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FEA Verification Report

This interactive report presents the results of eigenvalue analysis verification tests across multiple FEA software packages supported by ADA.

Open the interactive FEA verification report

Download the report: PDF · Word (DOCX) · OpenDocument (ODT)

The report is a standalone paradoc bundle with sortable tables, interactive 3D mode-shape viewers, and a frequency-vs-mode plot. Use the “← adapy docs” link in the report header to return.

About This Report

The FEA Verification Report compares eigenvalue analysis results across different:

  • FEA Software: Code_Aster, CalculiX, Abaqus, Sesam
  • Element Types: Line (beam), Shell, and Solid elements
  • Element Orders: 1st and 2nd order elements
  • Mesh Types: Triangular/Tetrahedral vs Quadrilateral/Hexahedral

Test Geometry

The verification tests use a standard IPE400 cantilever beam:

  • Length: 3.0 m
  • Material: S420 Carbon Steel
  • Boundary Conditions: Fixed at one end (cantilever)
  • Analysis Type: Eigenvalue (natural frequency) analysis

Results Interpretation

For each analysis configuration, the report shows:

  • Eigenvalue results for multiple vibration modes
  • Comparison across different FEA solvers
  • Percentage differences from reference values

Generating the Report

Two pixi tasks drive the report:

# Full build: runs every installed solver and bakes fresh mode-shape
# bundles into `_assets/`. Run automatically as part of `pixi run docs`.
pixi run -e docs fea-doc

# Rebuild reusing paradoc's task cache and whatever `_assets/` holds.
pixi run -e docs fea-doc-cached

The bundle lands at docs/_static/fea-report/ and is served as a standalone page (linked above). verification/_assets/ is a build directory and is not committed; the frontend resolves its GLBs by the data-3d-key attribute on each ThreeDView substitution.

Note

Code_Aster and CalculiX are installed in the docs environment and run on every build, CI included. Abaqus and Sesam need a licence, so a licensed machine commits what they measured and every other build replays it:

  • verification/.cache/<case>.json (and .cache-plate/ for the plate strip) holds the frequencies, eigenvalues, participation factors and effective masses;
  • verification/.cache/<case>/ beside it holds the raw mode shapes as an FEA artefact bundle (fea.mesh.glb, the nodal displacement blob and fea.manifest.json). A build copies it into _assets/ and renders the per-mode posters from it, so the PNGs are never committed.

A licensed run writes both whenever a JSON snapshot is saved (unset ADA_FEM_DO_NOT_SAVE_CACHE). Review the size of the bundles before committing them: a lean bundle is about 0.4–1.5 MB per case.