Salomé
Integrated open-source platform for pre- and post-processing
What is Salomé?
Salomé is an open-source platform dedicated to numerical modeling, meshing, and post-processing of scientific and industrial simulations. Co-developed by EDF and CEA, Salomé is now one of the cornerstones of the open-source simulation ecosystem in France and Europe.
Salomé provides a unified working environment where users can:
- Design CAD geometry (or import from external formats)
- Generate adapted 2D or 3D meshes
- Define and export boundary conditions for computation solvers (via wizard or Python script)
- Visualize and analyze simulation results
Salomé is not a solver per se. It is a multi-physics pre- and post-processing platform, designed to interface seamlessly with several computation solvers, including code_aster (mechanics, thermomechanics) and code_saturne (flow and thermal analysis).
A centralized interface for numerical simulation
Salomé is organized into specialized modules, enabling a complete simulation chain within a single interface (workbench). The most commonly used modules in the context of finite elements are:
- Geom: CAD geometry creation/editing, particularly useful for scripting
- Shaper: CAD geometry creation/editing through a modeler with geometric constraint management, sketches, ...
- Mesh: 1D/2D/3D mesh generation and editing
- Paravis: post-processing and results visualization
Thanks to these modules, users can execute all steps of a simulation without leaving their working environment, from geometry creation (or STEP import) to graphical analysis of numerical results.
The platform also features a powerful Python interface, enabling task automation, reproducible workflow construction, and integration into simulation-oriented CI/CD pipelines.
A platform suited to industrial and academic requirements
Performance & customization
Salomé Platform was designed for large industrial models:
- Support for standard CAD formats (STEP, IGES, BREP, etc.)
- Ability to generate complex, multi-domain meshes
- Possibility to write Python scripts to automate case generation or modification
- Integration with HPC computing (Salomé can be installed on a cluster)
Openness and interoperability
Salomé is fully open source, licensed under LGPL, and can be extended at will. It is built on powerful libraries such as OpenCascade, Paraview, and VTK. This allows:
- Adding custom modules or specific extensions
- Connecting Salomé to other open-source software
- Creating custom interfaces for specific workflows
Application domains
Salomé is used in a wide variety of domains:
- Energy and nuclear: modeling of components under complex loading
- Civil engineering: simulation of structures and infrastructure
- Automotive and transport: optimization of mechanical parts
- Numerical research: prototyping of new methods or physical couplings
- Education: pedagogical support for learning the complete simulation chain
Resources
Article
Annual code_aster & salome_meca User Day - March 30, 2026
Annual code_aster & salome_meca User Day on March 30, 2026 at EDF Lab Paris‑Saclay. A full‑day English event for developers, industrial and academic users.
