OpenSees Overview

The Open System for Earthquake Engineering Simulation (OpenSees) is a software framework for simulating the static and seismic response of structural and geotechnical systems. It has advanced capabilities for modeling and analyzing the nonlinear response of systems using a wide range of material models, elements, and solution algorithms.

Learn How to Use OpenSees

Read step-by-step instructions on getting started and a detailed breakdown of version differences in the User Guide.

User Guide

Video Tutorials

Running OpenSees on the DesignSafe CyberInfrastructure - Scalability by Design, Nov. 14, 2023

Calibrating an OpenSees Material Model using Experimental Data in quoFEM, Dec. 10, 2021

Fluid-Structure Interaction with OpenFOAM and OpenSees with Hydro-UQ, Nov.19 2021

2021 DSA Hackathon: Automated Model Calibration for Cyclic Tests Using OpenSees & Jupyter Notebooks

WEBINAR - Using OpenSeesPy on DesignSafe, May 22, 2019

WEBINAR - OpenSees & DesignSafe, Oct. 31, 2018

SimCenter | Numerical Simulation of Concentrically Braced Frames using OpenSees, Oct. 10, 2017

WEBINAR - Leveraging OpenSees, Jupyter and DesignSafe: A Real World Walkthrough, May 3, 2017

OpenSees Official Resources

OpenSees Website

OpenSees GitHub

How to Cite OpenSees & DesignSafe

Please include both of these citations if you use OpenSees on DesignSafe.

OpenSees:

McKenna, F., Fenves, G. L, and Scott, M. H. (2000) Open System for Earthquake Engineering Simulation. University of California, Berkeley, http://opensees.berkeley.edu.

DesignSafe:

Rathje, E., Dawson, C. Padgett, J.E., Pinelli, J.-P., Stanzione, D., Adair, A., Arduino, P., Brandenberg, S.J., Cockerill, T., Dey, C., Esteva, M., Haan, Jr., F.L., Hanlon, M., Kareem, A., Lowes, L., Mock, S., and Mosqueda, G. 2017. “DesignSafe: A New Cyberinfrastructure for Natural Hazards Engineering,” ASCE Natural Hazards Review, doi:10.1061/(ASCE)NH.1527-6996.0000246.

Select a Version

Interactive VM for OpenSees

Get Started

Runs OpenSees interactively and responds to errors in real time.

OpenSees-EXPRESS (VM)

Get Started

Runs on a single core with basic computer-resources requirements and is easy to use.

OpenSeesMP

Get Started

Runs all the processors in parallel. Requires understanding of parallel processing and the capabilities to write parallel scripts.

OpenSeesSP

Get Started

Parallel version driven by a single processor. Easy to use even with limited knowledge about parallel computing.

Related Applications

GiD

Create mesh geometry of physical structures for simulations. Useful for finite element modeling.

  • Licensed

STKO

Visualize data from OpenSees with this Scientific ToolKit for OpenSees (STKO).

  • Earthquake
  • Licensed