An expert system for the verification of finite-element calculations

A prototype expert system for the verification of finite-element analysis data with a graphical hypertext user interface for use in industry and academia is presented. This tool assists novice users in identifying problems and errors associated with finite-element simulations. Due to the use of object-oriented programming paradigms, no changes in program architecture other than the definition of new methods are required when porting the knowledge based expert system to be used with other finite-element solvers. The main knowledge base used in the error and problem identification is easily expandable by incorporating error reports from users. A complete system, supporting a wide variety of potential problems, can thus be incrementally assembled by a knowledge engineer. A separate knowledge base can be generated for each finite-element package which is to be supported by the expert system. The problem of usability of the expert system is addressed using hypertext output that can be accessed with state-of-the-art browsers. This technology effects the acceptance, readability and operation of any software tool in a positive way.