FEMcell3D is an integrated simulation tool for the mechanobiology of cells and cell cultures.
FEMcell3D is aimed at a maximum of user friendliness. It is based on the finite element toolkit Gascoigne and offers the following features:
- Models:
- Coupling of chemical and mechanical processes within implicit time stepping schemes.
- Coupling of bulk and membrane processes within implicit time stepping schemes.
- Predefined visco-elastic models for bulk mechanics, which can be easily adapted by the user.
- Predefined models for membrane mechanics, e.g. variation of the Canham-Helfrich functional (Willmore flow) or nonlinear elastic membrane models.
- Discretisation:
- Representation of time dependent domains, e.g. cell shapes, and hypersurfaces, e.g. membranes, via Level Sets (Eulerian approach).
- Representation of time dependent domains and hypersurfaces via parametrisation of the initial domain (Lagrangian approach).
Examples:
Invagination of a sphere due to curvature generation: Finite element simulation of a purely mechanical shell model in which the point of invagination has been prescribed. (Visualisation with ParaView)
Deformation of a membrane due to chemical control: chemical control is due to a reaction-diffusion equation on the membrane and membrane mechanics are couple with an incompressible Stokes flow. (Visualisation with ParaView)