Overview#
𝜒ara (pronouced Kar-ah, like the Gaelic word for “friend”) is a free and open source tool for simulating the nonlinear response of structural and geotechnical systems. 𝜒ara is developed by PEER as an alternative front-end to the simulation framework proposed by McKenna (1997) and McKenna, Scott and Fenves (2010). The design of the interface was guided by the demands of the BRACE2 project, for which a suitably reliable and performant solution was not available.
Three main approaches are available for using 𝜒ara:
Build and analyze models securely in Python.
Use the older OpenSeesPy functions to analyze a globally scoped model.
Run old Tcl models or export from Python for faster runs.
All three approaches above require only a standard install of 𝜒ara.