FEM cloud structure analysis

FEM – structural analysis

Structural FEM analysis in the cloud with CalculiX and code_aster

Set up your model in PrePoMax or Salome-Meca on a remote desktop, or upload your input files, and run them on machines with the cores and the memory a large non-linear model needs. Parallel builds are already installed. You pay only while the machine runs.

Get 300 free vCPU hours FEM scalability guide
Static structural analysis of a bike frame
2.18 → latestCalculiX versions
17.0 → latestcode_aster versions
8 GBof RAM per vCPU on high-memory machines
300 hfree vCPU hours for new users
Solvers

Two open-source FEM codes, built for speed

The standard builds of CalculiX and code_aster run on one core. On cloudHPC they come compiled with parallel solvers, so large models finish in a fraction of the time.

1

CalculiX

  • Versions from 2.18 to the latest
  • PARDISO direct solver, multi-threaded on all cores; an MPI build is also available
  • Upload the .inp deck: *INCLUDE files can stay alongside
  • Native .frd and .dat outputs, ready for PrePoMax or CalculiX GraphiX
2

code_aster

  • Versions from 17.0 to the latest, compiled with MPI and PETSc
  • Upload the .export, the .comm and the .med mesh: paths from your PC are fixed automatically
  • Memory, time limits and OpenMP threads set from the machine you choose
  • The same build couples with OpenFOAM through preCICE for FSI and CHT

Elmer

Open-source multiphysics FEM: heat transfer, electromagnetics, acoustics and structural mechanics, with ElmerGUI on the remote desktop.

FEniCSx and FreeFEM

Write your own weak forms in Python or in the FreeFEM language, for research and non-standard physics.

OpenCourant

Explicit dynamics for crash, impact and drop tests, the successor of OpenRadioss. Learn more

What you can analyse

From a linear static check to fracture mechanics

Linear and non-linear

  • Non-linear materials: plasticity, orthotropic and composite materials
  • Non-linear geometry: large displacements and rotations
  • Contact between parts

Analysis types, alone or combined

  • Static, dynamic, modal and harmonic
  • Thermal and thermo-mechanical
  • Fatigue and fracture mechanics

Fracture mechanics

Crack propagation and stress intensity factors are among the most memory-hungry analyses: on cloudHPC you can choose up to 8 GB of RAM per vCPU and run several crack configurations at the same time.

Fracture mechanics analysis of crack propagation
Crack propagation analysis
Pre- and post-processing

Set up the model in the cloud, too

Start a remote desktop in your browser and prepare the model where it will run: no local install and no file transfers.

PrePoMax CalculiX

  • Imports STEP and IGES CAD
  • Meshes with Netgen and sets up the CalculiX analysis
  • Reads the results back for post-processing

Salome-Meca code_aster

  • Creates or imports CAD in STEP and IGES
  • Structured, unstructured and body-fitted meshing
  • Sets up code_aster studies and post-processes them in ParaVis, based on ParaView
Salome-Meca model set-up on a cloudHPC remote desktop
Salome-Meca results on a cloudHPC remote desktop
Choosing the machine

How many vCPU does my model need?

CalculiX

  • Set SOLVER=PARDISO on *STATIC
  • PARDISO scales up to about 200,000 nodes per core
  • Start on highcpu; move to standard, then highmem, only after a memory error

code_aster

  • Plan at least ~100,000 nodes per MPI process
  • Select at least twice the mpi_nbcpu of the .export in vCPU
  • Memory hungry: start on highcpu and move up only if needed

More details in the CalculiX and code_aster scalability guides.

Why cloudHPC

FEM without the IT work

Many scenarios at once

Load cases, materials or design variants on separate machines, all running at the same time.

Pay per use

No subscription and no licence: you pay per vCPU hour, only while the machine runs. Check the cost with the price calculator.

Training and support

Our engineers use these solvers on real projects and can help you set up and debug your models. Automate everything with the cloudHPC API.

Get started

Your first FEM run in five steps

  1. Register on cloudHPC and activate your account.
  2. Prepare the model locally or on a remote desktop with PrePoMax or Salome-Meca.
  3. Upload the input files to a storage folder.
  4. Choose the solver version and the machine, and launch.
  5. Post-process on the remote desktop, or download the results.

Run your next FEM model in the cloud

Create your account and get 300 free vCPU hours to try CalculiX and code_aster on your own models.

Create your account FSI and multiphysics