OpenSees

OpenSees is an object-oriented, open source software framework created at the University of California, Berkeley as part of the NSF-sponsored Pacific Earthquake Engineering (PEER) Center. It allows users to create finite element applications for simulating the response of structural and geotechnical systems subjected to earthquakes. This framework was developed by Frank McKenna and Gregory L. Fenves with significant contributions from Michael H. Scott, Terje Haukaas, Armen Der Kiureghian, Remo M. de Souza, Filip C. Filippou, Silvia Mazzoni, and Boris Jeremic. OpenSees is primarily written in C++ and uses several numerical libraries, such as LAPACK, written in Fortran for linear equation solving.

History

Prior to taking on the name "OpenSees," the framework was simply called "G3" in reference to its research group designation within PEER. The doctoral thesis of Frank McKenna on parallel object-oriented structural analysis formed the basis for "G3."

Usage

Users of OpenSees create applications by writing scripts in the Tcl programming language. The TclModelBuilder class in the OpenSees framework extends an instance of the Tcl interpreter with commands for finite element model building and analysis.

External links

• OpenSees Webpage
• OpenSees Manual