BestFEA: 3D Beam Analysis Pro

Fred Domptail

About this app

Our simulation software analyses three dimensional beam structures under coupled structural and thermal physics.
Examples of application for this software are: the analysis of piping systems, and of frame structures to design codes such as ASME-B31.3 and Eurocodes.
The structural finite elements formulation is based on the Euler-Bernoulli beam theory with transverse shear deformation taken into account by Timoshenko beam theory.
Unlike typical finite elements code, our formulation only requires a single element per beam. Since the deformation of beams is, at most, based on a quartic field (polynomial of degree four), we have written the shape function of our beam to also be quartic, thus providing results in exact agreement with the mathematical model, without additional meshing.
Note that heat transfer of the thermal formulation includes conduction but not convection or radiation to the environment.