..PERIPHERAL_SEARCHES {
+            let Some(candidate) = structure.last().and_then(|last| last.iter().copied().min_by_key(|&v| (degree(v, &owner), v))) else { break };
+            clear(&mut level, &structure);
+            let deeper = level_structure(adjacency, candidate, token, &owner, &mut level);
+            if deeper.len() <= structure.len() {
+                clear(&mut level, &deeper);
+                structure =
+                    level_structure(adjacency, structure.first().and_then(|l| l.first()).copied().unwrap_or(first), token, &owner, &mut level);
+                break;
+            }
+            structure = deeper;
+        }
+        let reached: usize = structure.iter().map(Vec::len).sum();
+        if reached < part.len() {
+            // Disconnected: the reached component, then the rest.
+            let rest: Vec<usize> = part.iter().copied().filter(|&v| level.get(v) == Some(&usize::MAX)).collect();
+            clear(&mut level, &structure);
+            let mut component: Vec<usize> = structure.into_iter().flatten().collect();
+            component.sort_unstable();
+            stack.push(Task::Split(rest));
+            stack.push(Task::Split(component));
+            continue;
+        }
+        if structure.len() < 3 {
+            clear(&mut level, &structure);
+            order.extend(part);
+            continue;
+        }
+        // The middle level: the first at which the levels up to it hold half the part, kept
+        // off the last level so both sides are non-empty.
+        let mut count = 0;
+        let mut middle = 1;
+        for (i, l) in structure.iter().enumerate().skip(1) {
+            count += l.len();
+            if 2 * count >= part.len() {
+                middle = i.min(structure.len() - 2);
+                break;
+            }
+        }
+        let touches_next =
+            |v: usize| adjacency.get(v).is_some_and(|row| row.iter().any(|&w| owner.get(w) == Some(&token) && level.get(w) == Some(&(middle + 1))));
+        let mut separator = Vec::new();
+        let mut before: Vec<usize> = structure.iter().take(middle).flatten().copied().collect();
+        for &v in structure.get(middle).into_iter().flatten() {
+            if touches_next(v) { separator.push(v) } else { before.push(v) }
+        }
+        let mut after: Vec<usize> = structure.iter().skip(middle + 1).flatten().copied().collect();
+        clear(&mut level, &structure);
+        before.sort_unstable();
+        separator.sort_unstable();
+        after.sort_unstable();
+        // Order: before, then after, then the separator (the stack runs in reverse).
+        stack.push(Task::Emit(separator));
+        stack.push(Task::Split(after));
+        stack.push(Task::Split(before));
+    }
+    order
+}
+
+/// The entries of the Cholesky factor of the node graph `adjacency` eliminated in `order` (one
+/// per node pair): the fill an ordering gives. `order` must be a permutation of the nodes.
+pub fn fill(adjacency: &[Vec<usize>], order: &[usize]) -> usize {
+    let n = adjacency.len();
+    let mut position = vec![usize::MAX; n];
+    for (k, &v) in order.iter().enumerate() {
+        if let Some(p) = position.get_mut(v) {
+            *p = k;
+        }
+    }
+    let mut ptr = Vec::with_capacity(n + 1);
+    ptr.push(0);
+    let mut idx = Vec::new();
+    let mut rows = Vec::new();
+    for (k, &v) in order.iter().enumerate() {
+        rows.clear();
+        rows.extend(adjacency.get(v).into_iter().flatten().filter_map(|w| position.get(*w).copied()).filter(|&r| r < k));
+        rows.push(k);
+        rows.sort_unstable();
+        rows.dedup();
+        idx.extend_from_slice(&rows);
+        ptr.push(idx.len());
+    }
+    let val = vec![0.0; idx.len()];
+    crate::cholesky::factor_entries(&crate::cholesky::UpperColumns { n: order.len(), ptr, idx, val })
+}
+
 #[cfg(test)]
 mod tests {
     use super::*;
@@ -116,4 +300,170 @@ mod tests {
         assert!(last.iter().all(|v| v / m == last[0] / m) || last.iter().all(|v| v % m == last[0] % m), "{last:?}");
         assert_eq!(order, nested_dissection(&xyz, &adj), "deterministic");
     }
+
+    /// The node graph of a structured hex8 grid of `dims` cells (27-point stencil), with the
+    /// node coordinates from `at(i, j, k)`; `wrap` closes the first index around.
