VISUAL NASTRAN FOR WINDOWS A BEGINNERS GUIDE

NAME: STUDENT No.: DATE: SUBMISSION:

Ivan Rivera 33595960 5 September 2003 Dr. Bill Daniel MECH 3950 MECH 4550 MECH 4950

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................... 1 MODELLING SEQUENCE ................................................................................... 1 BASIC FUNCTIONS .............................................................................................. 2 VIEWING FUNCTIONS .............................................................................................. 2 GROUPING.............................................................................................................. 3 GEOMETRY........................................................................................................... 4 MESHING ............................................................................................................... 5 LOADING AND CONSTRAINING....................................................................... 6 ANALYSIS .............................................................................................................. 8 OTHER TIPS .......................................................................................................... 9 FILE RECOVERY ...................................................................................................... 9 INFORMATION EXPORT.............................................................................................10

Introduction
Visual Nastran for Windows is a powerful finite element analysis software that is widely used in engineering design. While the software has powerful modelling and analysis capabilities it lacks a user friendly interface. On the other hand programs like Strand 7 are much easier to use but they lack the extensive functions found in Visual Nastran for Windows. This document aims to guide a novice user thought the basic functions of Visual Nastran for Windows to minimize the often common delays that can be experienced while becoming familiarised with this software.

Modelling Sequence
Visual Nastrans versatility allows users to complete models in several ways. This document details what is provably the easiest way to build a model. The general idea is to firstly define the geometry of the model, mesh this geometry, load & constrain the mesh and lastly analyse this model. Figure 1 below shows the basic idea behind modelling with Visual Nastran.

MESH GEOMETRY

Nodes Elements Materials Properties

IMPORT OR MAKE GEOMETRY

Points Surfaces Solids/Volumes

LOAD & CONSTRAIN MODEL

Loads Constraints Degrees of freedom

ANALYSE THE MODEL

Load/Constraint Cases Fatal Analysis Errors

Figure 1. Basic Modelling Steps for Visual Nastran for Windows

To correctly and timely complete the above steps there are certain functions that a user must firstly get aquainted with; these include viewing functions and grouping functions.

VISUAL NASTRAN FOR WINDOWS 1

BEGINNERS GUIDE

Basic Functions
Viewing Functions The viewing options in Visual Nastran are extensive and at times can be daunting. Credit must however be given for the versatility of the viewing options available, regardless of the evidently crowded options and the absence of real-time model regeneration. Some of the most useful viewing functions and tools are detailed hereunder. REGENERATE Menu ViewRegenerate Keyboard CTRL G This function regenerates the screen image. Updates made to a model are often not displayed on the screen and the N/A Button regenerate function must be used to display these changes. For example, if a node is deleted the node will still be displayed on the screen until the view is regenerated using this function. AUTOSCALE Menu ViewAutoscaleVisible Keyboard CTRL A This function scales the screen image to fit entirely on the screen. As a result the image is also centred on the screen N/A Button and thus this function can be used to centre the rotation axis when the rotation functions rotate the model off-centre. MESSAGE WINDOW N/A Menu Keyboard N/A (double Button click on window)

The message window communicates all relevant actions (or results of these functions) to the user. The information shown in the window is at times critical. In the normal view the window displays three lines of information, to view the messages that preceded these three lines use the scroll bar located at the bottom right hand side of this window. Alternatively the window can be expanded to fit the screen by double-clicking on it. The message window can be reverted to its original size by double-clicking on it once again.

VIEW QUICK OPTIONS Menu ViewOptions . . .Quick Options . . . Keyboard CTRL Q This function opens a window with several viewing options. The menu allows the user choose what is displayed on the Button screen. This can be done by choosing general groups (geometry, mesh, constraints, etc) or by choosing individual entities (surfaces, nodes, pressure, etc).

