Finite element analysis (FEA) is another part of Computer Aided Engineering (CAE). FEA is a computer simulation technique used in engineering analysis and design applications. It uses a numerical technique called the finite element method (FEM). There are many finite element software packages available, some are free and some proprietary.

A common use of FEA is for the computation of stresses (including thermal) and displacements in mechanical devices and systems. Other common use of FEA include fluid dynamics, heat transfer and electromagnetism.

Similar to Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) engineering modelling the FEA computation has three phases:

• Pre-processing – defining the finite element model including geometry and the physics environmental factors and boundary conditions
• Analysis – solution of finite element model using a Finite Element Method (FEM)
• Post-processing – of results (using visualisation tools)