New Features
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NASTRAN is a registered trademark of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. NX Nastran is an enhanced proprietary version developed and maintained by UGS Corp. MSC is a registered trademark of MSC.Software Corporation. MSC.Nastran and MSC.Patran are trademarks of MSC.Software Corporation. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
New NX Nastran Advanced Nonlinear Analysis-Solution 601 Alternate Method for Specifying Shell Thickness New Option for Special Handling of Duplicate Grid Points and Coordinate
Systems
Enhanced Processing for Min/Max Data in SOL 12 and 112 Ability to Export ADAMS Modal Neutral Files New ISRR Method for Complex Eigenvalue Extraction New Formulation for the CQUADR and CTRIAR Elements Hierarchic Domain Parallel Normal Modes via Lanczos Documentation Improvements Miscellaneous Enhancements
Models with large displacement and large strain conditions Models with 3D surface-to-surface contact Elastic-Plastic material models Mooney-Rivlin hyperelastic material models Gasket material models Static and dynamic solutions
Example problems which can now be solved using solution 601: Vehicle Crush Analysis:
Performs crush analysis of car body model Structure encounters large displacement and plastic deformations Load applied as either force or displacement of contact surface Materials included are elastic, plastic, and hyperelastic
Engine Gasket Seal Simulation:
Simulates gasket seal between an engine block and cylinder head to verify
that pressure will be contained
An incrementing internal pressure load is applied Structure has small displacement but hyperelastic deformation of the
gasket material
Simulates a cell phone dropping and impacting the ground Contact is defined between the phone battery and the inside of the case, and
between the phone exterior and the ground
The following examples have been provided in the install location NX_Nastran_Install_Path/nxn3/nast/tpl to demonstrate capabilities and to show the correct syntax for SOL 601 problems: gasket.dat, nlstat.dat, nltran.dat, panel2g.dat, sph_shell1a.dat, sph_shell1b.dat
entering a single thickness value (T) on the PSHELL card to be used for
all the corners of the element
New Option for Special Handling of Duplicate Grid Points and Coordinate Systems
In previous releases, if your model contained grid point cards with duplicate grid point IDs and/or coordinate system definitions (CORD1C, CORD1R, CORD1S, CORD2C, CORD2R, CORD2S), NX Nastran would report a fatal message and abort the solve. With this release, however, a new system cell, DPBLKTOL, has been added to allow you to control how the software handles such duplicates. By default, the DPBLKTOL cell is turned off (or DPBLKTOL set to a value < 0) and models containing duplicate grid point IDs or coordinate system definitions still fail to solve. However, if you turn DPBLKTOL on (DPBLKTOL set to a value of 0 or greater), NX Nastran uses some logic to ignore one of the duplicates and proceed with the analysis. Allowing a solve to proceed even if your model contains duplicate grid IDs and/or coordinate system definitions can be particularly useful when youre analyzing system models. For example, in some cases, you may need to build a series of component models and then import them into a single bulk data file. Instead of having to connect the individual components in the system model with rigid elements, you can now activate the DPBLKTOL option. If the grid point IDs you used to model the connections were coincident and identically labeled, NX Nastran will automatically join the models during the solve. To use the DPBLKTOL option:
Set DBBLKTOL < 0.0 (default) to have the software abort a solve if a
model contains duplicate GRID point IDs and/or coordinate system definitions.
the coordinates of the duplicate GRID IDs are within the specified
tolerance
only one (or none) of the duplicate cards has a defined local
coordinate system
the coordinate system types are identical the resulting coordinate system transformation matrices are
identical
The example isrr_sample.dat has been provided in the install location NX_Nastran_Install_Path/nxn3/nast/tpl to demonstrate how to correctly run a problem using the ISRR Method.
Shell offsets was implemented with the new CQUADR/CTRIAR The following mass matrices are used with CQUADR/CTRIAR:
Lumped only the translational masses are computed Coupled mass both the translational and rotational masses are computed
Solution 200 now supports shell offsets, material ply angle and
material ply thickness for the CQUADR/CTRIAR
Consistent surface loads have also been implemented for the new
CQUADR/CTRIAR By eliminating these limitations, the CQUADR/CTRIAR are now practical element choices for many analysis problems. The new CQUADR/CTRIAR formulation is recommended over the old, however, a new system cell 370 is available for reverting back to the old formulation.
