The design, development, documentation and support of a major finite element system

Abstract

The paper discusses various aspects of large general purpose finite element systems which may be of interest both to prospective developers and practising engineers. Although many of the points discussed apply to any field in which the method has been used, attention is concentrated on the static stress analysis problem. The paper considers in detail the initial design decisions concerning program structure, language, usage of available core storage, and methods of accessing backing store. The various facilities which may be of use in such a general system are listed and discussed. The problems which may arise as the development of a system proceeds are considered in three phases; specification, programming and testing. The types of documentation relevant to large engineering systems are described and the importance of an efficient and well organised client support and updating procedure is stressed.