VISUAL NASTRAN FOR WINDOWS 2

BEGINNERS GUIDE

VIEW OPTIONS Menu ViewOptions . . . This function allows you to choose very specific viewing Keyboard F6 options. The view options are grouped under three headings; Button Labels, Entries and Colour, Tools and View Style and Options. PostProcessing

Grouping Grouping is a very useful feature of Visual Nastran. It is used to separate geometry and/or model entities into groups. The grouping tools can be used for visualisation purposes, or to allow the user to edit specific entities. It is also possible to run an analysis on specific groups, this means that one could have several models in a single file each defined by an specific group. It is also important to note that one entity can belong to several groups at a time. This tool is exceptionally practical and provably one of the best features of the software. The most common functions are detailed below.

GROUP SET Menu GroupSet . . . Keyboard ALT F2 This function can be used to create a new group. This is done by typing a new group number and name and pressing OK. Button Alternatively one can activate an existing group by simply (double choosing the desired group and pressing the OK button. click) AUTOMATIC ADD Menu GroupOperationsAutomatic Add . . . When this function is activated all the work the user does Keyboard N/A will be added to the active group. If the feature is not N/A Button activated the new entities added will not be put in any group but will still be part of the whole model.
ADD/REMOVE ENTITIES Menu Group(desired entity eg. Node) (desired method eg. ID) This function is used to add/remove enties to/from a group. Keyboard N/A When using this function make sure to select Add to add N/A Button entities, and Exclude to remove entities from a group.

MODEL DATA Menu ViewSelect . . . Model Data . . . This option can be used to aid the manipulation of groups Keyboard N/A and the entities contained in them. It allows you see the N/A Button active group (active option), or have an active group while viewing another (select option), or having an active group while viewing the whole model (none option).

VISUAL NASTRAN FOR WINDOWS 3

BEGINNERS GUIDE

Geometry
The geometry can be created within Visual Nastran or it can be imported form an external source. It is recommended that the geometry be imported into Visual Nastran from a CAD program. The geometry building capabilities of Visual Nastran are limited and time consuming to use, however they are essential to edit imported geometry. Some useful functions and tools are detailed below. GEOMETRY IMPORT Menu FileImportGeometry . . . This function is used to import geometry files into Visual Keyboard N/A Nastran. It must be noted that the educational version will Button not allow all listed file types to be imported. One of the better file types are Parasolid files. They are relatively small in size they can be imported into the educational version of Nastran and they can be exported from the vast majority of CAD software. CONVERT UNITS Menu ToolsConvert Units . . . This function can be used to scale geometry. When Keyboard N/A importing geometry the software will automatically choose N/A Button to scale all SI unit files to imperial units (x39.37). If the user changes the scale from 39.37 to 1 the geometry will be rescaled by the software afterwards (without prompting) when the geometry is edited or checked. It is recommended that the imported files be scaled as suggested by Nastran upon importing and then rescaled using this function when all geometry manipulation and checking is complete. SOLID CLEANUP Menu GeometrySolidCleanup . . . This function is used to remove redundant geometry and Keyboard N/A Sliver surfaces and also to check the solid for any possible N/A Button errors. This function must be used prior to meshing a solid. AUTOMATIC MIDSURFACE Menu GeometryMidsurfaceAutomatic . . . This function automatically extracts midplanes from solid Keyboard N/A geometry. This is highly useful when a solid model with N/A Button thin walls is imported. Rather than meshing the solid one can extract the midsurfaces from the solid and mesh these surfaces with plate elements. This saves memory and reduces analysis time. It must be noted that this feature is far from perfect and some editing of the surfaces is almost always required after the midsurfaces are extracted.

VISUAL NASTRAN FOR WINDOWS 4

BEGINNERS GUIDE

COINCIDENT POINTS CHECK Menu ToolsCheckCoincident Points . . . This function is used to check if two points are in the same Keyboard N/A location (or very close to each other). Coincident Points are N/A Button unfavourable because they produce a poor mesh with coincident nodes in it (among other problems).

