Femora: Fast Efficient Meta-Modeling for OpenSees-based Resilience Analysis

Overview: What Is Femora?

Femora is a computational engineering platform for building and managing advanced OpenSees-based finite element models. It provides a structured framework for model assembly, meshing, interface definition, execution setup, and result processing in a repeatable workflow.

Rather than operating as a loose collection of scripts, Femora functions as a meta-modeling layer that standardizes how complex models are generated and executed. This improves reproducibility, scalability, and maintainability for resilience-oriented engineering studies.

Why It Matters

Complex FEM workflows: advanced models often require many manual steps that are hard to maintain and reproduce.
Soil-structure interaction: coupled models require careful interface treatment, consistent meshing, and robust setup logic.
Meshing bottlenecks: large-scale simulation campaigns are limited when meshing and assembly remain mostly manual.
HPC execution complexity: preparing and running distributed simulations introduces significant orchestration overhead.
Scalable domain decomposition: efficient partitioning is critical to unlock performance for large engineering systems.

Key Capabilities

DRM for Consistent 3D Input

Implements Domain Reduction Method pipelines for physically consistent 3D wave input to regional-to-local seismic simulations.

PML Boundary Modeling

Supports Perfectly Matched Layers to absorb outgoing waves and reduce artificial reflections at model boundaries.

Embedded Elements

Provides embedded beam-solid workflows for deep foundations and pile-soil interaction in complex geotechnical systems.

Automated Assembly

Automates model assembly and simulation workflow generation to reduce repetitive setup and improve reliability.

Flexible Decomposition

Enables configurable domain decomposition strategies for scalable execution on multi-core and distributed HPC systems.

Workflow Example

Femora allows interface definitions to be expressed programmatically and integrated directly into automated model generation pipelines:

fm.interface.EmbeddedBeamSolidInterface(
    name="PileSoilInterface",
    beam_part="PileGroup",
    radius=0.5,
    n_peri=8,
    n_long=10
)

This kind of interface-driven workflow helps keep advanced pile-soil models physically meaningful while remaining scalable and reproducible.

Visual Modules

Replace each placeholder with your Femora figures as they become available.

Building + layered soil + piles model

System-scale model with superstructure, layered basin, and foundation interaction.

Central Femora engine diagram

Architecture view showing how Femora orchestrates assembly, solve, and post-processing stages.

Embedded beam-solid interface example

Detail view for pile-soil coupling through embedded element interfaces.

Domain decomposition example

Partitioned model layout for scalable distributed simulation.

Layered soil basin image

Representative layered geotechnical basin setup for seismic resilience studies.

Collaborate on Femora

Femora is actively evolving as a framework for scalable OpenSees-centered resilience analysis. Collaboration is welcome across computational mechanics, software engineering, and high-performance simulation workflows.

GitHub Documentation (Coming Soon) Contact / Collaboration