Examples
Over the years, a number of models have been used to provide benchmark solutions in order to better understand the relative performance of various shell element formulations. A standard set of test cases, known as the MacNeal-Harder tests, have been used to gauge the accuracy of a finite element. In short, they have attempted to study the effects of different loading conditions on the various dynamics (membrane, bending, in-plane shear, out-of-plane shear, etc.) when the elements are perfectly formed and not so well formed (e.g. warped, skewed). The following table compares the new CQUADR, old CQUADR and the CQUAD4 using MacNeal-Harder test cases which consist of in-plane and out-ofplane loading and behavior: MacNeal-Harder Test Case Summary Element Loading Test Case DescriptionIn-Plane Out-of-Plane Element New Old CQUAD4 Loading Loading Shapes QUADR QUADR Patch Test Patch Test Straight Beam, Extension Straight Beam, Bending Straight Beam, Bending Straight Beam, Bending Straight Beam, Bending Curved Beam Curved Beam X X X X X X X X X Irregular A Irregular A All A,A,A B B A,A,B A A,A A A,A A B A A A,C,C A F,D A A,A D B
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X X X
B B C B A
B B A B A
For tests 3-8: All (R,T,P); Regular (R); Irregular (T,P) R - Rectangular, T - Trapezoidal, P- Parallelogram Shaped Elements A: Error is less than or equal to 2% B: Error is between 2% and 10% C: Error is between 10% and 20% D: Error is between 20% and 50% F: Error is greater than 50%
Most if not all commercial shell elements perform reasonably well under membrane loading. However, its worth pointing out that the new CQUADR (and to a certain extent the old CQUADR) performs much better under membrane loading than the CQUAD4 when the element is shaped like a trapezoid or parallelogram. For more information, see Finite Elements: Their Design and Performance, by Richard H. MacNeal, Marcel Dekker Inc., 1994, p 11. Although there are membrane behavior and performance differences between finite elements in certain classes (i.e. linear quadrilateral), the largest differences are in the way the bending and transverse shear behavior is handled (out-ofplane loading). The question of which elements perform best under a variety of loading configurations for flat, singly curved, and doubly curved surfaces is shown below for a number of test cases. For these bending test cases, the mesh is refined to show the rate of convergence. The problems studied are all linear static test cases and are part of the MacNealHarder test suite. All the results (displacements at a particular node) were
normalized, where 1 is the correct answer. Five mesh densities were used to show the rate of convergence. The number of elements on the X-axis refers to the number of elements per edge. The plots shown in the following examples describe the behavior of three element formulations:
New CQUADR (new default CQUADR in NX Nastran 3) Old CQUADR (default NX Nastran 2 CQUADR) CQUAD4
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Thin and Thick Rectangular Plate Model Description: Flat plate simply supported on all edges, uniform pressure loading over entire face, deflection result at plate center.
Thin Plate Results (t/L=.01): Demonstrates that CQUADR converges comparably with the CQUAD4 for a flat thin plate model under bending loads.
Thick Plate Results (t/L=.1): Demonstrates that CQUADR converges comparably with the CQUAD4 for a flat thick plate model under bending loads.
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30 Degree Skewed Plate Model Description: Flat plate simply supported on all edges, uniform pressure loading over entire face, deflection result at plate center.
30 Degree Skewed Plate Results: Demonstrates that the new CQUADR outperforms the CQUAD4 for coarse meshes with skewed elements.
Scordelis-Lo Roof
Scordelis-Lo Roof Model Description: Singly curved surface, 1/4 symmetry model, supported by rigid diaphragm on outer cylinder edges, gravity loading which results in both in-plane and out-of-plane element loading.
Scordelis-Lo Roof
1.6 Normalized Displacement 1.4 1.2 1 0.8 0.6 0.4 0.2 0 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 Mesh Density (elements per side) New CQUADR Old CQUADR CQUAD4
Scordelis-Lo Roof Results: Demonstrates that the CQUADR performs comparably to the CQUAD4 for a singly curved surface with uniform gravity loading.