MESHING
The most efficient way to build a mesh is using existing geometry. It is also very easy to produce a poor mesh if the geometry is unfavourable. It is especially important to leave out or suppress small details in the geometry to avoid clustered sections of the mesh in these regions. The geometry should also be checked thoroughly prior to meshing it. It is much wiser to get the geometry right first to produce a good mesh, rather than editing and fixing a poor mesh. Some of the basic meshing functions are shown below. AUTOMATIC MESHING Menu MeshGeometry(desired geometry entity eg. Surface) This function will mesh the desired geometry. It is Keyboard N/A important to set the desired mesh size prior to running this Button function. Some solids with internal features (eg. deep holes) may produce a poor mesh (eg. skipping internal surfaces). To avoid this, surface meshing should be done first, then any (select desired) problems with the surface mesh can be fixed, and finally the meshing of the solid can be carried out using the solids from elements function. DEFAULT MESH SIZE Menu MeshMesh ControlDefault Size . . . This function is used to set the desired mesh size. This is Keyboard N/A especially important for the educational version of Visual N/A Button Nastran as it only allows 40 000 nodes to be analysed. This limit can be easily exceeded if the default mesh size is too small. VIEW SELECT (FREE EDGE/FACE) Menu ViewSelect . . . This function can be used to check a mesh. The free edge Keyboard F5 option is used for plates and the free face option is for Button solids. If the mesh has no errors nothing will be displayed on the screen when the function is used. If free edges or faces are shown on the screen it is an indication that elements are not joined-up in the displayed section(s). This requires further investigation.

VISUAL NASTRAN FOR WINDOWS 5

BEGINNERS GUIDE

CHECK COINCIDENT NODES Menu ToolsCheckCoincident Nodes . . . This function identifies if there are any coincident nodes and Keyboard N/A merges them where it is possible. N/A Button

Loading and Constraining

Loading and Constraining is very straightforward with the additional option of applying loads and constraints to geometry linked to elements and nodes. There are benefits and disadvantages in using the geometry to apply load and constraints, these are explained in the functions detailed hereunder. LOAD Menu Keyboard Button ModelLoad(select desired entity eg. Surface, element, etc.) N/A Loads can be applied to either the mesh or the geometry. In many instances it is easier to apply loads to the geometry rather than the mesh. It must be noted that only the elements/nodes associated with the specific geometry will (select desired) be loaded. See the Associativity function for further information.

CONSTRAINT Menu ModelConstraint(select desired entity eg. Surface, node, etc.) Keyboard N/A Constraints may also be applied directly to nodes using the Button geometry. However it must be noted that when constraining geometry-linked entities, there is far less control over the degrees of freedom that are constrained. When constraining a model using the geometry Nastran prompts three options, (select (1) fixing the nodes completely, (2) pinning the nodes or (3) option) constraining the rotation. On the other hand when the nodes are constrained directly one has complete control over the individual degrees of freedom (six in total). ASSOCIATIVITY Menu ModifyAssociativity(select Node or Element) This function can be used to link specific elements and/or Keyboard N/A nodes to the geometry. This is useful when a part of the N/A Button mesh that is linked to geometry is deleted and replaced by user-defined elements. These user-defined elements are not associated/linked with the underlying geometry and thus will not be loaded/constrained when the geometry is used to load or constrain the mesh.

VISUAL NASTRAN FOR WINDOWS 6

BEGINNERS GUIDE

LOAD/CONSTRAINT COMBINE Menu Model(select Load or Constraint) Combine . . This function allows the user to combine sets of loads or Keyboard N/A constraints together. N/A Button LOAD SCALE Menu ModifyUpdate OtherScale Load . . . This function allows you to scale specific loads. Keyboard N/A N/A Button ENFORCED DISPLACEMENT Menu ModelLoadNodal . . . (in this window select displacement) When a nodal displacement load is applied, the node must Keyboard N/A also be constrained in the direction(s) of the displacement. If Button this is not done the displacement will not take affect during then analysis. BODY LOAD Menu ModelLoadBody . . . Body loads are used to impose a load on the whole Keyboard N/A mesh/model. This is especially useful when gravity is an N/A Button important factor.

VISUAL NASTRAN FOR WINDOWS 7

BEGINNERS GUIDE

Analysis
Running an analysis is very simple and remarkably quick, even for large models. However running an analysis is not always painless task, quite often fatal error messages are the resulting output. This section runs through some of the problems that may be experienced when analysing a model. Some simple functions are also detailed bellow. CHECKS Menu Keyboard Button

As per previously detailed Checks. Make sure to run all the mesh-associated checks on your N/A model prior to analysing. Also make sure to check for free N/A edges and /or faces.

