FEATool Multiphysics


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

Features

FEATool Multiphysics is a fully integrated physics and PDE simulation environment where the modeling process is subdivided into six steps; preprocessing, mesh and grid generation, physics and PDE specification, boundary condition specification, solution, and postprocessing and visualization.
1. Geometry Mode2. Grid Mode3. Multiphysics Mode
4. Boundary Mode5. Solve Mode6. Post Mode

Solver interfaces

FEATool has a multi-simulation/solver feature whereby integrated interfaces to popular open-source solvers are available. This enables several solvers to be used from one GUI and CLI without requiring detailed knowledge of each solver. The CFD solver interfaces allows fluid dynamics problems to be solved with the finite volume CFD solvers OpenFOAM and SU2 without leaving the FEATool interface.
Similar to the OpenFOAM and SU2 solver interfaces, FEATool also features a fully integrated interface to the FEniCS general FEM and multiphysics solver. Using the FEATool-FEniCS interface, as both codes feature PDE definition languages, multiphysics problems can automatically be translated and converted to FEniCS Python definition files, after which the FEniCS solver is called, and the resulting solution re-imported.

Fully scriptable CLI interface

GUI operation is recorded as equivalent function calls, and therefore, in addition to binary formats, FEATool simulation models can be saved and exported as fully scriptable and editable MATLAB compatible m-script files. The short MATLAB script below illustrates how a complete flow around a cylinder computational fluid dynamics benchmark problem can be defined and solved with the FEATool m-script functions. Specifically, custom partial differential equations and expressions can simply be entered and evaluated as string expressions as-is, without need for further compilation or writing custom functions.
% Geometry and mesh generation.
fea.sdim = ;
fea.geom.objects = ;
fea = geom_apply_formula;
fea.grid = gridgen;
% Problem definition.
fea = addphys;
% Prescribe fluid viscosity.
fea.phys.ns.eqn.coef = ;
% Boundary conditions.
% Inflow at boundary 4.
fea.phys.ns.bdr.sel = 2;
% Outflow at boundary 2.
fea.phys.ns.bdr.sel = 3;
% Parabolic inflow profile x-velocity expression.
fea.phys.ns.bdr.coef = '4*0.3*y*/0.41^2';
% Check, parse, and solve problem.
fea = parsephys;
fea = parseprob;
fea.sol.u = solvestat;
% Alternatively solve with OpenFOAM or SU2
% fea.sol.u = openfoam;
% fea.sol.u = su2;
% Postprocessing and visualization.
postplot
p_cyl_front = evalexpr;
p_cyl_back = evalexpr;
delta_p_computed = p_cyl_front - p_cyl_back
delta_p_reference = 0.117520

External mesh generator interfaces

Similar to the external solver interfaces, FEATool features built-in support for the Gmsh and Triangle mesh generators. If requested instead of the built-in mesh generation algorithm, FEATool will convert and export appropriate Gridgen2D, Gmsh, or Triangle input data files, call the mesh generators through external system calls, and re-import the resulting grids into FEATool.

Other features

  • Stand-alone operation or can be used as a MATLAB toolbox.
  • Fully cross platform MATLAB interoperability including other toolboxes.
  • Extensive FEM basis function library.
  • Allows structured and un-structured line interval, triangles, quadrilaterals, tetrahedral, and hexahedral mesh elements.
  • Allows for custom user defined PDE equations.
  • 28 pre-defined equations and multiphysics modes in 1D, 2D Cartesian and cylindrical coordinates, as well as full 3D.
  • Mesh and geometry import, export, and conversion between OpenFOAM, SU2, Dolfin/FEniCS XML, GiD, Gmsh, GMV, Triangle, and plain ASCII grid formats.
  • Online postprocessing and image export with ParaView Glance, Plotly, and social sharing of results.