History

The Finite Element Method, developed at Swansea University by Professor Olek Zienkiewicz in 1967, has enabled us to take a lead in computational modelling techniques that allow engineers to design ever more challenged structures and processes, with the minimal use of expensive experimental testing.

Over the last 50 years Swansea University has continued to be at the forefront of international research in the area of computational engineering.

We have pioneered the development of numerical techniques, such as the finite element method and associated computational procedures, that have enabled the solution of many complex engineering problems.

The Zienkiewicz Centre for Computational Engineering (ZCCE), formally known as the Civil and Computational Engineering Centre, continues to be one of the leading players in revolutionising the industrial engineering analysis practice, from slow and expensive experimental testing to efficient and cheap computational modelling, covering a wide range of Engineering disciplines and applications.

SwanSim

The SwanSim initiative started in 2016 in order to coordinate the release of a number of the simulation products developed within ZCCE as open source software, licensed under the GNU General Public License (GPL).

The first product to be released under SwanSim is the suite of FLITE Mesh Generators. This was chosen as mesh generation provides the basis for many different types of computational simulation.

Over time, the full range of capability developed within the ZCCE will be released.