The finite-element method (FEM) is one of the main numerical analysis methods in continuum mechanics and mechanics of solids (Reference Huebner, Dewhirst, Smith and ByromHuebner and others, 2001). Through mesh discretization of a given continuous domain into a finite number of sub-domains, or elements, the method finds approximate solutions to sets of simultaneous partial differential equations, which express the behavior of the elements and the entire system. For decades this methodology has played an accelerated role in mechanical engineering, structural analysis and, in particular, snow mechanics. To the best of our knowledge, the application of finite-element analysis in snow mechanics has never been summarized. Therefore, in this correspondence we provide a table with a detailed review of the main FEM studies on snow mechanics performed from 1971 to 2012 (40 papers), for facilitating comparison between different mechanical approaches, outlining numerical recipes and for future reference. We believe that this kind of compact review in a tabulated form will produce a snapshot of the state of the art, and thus become an appropriate, timely and beneficial reference for any relevant follow-up research, including, for example, not only snow avalanche questions, but also modeling of snow microstructure and tire–snow interaction. To that end, this correspondence is organized according to the following structure. Table 1 includes all essential information about previously published FEM studies originally developed to investigate stresses in snow with all corresponding mechanical and numerical parameters. Columns in Table 1 provide references to particular studies, placed in chronological order. Rows correspond to the main model parameters and other details of each considered case.

In order to give an overview of the studies covered by this review, we briefly summarize them below. Previously considered physical and engineering problems in snow mechanics can be roughly separated into several major categories, namely:

We have omitted some studies from Table 1 because sufficient detail was not available to us (e.g. Reference Navarre and DesruesNavarre and Desrues, 1980; Reference SinghSingh, 1980). Others are omitted because they did not focus purely on mechanics; for example, some studies using FEM for snow or firn studies were mainly dedicated to heat transfer (at the microstructural level or at the snow–permafrost boundary), air ventilation within pore space, water infiltration or metamorphism (Reference Christon, Burns and SomerfeldChriston and others, 1994; Reference Tseng, Illangasekare and MeierTseng and others, 1994; Reference Meussen, Mahrenholtz and OerterMeussen and others, 1999; Reference Phillips, Bartelt and ChristenPhillips and others, 2000; Reference Pielmeier, Schneebeli and StuckiPielmeier and others, 2001; Reference AlbertAlbert, 2002; Reference Bartelt, Buser and SokratovBartelt and others, 2004; Reference Kaempfer, Schneebeli and SokratovKaempfer and others, 2005). Still others focused on the transition from solid to fluid (Reference Daudon and DufourDaudon and Dufour, 2011) or the phase-tracking snow microstructure model (Reference Slaughter and ZabarasSlaughter and Zabaras, 2012). Finally, FEM papers on tire–snow interaction may be found in references within Reference Haehnel and ShoopHaehnel and Shoop (2004) and Reference LeeLee (2009).

We hope that the papers collected in this review will serve to facilitate comparison between and assimilation of different mechanical approaches or numerical recipes, and that they will be useful for solving the many remaining problems.