VisualFEA

Last updated
VisualFEA
Developer(s) Intuition Software
Initial releaseJanuary 2000
Stable release
5.11 / January 18, 2016 (2016-01-18)
Operating system Windows, Mac OS X
Type Finite element analysis
License Proprietary
Website

VisualFEA is a finite element analysis software program for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X. It is developed and distributed by Intuition Software, Inc. of South Korea, and used chiefly for structural and geotechnical analysis. Its strongest point is its intuitive, user-friendly design based on graphical pre- and postprocessing capabilities. It has educational features for teaching and learning structural mechanics, and finite element analysis through graphical simulation. It is widely used in college-level courses related to structural mechanics and finite element methods.

Contents

Overview

VisualFEA is a full-fledged finite element analysis program with many easy-to-use but powerful features, which can be classified largely into four parts: finite element processing, pre-processing, post-processing and educational simulation. All the functions are integrated into a single executable module, which is a characteristic of the program distinguished from other finite element analysis programs generally composed of multiple modules. The whole procedure from pre-processing to analysis, and to post-processing can be completed on the spot without launching one program after another, or without pipelining data from one program to another.

Processing

VisualFEA can solve the following types of problems.

Truss, frame, plane stress, plane strain, axisymmetric, plate bending, shell and 3D solid
Linear, material nonlinear or geometric nonlinear analysis
Static or dynamic analysis
Construction staged analysis
Geotechnical analysis (consolidation, slope stability analysis)
Plane, axisymmetric and 3D volume
Steady state or transient analysis
Linear or nonlinear material model
Fire damage analysis
Plane, axisymmetric and 3D volume
Steady state or transient analysis
Confined or unconfined boundary condition
Heat conduction coupled mechanical analysis
Seepage coupled mechanical analysis

Pre-processing

A finite element model in VisualFEA consists of various objects: curve, primitive surface, node, element and mesh. VisualFEA has its own CAD-like capabilities of creating graphical objects without aid of external programs. VisualFEA can create structured or unstructured meshes in two- or three-dimensional space using the following mesh generation schemes.

The program has the function to save the generated mesh data in text format for use by other application programs. Other pre-processing capabilities include the following items.

Post-processing

VisualFEA has various functions of visualizing the numerical data generated by solving the analysis models. The most frequently used graphical representation of the data are the contour and vector images. There are many other forms of graphical representation available in VisualFEA. [1]

Educational Simulation

VisualFEA can be used as a tool for computer-aided education of structural mechanics and finite element method. The tools are operated with the user-created modeling data and their ensuing analysis results on the basis of finite element technology. They are devised to promote the understanding, and to stimulate the interest in the subjects by substantiating the conceptual principles and visually exhibiting the complex computational processes with the aid of interactive computer graphics. The topics covered by the educational functions are as follows.

VisualFEA/CBT

VisualFEA/CBT is an educational version of the program [6] published by John Wiley and Son's Inc. as a companion program to a textbook [7] on finite element method. The program has the limitation of 3000 nodes that can be handled.

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Lumped damage mechanics or LDM is a branch of structural mechanics that is concerned with the analysis of frame structures. It is based on continuum damage mechanics and fracture mechanics. It combines the ideas of these theories with the concept of plastic hinge LDM can be defined as the fracture mechanics of complex structural systems. In the models of LDM, cracking or local buckling as well as plasticity are lumped at the inelastic hinges. As in continuum damage mechanics, LDM uses state variables to represent the effects of damage on the remaining stiffness and strength of the frame structure. In reinforced concrete structures, the damage state variable quantifies the crack density in the plastic hinge zone; in unreinforced concrete components and steel beams, it is a dimensionless measure of the crack surface; in tubular steel elements, the damage variable measures the degree of local buckling The LDM evolution laws can be derived from continuum damage mechanics or fracture mechanics. In the latter case, concepts such as the energy release rate or the stress intensity factor of a plastic hinge are introduced. LDM allows for the numerical simulation of the collapse of complex structures with a fraction of the computational cost and human effort of its continuum mechanics counterparts. LDM is also a regularization procedure that eliminates the mesh-dependence phenomenon that is observed in structural analysis with local damage models. In addition, LDM method has been implemented in the finite element analysis of crack propagation of steel beam-to-column connections subjected to ultra-low cycle fatigue.

FEATool Multiphysics

FEATool Multiphysics is a physics, finite element analysis (FEA), and PDE simulation toolbox. FEATool Multiphysics features the ability to model fully coupled heat transfer, fluid dynamics, chemical engineering, structural mechanics, fluid-structure interaction (FSI), electromagnetics, as well as user-defined and custom PDE problems in 1D, 2D (axisymmetry), or 3D, all within a graphical user interface (GUI) or optionally as script files. FEATool has been employed and used in academic research, teaching, and industrial engineering simulation contexts.

References

  1. J.Y.Lee and S-Y.Ahn, Interactive visualization of elasto-plastic behavior through stress paths and yield surfaces in finite element analysis, Finite Elements in Analysis and Design, 47(2011), pp496-510
  2. J.Y.Lee and S-Y.Ahn, Finite element implementation for computer-aided education of structural mechanics:Frame analysis, Computer Applications in Engineering Education, 22(2014), pp387-409
  3. J.Y.Lee, H.R.Ryu and Y.T.Park, Finite element implementation for computer-aided education of structural mechanics:Mohr's circle and its application, Computer Applications in Engineering Education, 22(2014), pp494-508
  4. J.Y.Lee, Interactive simulation of finite element equation processing for educational purposes, Computer Applications in Engineering Education, 23 (2015) pp157-169, DOI 10.1002/cae.21586
  5. J.Y.Lee, H.R.Ryu, Interactive simulation of eigenmodes for instruction of finite element behavior, Computer Applications in Engineering Education, 23 (2015) pp872-886, DOI 10.1002/cae.21659
  6. R.D.Cook and Intuition Software, VisualFEA and General User Manual, John Wiley and Son's Inc, 2001
  7. R.D.Cook, D.S.Malkus, M.E.Plesha, R.J.Witt, Concepts and Applications of Finite Element Analysis, 4th ed., John Wiley and Son's Inc, 2001