FEBio
| Developer(s) | Musculoskeletal Research Laboratories (University of Utah) and Musculoskeletal Biomechanics Laboratory (Columbia University) |
|---|---|
| Stable release | 2.8
/ June, 2018 |
| Operating system | Linux, Mac OS X, Windows |
| Type | Technical computing |
| License | Custom |
| Website | https://febio.org/ |
FEBio[1][2](Finite Elements for Biomechanics) is a software package for finite element analysis[3] and was specifically designed for applications in biomechanics and bioengineering. It was developed in collaboration with research groups from the University of Utah (MRL, SCI) and Columbia University (MBL).
FEBio offers modeling scenarios, constitutive models, and boundary conditions that are relevant to numerous research areas and specializes in the analysis of 3D multiphysics models that can undergo large deformations. Users can solve problems in solid mechanics, contact analysis, porous media problems, fluid mechanics, and as of version 2.8, fluid-solid interaction (FSI) problems as well. FEBio supports both quasi-static and dynamic analyses. A more detailed overview of FEBio's features follows below.
The source code for FEBio is publicly available but it is not considered Open-source software because it is only free for non-commercial use.
FEBio supports a plugin framework that allows users to easily extend and customize the set of features for their specific needs. Using this plugin framework users can develop new constitutive models, boundary conditions, body loads, nonlinear constraints, and even new finite element solvers (see e.g. the FEBioChem plugin, which implements a reaction-diffusion solver for solving chemical reactions in mixtures [1]).
Overview
A brief overview of the available features (as of version 2.8) follows. A more complete list can be found in the FEBio User's manual.
- Solid Mechanics
- Non-linear (quasi-) static, non-linear dynamic, energy conserving time integration schemes
- Hyperelastic materials (isotropic, transversely-isotropic, anisotropic), visco-hyperelastic materials, damage models, fiber materials.
- Rigid body mechanics and rigid-deformable coupling.
- Prescribed displacements, surface loads (e.g. pressure, traction), and body loads.
- Multiple tied and sliding contact formulations with or without friction.
- Solid 3D linear and quadratic elements (tetrahedral, hexahedral, pentahedral).
- Linear and quadratic shell elements that can be free, or placed on top or between solid elements.
- Multiphasic mechanics
- Biphasic, biphasic-solute, triphasic (two solutes), and multiphasic materials with multiple solutes.
- Steady-state or transient analysis conditions.
- Special contact formulations that take solvent and/or solute flow across contact interface into account.
- Solid-bound molecules that deform with the solid phase.
- Chemical reactions between solutes/solid-bound molecules.
- Specialized shell formulations for biphasic/multiphasic analyses.
- Fluid mechanics
- Steady-state and transient fluid dynamic analysis.
- Viscous fluid flow (Newtonian, Carreau, Carreau-Yasuda, Powell-Eyring, Cross).
- Flow stabilization algorithms.
- Fluid-solid interaction (FSI)
- Heat Transfer
- Steady-state and transient linear heat transfer analysis.
- Isotropic Fourier material.
- Prescribed and initial temperature boundary condition, heat flux and convective heat flux, heat source.
PreView and PostView
FEBio is a command-line application that only implements the solver and analysis algorithms. To assist with setting up FEBio models and analyzing the results, the PreView and PostView programs were developed.
PreView
PreView is a finite-element preprocessor that was specifically designed for setting up FEBio models using a graphical interface. It provides functionality for importing or generating 3D meshes, applying material parameters, setting up boundary, loading, and contact conditions, and defining analysis settings. Models are then exported to the xml-formatted FEBio input file.
PostView
PostView is a finite-element postprocessor that was designed for visualizing and analyzing the results from FEBio. FEBio stores results in the XPLT format, which can be imported in to PostView. PostView offers many visualizing tools such as contour plots, vector plots, plane cuts, isosurface and slice plots, streamlines and particle flows for flow visualization, and more. Users can take screenshots or record animations. Data can also be filtered and exported in various formats for further processing.
Support
Support for FEBio comes in various forms. A Theory manual and User manual are provided as part of the installation and are available online as well. [2] Users can also ask questions on the FEBio User forums [3], as well as report bugs and make new feature requests.
References
- ^ Maas, SA; Ellis BJ; Ateshian GA; Weiss JA (2012). "FEBio: Finite elements for biomechanics". Journal of Biomechanical Engineering. 134 (1).
- ^ Maas, Steve A.; Ateshian, Gerard A.; Weiss, Jeffrey A. (2017-06-20). "FEBio: History and Advances". Annual Review of Biomedical Engineering. 19 (1): 279–299. doi:10.1146/annurev-bioeng-071516-044738. ISSN 1523-9829.
- ^ Bonet, Javier; Wood, Richard (2008). Nonlinear Continuum Mechanics for Finite Element Analysis. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-83870-2.