ANALYSE Menu FileAnalyse This function allows you to choose the loading and Keyboard N/A constraint cases. You also have the option of analysing the N/A Button whole model or just a specific group. You will be asked to save the model prior to analysing it; if you choose not to save the model the analysis will be terminated.

Hereunder are three common Fatal Messages that may be encountered. The description under the Fatal Message will be true in most cases, however these messages may arise due to a number of reasons and the explanations show here may not always apply. DMAP FATAL MESSAGE 9050 (SEKR) - RUN TERMINATED DUE TO EXCESSIVE PIVOT RATIOS IN MATRIX KOO. USER PARAMETER BAILOUT MAY BE USED TO CONTINUE THE RUN This fatal message may be the result of constraining. The model must be constrained in such a way to eliminate rigid body motion. Always check that global rotation and translation of your model cannot occur (eg. a model may theoretically be pushed to infinity).

*** USER FATAL MESSAGE 5289, COMPONENT WITH EXTERNAL ID = ***, DOF = **, APPEARS MORE THAN ONCE ON THE SAME MPC CARD OR RIGID ELEMENT CARD. This message occurs when one node is referenced more than once when using rigid elements. This could happen when two rigid elements are attached to the same node. Allong with this message will be warning messages that detail the offending entities.

*** USER FATAL MESSAGE 2101A, GRID POINT **** COMPONENT *** ILLEGALLY DEFINED IN SETS ****. This message is also common when rigid elements are used incorrectly. It occurs when a slave node in a rigid element is constrained. Once again the offending entities will be quoted in accompanying warning messages.

VISUAL NASTRAN FOR WINDOWS 8

BEGINNERS GUIDE

Other Tips
File recovery Files in Visual Nastran can get very large; when saving these large files even the best of computer may freeze and corrupting the data in the *.mod file. If this happens it is possible to recover the majority of the data provided that an analysis has been successfully run on the corrupted model prior to the corruption of the file. This is achieved using the import analysis model function. IMPORT ANALYSIS MODEL Menu FileImportAnalysis Model . . . Keyboard CTRL+ SHIFT+T This function allows you to import the information that is stored in the *.dat files that are created each Button time an analysis is run. Import the latest of these files as it has the most recent information of the mesh. The file will import the load and constraints you used to run the analysis, and also the mesh you analysed. The drawback is that the geometry and groups will not be imported and this will make the imported model hard to work with. To avoid element and node numbering conflicts import the *.dat file into a new *.mod file.

It is always better to prevent the failure or loss of data before it happens. A key way to do this is to reduce the file size. This can be primarily done via building smaller models, but is also achieved through rebuilding the model. The *.mod file keeps track of all changes and deleted entities of the model- thus deleting groups and other entities from your model actually makes the file increase in size. The rebuild function discards all this redundant information and as a result the file size is reduced. REBUILD Menu FileRebuild This function will delete any redundant information in the Keyboard N/A *.mod file, thus reducing its size. Use this function regularly N/A Button when dealing with large models.

VISUAL NASTRAN FOR WINDOWS 9

BEGINNERS GUIDE

Information Export Visual Nastran has Export functions that can be used to export your model into other programs. These functions are useful but sometimes all that is required is a small amount of result information that can be used for further analysis in a program like Matlab or Excel. Specific information about your model and its results can be exported in a text format using the list file functions. LIST DESTINATION Menu ListDestination . . . This function allows you to set where you want your list Keyboard N/A inquiry results to be placed. The message window is one of N/A Button these locations, but the more useful option is the file option. The user can nominate the destination and name of the file where list enquiries can be written to. The file will be in *.lst format but it is simply a text file that can be opened with notepad or imported into another program such as Matlab or Excel.

STANDARD LIST Menu ListOutputStandard. . . This is one of the most useful results reports. It is has standard Keyboard N/A report templates. All you have to choose is the output set, the N/A Button type of information you are seeking (eg. Load Vectors, or Displacement) and the nodes you are interested in. If a file is allocated in the list destination the data will be written to that file.

VISUAL NASTRAN FOR WINDOWS 10

BEGINNERS GUIDE