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Pinched Cylinder
Pinched Cylinder Model Description: Singly curved surface, 1/4 symmetry model, supported by rigid diaphragm on outer cylinder edges, concentrated load which results in both in-plane and out-of-plane element loading.
Pinched Cylinder
1.2 Normalized Displacement 1 0.8 0.6 0.4 0.2 0 0 2 4 6 8 New CQUADR Old CQUADR CQUAD4 10 12
Pinched Cylinder Results: Demonstrates that CQUADR performs comparably to the CQUAD4 for a singly curved surface with concentrated loading.
Hemispherical Shell
Hemispherical Shell Model Description: Doubly curved surface, 1/8 symmetry model, concentrated loading conditions.
Hemispherical Shell
1.2 Normalized Displacement 1 0.8 0.6 0.4 0.2 0 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 Mesh Density (elements per side) New CQUADR Old CQUADR CQUAD4
Hemispherical Shell Results: Demonstrates that the CQUAD4 converges faster than the new CQUADR for doubly curved surfaces, yet the new CQUADR shows improvements over the old CQUADR.
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DMP/NCLUST Number of geometry partitions, result must be an integer. This new technology is available for SOL 103 only. You must use the EIGRL card, not the EIGR card, and both Fmin and Fmax must be specified. Fluid grids, disjoint structures and superelements are not permitted. In order to improve the balance of the frequency domain decomposition, the existing ALPHA tuning value of the EIGRL continuation card may be used. It may be possible that a problem is not large enough to be partitioned, in which case a message is printed and a serial execution is done. Running with dmp=1 will also result in a serial execution. When running on a cluster of multiprocessor workstations, it is recommended to set NCLUST to the number of workstations. The dmp value should then be NCLUST multiplied by the number of processors per workstation. Only homogeneous workstation environments are supported.
See Running Distributed Memory Parallel (DMP) Jobs in Chapter 4 of the NX Nastran Installation and Operations Guide for more information.
Documentation Improvements
This release includes a number of changes and improvements to the NX Nastran documentation set. These changes mark the initial stage in what will be an ongoing, multi-release effort to improve the content, structure, accuracy and usability of the Nastran documentation. Our focus in this initial release has been on improving Nastran documentation that describes the general use of the software. An in-depth analysis of the documentation revealed a very high degree of topic/content overlap between the Reference Manual, the Linear Static Analysis Users Guide, and the Getting Started Guide. We have:
created a new guide called the NX Nastran Basic Nonlinear Analysis Users
Guide to cover solutions 106 and 129. The material for this guide came largely from the section on nonlinear analysis from the Special Topics section of the old Reference Manual.
Miscellaneous Enhancements
Fatal Error for RBE3 with Unconnected Independent Grid Point If an RBE3 references an unconnected, independent grid point, it is typically an unintended modeling error. Previously, if you turned on AUTOSPC, the software would automatically restrain an unconnected grid point. The restrained degree of freedom would be listed in the F06 file along with other degrees of freedom restrained by AUTOSPC. In many cases, you may not have noticed such AUTOSPC messages, thus causing significant errors in your solution results. If
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AUTOSPC was turned off, a singularity exists message would be written to the F06, but the solve would have nevertheless continued and also possibly given poor results. Beginning in this release, NX Nastran will by default perform a check early in the solution to see if any of an RBE3s independent grid points are unconnected. If the software detects such a condition, it now issues a fatal message and aborts the solution. The new RBE3 check can be modified so only a warning is issued and the solution continues when unconnected grids are found by specifying the following on the nastran data line: nastran system(409)=1 The check for an unconnected node on an RBE3 is not performed for a superelement or dmp solution since an RBE3 in one superelement could be connected to another superelement. The example rbe3_error.dat has been provided in the install location NX_Nastran_Install_Path/nxn3/nast/tpl to demonstrate how NX Nastran will error when an RBE3 with an unconnected independent grid exists. Enhanced Residual Vector Response Calculation When residual vectors are used in a SOL 112 modal transient analysis, it is possible for the physical response to be incorrectly calculated because of an improper contribution from residual vector modes. The residual vector modes are calculated based on deformation from a static loading and are intended to only supply static effects. The residual modes have a calculated frequency that are always higher than the normal modes and thus are appended at the end of the normal modes. Physically, the residual mode frequencies are meaningless. In NX Nastran, the residual vector modes are treated the same as normal modes. Thus if the frequency content of the loading falls in the frequency range of the residual modes, they may become dynamically excited, which can lead to incorrect results. A new parameter RESVALT has been created to avoid this situation.
