Advantages of OpenSees compared to other softwars?

[cctvcctv]

we have so many general and specific FEA softwares in practical engineering and research, such as Ansys, Sap2000, Adina, Abacus, etc.

Why need opensees? and what are the advances and uniques of OpenSees?

Thanks!

[hachem]

There are advantages and disadvantages.

Advantages: Open source, Open Architecture, FREE!, Specialized element and material models (like fiber beam-column element), parallel (yet to become usable), easy to add your element and material models (even solvers etc...), C++ Object Oriented design, Reliability analysis capabilities (udner development)

Disadvantages: under development, questionable robustness for professional applications, no general-purpose UI, no spectral analysis capabilities, no design check capabilities (but you can add your own!)

Others may want to add and/or correct me.

[silvia]

okey, hachem,
i'll write a script for "no spectral analysis capabilities" so you can take that one off the bottom list and move it up.
actually, you probably already have such a script you might want to share, don't you?

[pejman_opensees]

There are couple of advantages but mentioning them is a complement but as a disadvantage is it does not have a corotational nonlinear beam column element and that is exactly what I am going to add to this software. isnt it a good idea?

[silvia]

it does, you use the corotational transformation on the beam element.