Overview
LFEM is built on modern element formulations: Timoshenko beams with full shear deformation, and MITC3/MITC4 shells free of shear locking. These elements give accurate results on thin and thick structures alike, without numerical pathologies.
Beyond linear statics, LFEM covers modal analysis, spectral response and buckling, as well as more demanding calculations: material and geometric nonlinearities, phased construction with arbitrary structural state changes and rheological laws for creep and shrinkage, and automated road and rail moving load sweeps for extreme effect extraction.
LFEM is optimised at every level: assembly, solving, operational search, display and export, making it highly performant. Cross-platform, the finite-element model can be viewed and solved alike on desktop, tablet or mobile, under Windows, macOS, iOS and Android.
Preview
Cable-stayed bridge
Steel-framed deck suspended from a pylon by stay cables. Deformation under a unit cable shortening: one step of stay-tension tuning. Displacement isocolors.
Finite elements
3D Timoshenko beam
12 DOF, constant or variable cross-section, shear-locking free, arbitrary orientation.
MITC4 / MITC3 shell
Quadrilateral and triangular Reissner-Mindlin elements, shear-locking free.
Cables & bars
Uniaxial element carrying axial force only (3D truss bar), with optional tension-only nonlinear behaviour for cables and stays.
Prestress
Pre-tensioning and post-tensioning, internal or external tendons, arbitrary tendon profile, instantaneous and long-term losses.
Rigid link
Rigid-body kinematics: master-slave constraint between nodes.
Spring link
6 independent stiffnesses between two nodes, optional nonlinear laws (elasto-plastic, gap, bilinear, friction).
Boundary conditions
Rigid supports
Degree-of-freedom restraints: fixed, pinned, sliding.
Elastic supports
Spring stiffness in translation and/or rotation on each degree of freedom.
Matrix supports
Full 6×6 stiffness matrix at the node, with coupling between degrees of freedom.
Beam and shell on elastic foundation
Winkler foundation: distributed soil springs, constant or depth-varying reaction modulus.
Nonlinear supports
Nonlinear force-displacement laws: gap, elasto-plastic, bilinear, friction.
Analysis types
Linear static
Load cases, combinations and result envelopes, within linear elasticity.
Moving loads
Automatic influence lines, concomitant max/min envelopes.
Phased construction
Element activation/deactivation, scientific creep and shrinkage, cable tensioning.
Modal analysis
Natural modes, frequencies and effective modal masses.
Spectral seismic
Modal spectral analysis, modal and directional combination.
Geometric nonlinearity
Second-order analysis: large displacements and large rotations.
Material nonlinearity
Nonlinear section behaviour coupled with SectionPro: moment-curvature laws and tangent stiffnesses.
Buckling (Euler)
Critical loads and buckling modes: stability analysis.
Quality of life
Auto-meshing
Automatic discretisation of beams and of plate or shell zones defined by an outline polygon, with controllable density.
Parametric models
Variables, loops and conditionals describe complex geometry in a compact text file, easy to version and reuse across projects.
Real-time 3D viewer
Interactive 3D model and results (rotate, pan, zoom, preset views), updated live as you edit.
Results visualisation
Multi-palette isocolors, deformed shape, internal-force diagrams (M, V, N) and support reactions, min/max envelopes.
Smart editor
Validation on run: errors and warnings pinpointed by line, plus syntax highlighting and keyword auto-completion.
Section library
Coupling with SectionPro: mechanical-property computation, 3D solid rendering of sections, and a thin-walled section solver.
Pricing
Simple, transparent pricing
Free
To get started.
- Build & view models
- Desktop, tablet & mobile
- Limited number of DOFs
Monthly
No commitment.
From29,99 € / month
- Linear static solver (beams & shells)
- +Dynamic, nonlinear & bridge modules (optional)
Annual
Billed yearly.
From299,99 € / year
- Linear static solver (beams & shells)
- +Dynamic, nonlinear & bridge modules (optional)
Lifetime
One-time license.
From1 499 €
Optional annual updates.
- Linear static solver (beams & shells)
- +Dynamic, nonlinear & bridge modules (optional)
Early access
Join the waitlist
Be notified when LFEM launches and get priority access.