The default for the RESVALT parameter is NO, causing SOL 112 to
work like it always has.
When RESVALT is set to YES, the residual vector mode will not have
a dynamic contribution to the physical response.
Output of Stress and Force Results for SORT2 Format You can now write elemental results (stress, strain and force) in SORT2 format to the .op2 file for SOL 111 (modal frequency response) and SOL 112 (modal transient results). The example sort2.dat has been provided in the install location NX_Nastran_Install_Path/nxn3/nast/tpl to demonstrate the SORT2 output format. Component Mode Reduction of Residual Structure Command Modifications How you specify eigenvalue parameters for a component mode reduction of a residual structure (CMR of RS) has been changed. Previously the METHCMRS parameter you used for eigenvalue method selection. Now the creation of a new case control card, RSMETHOD, makes the method selection cleaner and provides a more understandable setup for solution. For this release, METHCMRS has been removed from the documentation, but when used in a solution will still be recognized. The plan is to phase the METHCMRS completely out in the next release of NX Nastran, thus it will no longer be supported. Because the alternative methods CMR of RS and Residual Vector are superior to the old Generalized Dynamic Reduction (GDR) method, we no longer support GDR. This means that the DYNRED case control and bulk data cards are no longer supported. To invoke an o-set or v-set eigen solution of the residual, you now use the RSMETHOD case control command. See the RSMETHOD case control command in the quick reference guide for input specifications. Other details related to the operation of the new RSMETHOD case control command are:
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subcase invokes an eigen solution on the o-set or v-set (as defined by ASET, BSET and/or CSET cards) of the residual structure. RSMETHOD specifies the EIGR or EIGRL card to be used for the eigen solution. The METHOD card specifies the eigen parameters for the final system eigen solve. SOL 103 $ SE MODAL FREQUENCY RESPONSE ANALYSIS CEND $ SET 100 = 0 SEALL = ALL $ SUBCASE 11 SUPER = 10 LABEL = SUPERELEMENT 10 METHOD = 10 $ SUBCASE 61 SUPER = 60 LABEL = SUPERELEMENT 60 METHOD = 60 $ SUBCASE 101 SUPER = 0 LABEL = RESIDUAL STRUCTURE SPC = 1 METHOD = 101 $ METHCMRS = 102 $ $ $ BEGIN BULK $ $ SE 10 EIGEN CALCULATION $ SESET 10 2 3 4 5 SPOINT 100001 THRU 100003 SEQSET1 10 0 100001 THRU 100003 EIGRL 10 0.0 3 1 $ $ SE 60 EIGEN CALCULATION $
SESET 60 12 13 14 15 SPOINT 600001 THRU 600003 SEQSET1 60 0 600001 THRU 600003 EIGRL 60 0.0 3 1 $ $ SE 0 $ SPC1 1 2 1 16 $ $ $ SYSTEM MODE CALCULATION EIGR 101 MHOU 9 $ $ $ CMR OF RS EIGEN CALCULATION ASET1 2 9 10 $ $ o-set or v-set EVP SPOINT 1000001 THRU 1000007 QSET1 0 1000001 THRU 1000007 EIGRL 102 0.0 7 $ ......
NX Nastran Version Stamp Now Written to OP2 Files A header is now written to the first line of the OP2 file to show which version of NX Nastran created the file. The 8-character header format is NX3.0 . The software writes the version stamp by default. However, you can turn the version stamp off by specifying system(407)=1 (or any non-zero value) on the nastran data line (usually the first line in the bulk data file). For example: nastran system(407)=1 Automatic Processing of Dependent and Independent DOF for Rigid Elements, Constraint Elements and MPC Equations In previous releases, Nastran required you to select independent and dependent dof when creating rigid elements, constraint elements and MPC equations. This can be tedious for models with large numbers of contraints. The parameter AUTOMPC is now available to eliminate the need to keep track of dependent and independent dof.
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