The finite element method is currently one of the most popular numerical methods for solving engineering problems. Based on the Galerkin weak form, the problem domain is discretized into non-overlapping sub-domains, namely elements. The elements usually take simple geometrical shape, e.g triangles or quadrilaterals (see the Figure below). The vertices of elements are called nodes. Any function u defined in the problem domain is interpolated by its values at nodes. Boundary conditions, i.e. the loads (Neumann boundary conditions) and the constrained displacement (Dirichlet boundary conditions), must be defined. Figure 1 illustrates a domain being discretized into triangular elements and the specified boundary conditions.
Commercial softwares: ANSYS, ABAQUS, COMSOL, ADINA, HYPERWORKS, etc.
Open-source softwares: Code_Aster, Cast3M, CalculiX, FEAP, etc.
