A conception of module library and data base management system for finite element analysis

Abstract The paper discusses the necessity and feasibility of developing an F.E. program module library instead of the currently prevailing F.E. codes. Emphases are put on ‘adoptability’, which means that the modules can be readily adopted by users in their own programs, and ‘extensibility’, which means that the library can be readily extended by users with their own subroutines, and ‘re-organizability’, which means that the library can be readily ‘tailored’ to compose a special purpose program. To this end, a data base and its management system written in FORTRAN and independent of any operating system has been created. The paper will describe in detail the main features of them. Furthermore, the paper will try to introduce the architecture of this kind of F.E. module library in structural analysis. It is deemed that the development of the library will greatly benefit F.E. analysers, especially those who are faced with new ideas, new algorithms, new materials and new structures.