+    fn hex_grid(dims: [usize; 3], wrap: bool, at: impl Fn(usize, usize, usize) -> [f64; 3]) -> (Vec<[f64; 3]>, Vec<Vec<usize>>) {
+        let ni = if wrap { dims[0] } else { dims[0] + 1 };
+        let (nj, nk) = (dims[1] + 1, dims[2] + 1);
+        let id = |i: usize, j: usize, k: usize| (i % ni) + ni * (j + nj * k);
+        let mut xyz = vec![[0.0; 3]; ni * nj * nk];
+        let mut adj = vec![Vec::new(); ni * nj * nk];
+        for k in 0..nk {
+            for j in 0..nj {
+                for i in 0..ni {
+                    xyz[id(i, j, k)] = at(i, j, k);
+                    for t in 0..27 {
+                        let (di, dj, dk) = (t % 3, (t / 3) % 3, t / 9);
+                        let (a, b, c) = (i + ni + di - 1, j + dj, k + dk);
+                        let a = if wrap {
+                            a % ni
+                        } else if a < ni || a >= 2 * ni {
+                            continue;
+                        } else {
+                            a - ni
+                        };
+                        if (1..=nj).contains(&b) && (1..=nk).contains(&c) {
+                            adj[id(i, j, k)].push(id(a, b - 1, c - 1));
+                        }
+                    }
+                }
+            }
+        }
+        for row in &mut adj {
+            row.sort_unstable();
+            row.dedup();
+        }
+        (xyz, adj)
+    }
+
+    fn is_permutation(order: &[usize], n: usize) -> bool {
+        let mut sorted = order.to_vec();
+        sorted.sort_unstable();
+        sorted == (0..n).collect::<Vec<_>>()
+    }
+
+    /// A thin cylinder wall, two solid elements thick, 160 around and 40 high.
+    fn cylinder_wall() -> (Vec<[f64; 3]>, Vec<Vec<usize>>) {
+        hex_grid([160, 2, 40], true, |i, j, k| {
+            let t = i as f64 / 160.0 * std::f64::consts::TAU;
+            let r = 50.0 + j as f64 * 0.5;
+            [r * t.cos(), r * t.sin(), k as f64 * 2.0]
+        })
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn graph_dissection_is_a_deterministic_permutation() {
+        let (_, adj) = cylinder_wall();
+        let order = graph_dissection(&adj);
+        assert!(is_permutation(&order, adj.len()));
+        assert_eq!(order, graph_dissection(&adj));
+        // Two disconnected blocks and an isolated node.
+        let (_, mut two) = hex_grid([6, 6, 6], false, |i, j, k| [i as f64, j as f64, k as f64]);
+        let m = two.len();
+        two.extend(two.clone().into_iter().map(|row| row.into_iter().map(|v| v + m).collect()));
+        two.push(Vec::new());
+        assert!(is_permutation(&graph_dissection(&two), 2 * m + 1));
+        assert!(graph_dissection(&[]).is_empty());
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn the_graph_cuts_a_thin_curved_wall_with_less_fill() {
+        let (xyz, adj) = cylinder_wall();
+        let planes = fill(&adj, &nested_dissection(&xyz, &adj));
+        let graph = fill(&adj, &graph_dissection(&adj));
+        assert!(graph < planes, "graph {graph} planes {planes}");
+        assert_eq!(fill(&adj, &fill_reducing_order(&xyz, &adj)), graph);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn a_block_keeps_the_better_ordering() {
+        let (xyz, adj) = hex_grid([16, 16, 16], false, |i, j, k| [i as f64, j as f64, k as f64]);
+        let planes = fill(&adj, &nested_dissection(&xyz, &adj));
+        let chosen = fill(&adj, &fill_reducing_order(&xyz, &adj));
+        assert!(chosen <= planes, "chosen {chosen} planes {planes}");
+    }
+
+    /// Factor entries and factor time (s) of a diagonally dominant 3-unknowns-per-node matrix on
+    /// the graph `adj`, eliminated in `order`.
