OpenSees Cloud

OpenSees AMI

OpenSees Smarter, Not Harder

Original Post - 27 Nov 2022 - Michael H. Scott

Visit Structural Analysis Is Simple on Substack.

Having established the use of OpenSees as a verb, you knew adverbs that describe how one OpenSeeses wouldn’t be far behind.

For example:

• How did it go today?
  I OpenSeesed slowly. I had planned to build a frame model but got distracted by kitten videos.
• How was the workshop?
  It was good. I learned some useful tips on how to OpenSees well.

But what is the best use of adverbs with OpenSees?

OpenSees smarter, not harder.

Use variables. Use units.

Define procedures and functions for repeated tasks. Write loops.

Think critically about your model before you decide high performance computing is the only way to speed up your analyses. Do you need that many fibers? Do you need that many elements? Do you need that small of a time step? Does the tolerance have to be that low?