How easy is the program? How quickly you can create and analyze a model using the program after installing? Use the sample problems in this book and see how quickly you can analyze the structures with your programs.
Try reading the programs’ manuals at first. See if you can analyze models successfully by just reading the example problems rather than by getting help from the developers.
How good is the interface? Does the program follow standard Windows conventions? For example, pressing F1 should bring context sensitive help and Ctrl+O should show Open File… dialog box.
How good is the visualization? Does the model look similar to actual structure? Does it offer dynamic viewing? Can it show the model in VRML format?
Can it generate complex models automatically? For example, to generate a 10x10 bays 20-story building, the program should draw the model by itself. Can it create finite element mesh automatically? Can you control the size of mesh yourself?
Before buying a program decide what features you do really need. There is no justification of buying a high-end ‘feature overloaded’ expensive finite element analysis program if your main purpose is building-frame analysis. Such programs are generally much less expensive. In general, most civil engineering design firms do not need high-performance FEA programs. Only a frame analysis program will serve the purpose in most of the cases. FEA is still mainly used in mechanical engineering.
Does the program is ‘forgiving’? Can it check model for instability or buckling by itself? Does it allow ‘snapping’ members to intersection or end points?
How good is the program’s post processing capability? Can it show force diagrams for any individual member? Can you clearly see the reaction forces in the result? Can it display bending moment or shear force values in the respective diagram?
What about generating report of analysis? Does it have the option of displaying tailor made report specific to project requirement or it just dumps 100 pages of numbers without telling you what to do with them?
Check if your program is compatible with other programs in the market. Many programs allow copy-paste option with spreadsheet programs. Some offer cross platform (i.e. different operating system) compatibility. Check if the program can import/export models from/to CAD or other analysis programs.
Next comes the design part. Some programs do not offer design capability according to your country code. This may dictate you to choose an inferior program just for the sake of design calculation. Unlike analysis, design is not something impossible to do manually. Sometimes, it is possible to ‘tailor made’ other codes according to your country codes. For example, in reinforced concrete design, Euro code and Indian code give almost identical values of steel area. You can use one code instead of other without much loss of accuracy. So, the choice is yours.
An important point – how good is the customer support? Some companies may offer free technical support by phone/e-mail. Others may insist on annual maintenance contact (and demands a hefty sum for it). But to use high-end FEA programs, you really need developers support. There will be many situations when you will require technical support to know what a particular command does or whether the program does a particular calculation automatically etc. Lastly, what is your budget? Can you afford buying the program what impresses you most? Some finite element analysis programs are very fascinating but their prices often make them affordable by large corporate firms only.
Ask the vendors whether they offer free demo. Some generous companies may offer 30-day full product trial. However, most companies offer limited capability (e.g. 100-node maximum) demos. These limited demos may hide the programs actual performance from you. You may not realize certain pitfalls of the program unless you use full product for sometime. Therefore, try to select your program from those, which offer full-product tryouts. Sometimes even the low cost commercial versions of the programs do have node or member size limitation (e.g. 1500 nodes maximum for SAP2000 Standard version)!
Many structural analysis programs nowadays come with hardware locks (hasp/dongle) as copy protection. It means that if you want to use the programs in more than one computer, you need to pay more! Although it may be against
make another copy in your laptop computer. But copy protection will prevent you even doing that. Remember this while selecting your program.
Since these programs are quite expensive it does not make sense to change your analysis programs frequently. More so, new programs may not open or analyze your existing old projects. So, when you will select programs, you have keep in mind that you must use it continuously for a couple of years at least. Ask the developers how they like to upgrade their products in the near future.
My main aim is to make you realize that you must try the programs first before making a final decision on purchase. Every company will boast that their products are the best. They will swamp you with pictures of structures designed using their programs! Very few companies offer you a money back guarantee with first few weeks of purchase. Therefore, it is not an easy task to choose the most suitable product for your need. But if you follow the above guidelines you may by a gainer.