deal.II — The Complete Guide: A Free C++ Library for Adaptive Finite Elements
deal.II is one of the oldest and best-known finite-element libraries in the world, written in C++. It is not a ready-made program but a toolbox for building your own solver — with everything needed to make that solver fast, accurate and parallel.
deal.II
deal.II developer community
A leading C++ library for adaptive finite elements, from a laptop to a supercomputer, with dozens of detailed tutorials.
Get it from the vendorWhat you get
- Adaptive meshes — automatic mesh refinement where the error is large.
- High-order elements — high accuracy with few elements.
- Parallel computing — from a laptop to clusters with thousands of cores.
- Over a hundred tutorials — guided step-x programs in elasticity, flow, heat and electromagnetics.
- A large community — extensive documentation and an active forum.
Who it suits
Researchers, graduate students and developers of engineering software who need a dedicated solver. You need C++ and a grasp of the finite element method. On Windows you work through Docker or a virtual machine. An engineer who only wants a result for a routine problem is better served by software with an interface.
Related tools
A graphical program built on deal.II — Agros Suite. For automated formulation in Python — FEniCS. For a high-order library with GPU support — MFEM.
Agros Suite
University of West Bohemia, Pilsen
2D multiphysics finite-element simulation with a full graphical interface: electrostatics, magnetics, heat and structures.
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FEniCS
FEniCS Project
Solve partial differential equations by writing the variational form directly.
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MFEM
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
A high-order finite-element library from Livermore National Laboratory, with GPU support, for electromagnetics, mechanics and topology optimisation.
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ParaView
Kitware / Sandia / Los Alamos
Large-scale simulation post-processing — slices, streamlines and animation.
Get it from the vendorThe bottom line
deal.II is the classic choice for building a serious finite-element solver, with the best tutorials in the field.