Introduction

SfePy is a finite element analysis software written almost entirely in Python, with exception of the most time demanding routines - those are written in C and wrapped by Cython or written directly in Cython.

SfePy is a free software released under the New BSD License. It relies on NumPy/SciPy (an excellent collection of tools for scientific computations in Python).

SfePy was originally developed as a flexible framework to quickly implement and test the mathematical models developed during our various research projects. It has evolved, however, to a rather full-featured (yet small) finite element code with many weak forms to build equations so there is a chance it might serve you as well.

New users should start by going through the Tutorial and then the more focused Primer.

Features:

• solution of linear, nonlinear problems

• multi-platform (Linux, Mac OS X, Windows)

• collection of modules (a library):

  • FE engine, problem description facilities, interfaces to various solvers, postprocessing utilities
  • usable to build custom applications

• “black box” PDE solver:

  • no real programming involved
  • just prepare a problem description file (in Python!) and solve it
  • highly customizable behaviour (with a bit of coding)

To find more information regarding the code itself, go to SfePy web site where you can find:

• releases
• mailing lists
• issue tracking
• git repository (bleeding edge code)
• further documentation, examples, and some of the research projects the code has been developed for.

To discuss in real time, join our IRC channel #sfepy at freenode.