Finite Element Analysis

Finite Element Analysis is a numerical technique for finding approximate solutions to partial differential equations (PDE).

FEA Software

These are some open source software options for Finite Element Analysis:

Salome

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salome_%28software%29
• http://www.caelinux.com/CMS/
• http://www.salome-platform.org/

OpenCASCADE

• Open CASCADE Technology is software development platform freely available in open source. It includes components for 3D surface and solid modeling, visualization, data exchange and rapid application development.

z88

• Z88 is a fast, powerful and compact Finite Elements Analysis Program especially designed for PCs running the great LINUX, workstations and large computers with UNIX and PCs with WindowsXP/95. Z88 features 20 finite element types covering plane stress, plate bending, axial symmetric structures and spacial structures up to 20-node Serendipity hexahedrons. Z88 comes with a user-friendly interface, a powerful mesh generator, a DXF-converter, two plot programs and, of course, two powerful solvers. Import of COSMOS files from Pro/ENGINEER and Pro/MECHANICA is supported. The new version Z88 12.0 is licenced under the GNU-GPL.
  • Latest version: Z88 Aurora V1c
  • Runs on: Windows XP/Vista/7, Mac OS 10.6+, Ubuntu 9.04,10.04,11.04
  • Supported Geometry Formats: .STP (STEP), .STL, .DXF (Autocad)
  • Supported FE data: NASTRAN (*.BDF, *.NAS), ABAQUS (*.INP), ANSYS (*.ANS) and COSMOS (*.COS).

OpenFEM

• OpenFEM is an open-source software freely distributed under the terms of the "GNU Lesser Public License" (LGPL). It is a general purpose multi-physic FEM environment. (at http://www-rocq.inria.fr/OpenFEM/rubrique.php3?id_rubrique=3 looks really good,
  • needs http://www.scilab.org/ Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, or other good linux distro in ix86 architecture are best bets for getting this going

femML

• The finite element modeling Markup Language (femML) effort is addressing the problems of data interpretation and application interoperability in the Finite Element Modeling domain. femML is an XML-based language for describing finite element models and associated results for inter - and intra- application data exchange and integration.

Elmer

• Elmer is open-source software for performing multiphysical simulations including fluid dynamics, structural mechanics, electromagnetics, heat transfer and acoustics through partial differential equations and using the finite element method.

• To get Elmer on Ubuntu, 1. The source files can be downloaded from the Elmer official site, then compiled and installed. OR 2. Elmer can be directly downloaded and installed through the Ubuntu Software Center that can be accessed through Applications>Ubuntu Software Center

• To get Elmer on Windows, 1. Binary files to be downloaded and installed with for windows are available from the Elmer official site

• ASCII STL Mesh files can be imported into Elmer from CAD software such as FreeCAD