A review of four PC packages for FE structural analysis

Abstract A comparative review of four popular PC-based finite-element packages is presented. The study is restricted to the evaluation of the linear static analysis and frequency calculation modules. Four benchmark problems are run to compare the performances of a few flagship elements of each package. As the results of these problems indicate, although all four software provide powerful graphical user interfaces that assign default values to many parameters affecting the way calculations are done, obtaining meaningful results still requires a good understanding of finite-element basics. Finally, CPU performances for the static and frequency calculations of a typical civil engineering problem are reported. Although all four packages reviewed use the same algorithms, their implementation varies and significant differences are reported in CPU times and disk-pace requirements.