elementa 1.0.0

Elementa: open-source finite element method (FEM) simulation workbench.

Elementa

Open-source Finite Element Method (FEM) simulation workbench for Python

Documentation · Quickstart · Examples · Contributing

---

Overview

Elementa is a desktop FEM simulation environment built entirely in Python. It combines a parametric CAD modeller, an automatic mesh generator, physics solvers, and an interactive results viewer in a single application — without requiring commercial licences or external solvers.

Feature	Details
Geometry	2-D (rectangle, disk, polygon) and 3-D (box, sphere, cylinder) primitives with boolean operations
Meshing	Automatic triangular / tetrahedral meshing via gmsh
Physics	Electrostatics · Heat Transfer (stationary & transient)
Solvers	scikit-fem FEM back-end; backward-Euler time stepping
Post-processing	Surface plots, arrow / vector plots, point & line probes
Parameters	Symbolic parametric expressions with dependency resolution
File format	Portable .elem project archive (ZIP-based JSON + mesh + results)

---

Screenshots

---

Quickstart

Requirements

• Python 3.10 – 3.12
• A working C compiler (required by gmsh wheels on some platforms)

Install from PyPI

pip install elementa

Launch the GUI

elementa
# or
python -m elementa

Install from source

git clone https://github.com/soheilgreen/elementa.git
cd elementa
pip install -e ".[dev]"

---

Physics Modules

Electrostatics

Solves the Poisson equation for electric potential:

$$-\nabla \cdot (\varepsilon_0 \varepsilon_r \nabla \varphi) = \rho$$

Boundary conditions: Electric Potential, Ground, Surface Charge Density, Zero Charge
Results: Electric potential φ (V), Electric field E (V/m)

Heat Transfer

Solves the heat equation (stationary and transient):

$$\rho C_p \frac{\partial T}{\partial t} - \nabla \cdot (k \nabla T) = Q$$

Boundary conditions: Temperature, Heat Flux, Convection, Thermal Insulation
Results: Temperature T (K), Heat flux q (W/m²)

---

Project Structure

elementa/
├── elementa/
│   ├── __init__.py          # Package metadata
│   ├── __main__.py          # CLI entry point
│   ├── assets/              # Icons and images
│   ├── cad/
│   │   └── cad.py           # gmsh CAD wrapper (ElementaCAD)
│   ├── core/
│   │   ├── cad_builder.py   # Orchestrates geometry build from project state
│   │   ├── evaluator.py     # Parametric expression evaluator
│   │   ├── exceptions.py    # Custom exception hierarchy
│   │   ├── geometry_registry.py  # Shape descriptors registry
│   │   ├── logger.py        # Logging configuration
│   │   ├── material_library.py   # Built-in material database
│   │   └── project_state.py # Central state + serialisation
│   ├── physics/
│   │   ├── base.py          # PhysicsState data class
│   │   ├── registry.py      # Plugin registry & descriptors
│   │   ├── electrostatics.py
│   │   └── heat_transfer.py
│   └── ui/
│       ├── main_window.py   # Main application window
│       ├── graphics_canvas.py
│       ├── model_builder.py
│       ├── plot_window.py
│       ├── expr.py          # Safe mathematical expression evaluator
│       └── panels/          # Dockable settings panels
├── docs/                    # GitHub Pages documentation
├── tests/                   # Test suite
├── pyproject.toml
├── CHANGELOG.md
├── CONTRIBUTING.md
└── LICENSE

---

Adding a New Physics Module

Elementa uses a plugin architecture. To add a new physics solver:

1. Create elementa/physics/my_physics.py
2. Subclass PhysicsDescriptor and implement assemble_and_solve()
3. Call register_physics(MyDescriptor) at module level
4. Import it in elementa/physics/__init__.py

See docs/guides/adding-physics.md for a complete walkthrough.

---

Dependencies

Package	Purpose
PyQt6	GUI framework
gmsh	CAD geometry & mesh generation
scikit-fem	FEM assembly & solvers
NumPy	Numerical arrays
Matplotlib	Results visualisation

---

Contributing

Contributions are very welcome! Please read CONTRIBUTING.md before opening a pull request.

• Bug reports → GitHub Issues
• Feature requests → GitHub Issues
• Pull requests → see CONTRIBUTING.md

---

License

Elementa is released under the GPL v3 License.