ProPHLEX—An hp-adaptive finite element kernel for solving coupled systems of partial differential equations in computational mechanics Original Research Article

This paper presents an overview of the basic design and architecture of the ProPHLEX hp-adaptive finite element kernel. ProPHLEX was designed to be a commercial, robust implementation of hp-adaptivity driven by residual error estimation with the primary goal of being physics independent and computationally efficient on a wide array of computer hardware platforms. ProPHLEX can solve virtually any class of engineering problems which be may be mathematically formulated as a system of linear or nonlinear second-order partial differential equations and associated boundary conditions. It has been applied to compressible and incompressible fluid dynamics, linear and nonlinear solid mechanics, heat flow problems, as well as semiconductor device simulation. Examples of ProPHLEX customization for linear and nonlinear solid mechanics are presented.