+    fn factor_3dof(adj: &[Vec<usize>], order: &[usize]) -> (usize, f64) {
+        let mut place = vec![0; adj.len()];
+        for (p, &v) in order.iter().enumerate() {
+            place[v] = p;
+        }
+        let neq = 3 * adj.len();
+        let mut cols: Vec<Vec<(usize, f64)>> = vec![Vec::new(); neq];
+        for (v, row) in adj.iter().enumerate() {
+            for &w in row {
+                for a in 0..3 {
+                    for b in 0..3 {
+                        let (r, c) = (3 * place[w] + b, 3 * place[v] + a);
+                        if r > c {
+                            continue;
+                        }
+                        let value = if v == w {
+                            if a == b { 30.0 } else { 0.5 }
+                        } else if a == b {
+                            -1.0
+                        } else {
+                            0.01 * ((v + w) % 3) as f64
+                        };
+                        cols[c].push((r, value));
+                    }
+                }
+            }
+        }
+        let mut ptr = vec![0];
+        let (mut idx, mut val) = (Vec::new(), Vec::new());
+        for mut col in cols {
+            col.sort_by_key(|e| e.0);
+            idx.extend(col.iter().map(|e| e.0));
+            val.extend(col.iter().map(|e| e.1));
+            ptr.push(idx.len());
+        }
+        let upper = crate::cholesky::UpperColumns { n: neq, ptr, idx, val };
+        let t = std::time::Instant::now();
+        let factor = crate::cholesky::Factor::new(&upper, usize::MAX).unwrap();
+        (factor.entries(), t.elapsed().as_secs_f64())
+    }
+
+    /// The measurement table of the ordering choice (fill and time per ordering).
+    #[test]
+    #[ignore = "measurement; run with --ignored --nocapture"]
+    fn measure_orderings() {
+        let cases = [
+            ("cylinder wall 160x2x40", cylinder_wall()),
+            (
+                "bellows 120x2x120",
+                hex_grid([120, 2, 120], true, |i, j, k| {
+                    let t = i as f64 / 120.0 * std::f64::consts::TAU;
+                    let z = k as f64;
+                    // Convolutions of the wall in z, the wall thickness along the normal.
+                    let r = 40.0 + 12.0 * (z / 120.0 * 8.0 * std::f64::consts::TAU).sin() + j as f64 * 0.5;
+                    [r * t.cos(), r * t.sin(), z * 1.0]
+                }),
+            ),
+            ("block 24^3", hex_grid([24, 24, 24], false, |i, j, k| [i as f64, j as f64, k as f64])),
+        ];
+        for (name, (xyz, adj)) in cases {
+            let t = std::time::Instant::now();
+            let planes = nested_dissection(&xyz, &adj);
+            let tp = t.elapsed();
+            let t = std::time::Instant::now();
+            let graph = graph_dissection(&adj);
+            let tg = t.elapsed();
+            let t = std::time::Instant::now();
+            let (fp, fg) = (fill(&adj, &planes), fill(&adj, &graph));
+            let tf = t.elapsed();
+            let (ep, sp) = factor_3dof(&adj, &planes);
+            let (eg, sg) = factor_3dof(&adj, &graph);
+            println!(
+                "| {name} | {} | {fp} / {fg} | {ep} / {eg} | {sp:.3} / {sg:.3} | {:.1} / {:.1} / {:.1} |",
+                3 * adj.len(),
+                tp.as_secs_f64() * 1e3,
+                tg.as_secs_f64() * 1e3,
+                tf.as_secs_f64() * 1e3
+            );
+        }
+    }
 }