Chapter 2: Getting Started Patran Analysis Manager Users Guide

Getting Started

Quick Overview

8 10

Enabling/Disabling the Analysis Manager MSC Nastran Submittals ABAQUS Submittals MSC.Marc Submittals Generic Submittals The Main Form 16 15 13 14 11

Invoking the Analysis Manager Manually Files Created 23

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Patran Analysis Manager Users Guide

Quick Overview

Quick Overview
Before Patrans Analysis Manager can be used, it must be installed and configured by the system administrator. See System Management for more on the installation and set-up of the module. In so doing, the system administrator starts the Analysis Managers queue manager (QueMgr) daemon or service, which is always running on a master system. The queue manager schedules all jobs submitted through the Analysis Manager. The master host is generally the system on which Patran or an analysis module was installed, but does not have to be. The system administrator also starts another daemon (or service) that runs on all machines configured to run analyses, called the remote manager (RmtMgr). This daemon/service allows for proper communication and file transfer to/from these machines. Users that already have analysis input files prepared and are not using Patran may skip to The Main Form after reviewing the rules for input files for the various submittal types in this Chapter. When using Patran, in general, the user begins by setting the Analysis Preference to the appropriate analysis, such as MSC Nastran, which is available from the Preferences pull down menu on the top menu bar.

Chapter 2: Getting Started 9

Quick Overview

Once the Analysis Preference is set and a proper analysis model has been created in Patran, the user can submit the job. Generally, the submittal process takes place from the Analysis application form when the user presses the Apply button. The full interface with access to all features of Patrans Analysis Manager is always available, regardless of the Preference setting, from the Tools pull down menu or from the Analysis Manager button on the Analysis form. The location of the submittal form is explained throughout this chapter for each supported analysis code.

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Patran Analysis Manager Users Guide

Enabling/Disabling the Analysis Manager

Enabling/Disabling the Analysis Manager

There may be times when it is not desirable or required to submit a job through the Analysis Manager. In such a case, the user can temporarily disable the Analysis Manager and make use of Patrans generic submittal capability for each analysis code supported. Disabling the Analysis Manager does not change the user interface at all, i.e., the Analysis Manager button remains on the Analysis form. However when the Apply button is pressed on the Analysis application form, the job will be submitted via Patrans generic submit scripts. To disable the Analysis Manager, type the following command in Patrans command window and press the Return or Enter key: analysis_manager.disable() To enable the Analysis Manager after it has been disabled type this command: analysis_manager.enable() If a more permanent enabling or disabling of the Analysis Manager is required, the user may place these commands as necessary in a users p3epilog.pcl file. This file is invoked at startup from the users local directory, or home directory, or $P3_HOME in that order, if found.

Chapter 2: Getting Started 11

MSC Nastran Submittals

MSC Nastran Submittals

Any standard MSC Nastran (up to version 2006) problem can be submitted using Patrans Analysis Manager. This is accomplished from the Analysis form with the Analysis Preference set to MSC Nastran. The following rules apply to MSC Nastran run-ready input files for submittal: The BEGIN BULK and ENDDATA statements must be in the main input file; the one that is specified when submitting, not in INCLUDE files. The filename may not have any '.' characters except for the extension. The filename must also begin with a letter (not a number). Run-ready input files prepared by Patran follow these rules. Correct and proper analysis files are created by following the instructions and guidelines as outlined in the Patran Interface to MSC Nastran Preference Guide,. To submit, monitor, and manage MSC Nastran jobs from Patran using the Analysis Manager, make sure the Analysis Preference is set to MSC Nastran. This is done from the Preferences menu on the main Patran form. The Analysis form appears when the Analysis toggle, located on the main Patran application switch, is chosen. Pressing the Apply button on the Analysis application form with the Action set to Analyze, Monitor, or Abort will cause the Analysis Manager to perform the desired action. A chapter is dedicated to each of these actions in the manual as well as one for custom configuration of MSC Nastran submittals. The Analysis Manager generates the MSC Nastran File Management Section (FMS) of the input file automatically, unless the input file already contains the following advanced FMS statements: INIT DBLOCATE ACQUIRE DBCLEAN DBFIX DBLOAD DBSETDEL DBUNLOAD EXPAND RFINCLUDE ENDJOB ASSIGN USRSOU ASSIGN USROBJ ASSIGN OBJSCR ASSIGN INPUTT2 ASSIGN INPUTT4 in which case the user is prompted whether or not to use the existing FMS as-is, or to have the Analysis Manager auto-generate the FMS, using what FMS is already present, with certain exceptions.

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Patran Analysis Manager Users Guide

MSC Nastran Submittals

The question asked is: This file contains advanced FMS statements. Do you want to bypass the Patran Analysis Manager auto-FMS capability? Answer NO to auto-generate FMS; answer YES to use existing FMS. Typically you would answer YES to this question unless you are fully aware of the FMS in the file. With FMS automatically generated, each logical database is made up of multiple physical files, each with a maximum size of 231 bytes (the typical maximum file size), up to the disk space currently free, or until the size limit requested in the Analysis Manager is met. Large problems requiring databases and scratch files larger than 231 bytes can, therefore, be run without the user having to add ANY FMS statements. But this requires that you do not bypass the auto-FMS capability. If multiple file systems have been defined, the Analysis Manager will generate FMS (provided the input file does not contain advanced FMS or the user wishes to use the Analysis Managers automatic FMS capability along with his advanced file) so that the scratch and database files are split onto each file system defined, according to the free space available at run time. See Disk Space for more information. Restarts are handled by the Analysis Manager in the following manner: the needed FMS is generated so that the restart run will succeed. If database files exist on the local machine, they are copied to the analysis machine prior to execution; otherwise, they are expected to exist already in the scratch areas. Any ASSIGN, MASTER statements are changed/generated to ensure MSC Nastran will locate preexisting databases correctly. See Restart for more information.

Chapter 2: Getting Started 13

ABAQUS Submittals

ABAQUS Submittals
Any standard ABAQUS (up to version 6.x) problem can be submitted using Patrans Analysis Manager. This is accomplished from the Analysis form with the Analysis Preference set to ABAQUS. The following rules apply to ABAQUS run-ready input files for submittal: 1. The filename may not have any '.' characters except for the extension. The filename must begin with a letter (not a number). 2. The combined filename and path should not exceed 80 characters. Run-ready input files prepared by Patran follow these rules. Correct and proper analysis files are created by following the instructions and guidelines as outlined in the Patran Interface to ABAQUS Preference Guide. To submit, monitor, and manage ABAQUS jobs from Patran using the Analysis Manager, make sure the Analysis Preference is set to ABAQUS. This is done from the Preferences menu on the main form. The Analysis form appears when the Analysis toggle, located on the Patran application switch, is chosen. Pressing the Apply button on the Analysis application form with the Action set to Analyze, Monitor, or Abort will cause the Analysis Manager to perform the desired action. A chapter is dedicated to each of these actions in the manual as well as one for custom configuration of ABAQUS submittals. If multiple file systems have been defined, the Analysis Manager will generate aux_scratch and split_scratch parameters appropriately based on current free space among all file systems for the host on which the job is executing. See Disk Space for more information. Restarts are handled by the Analysis Manager by optionally copying the restart (.res) file to the executing host first, then running ABAQUS with the oldjob keyword. See Restart for more information.

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Patran Analysis Manager Users Guide

MSC.Marc Submittals

MSC.Marc Submittals
Any standard MSC.Marc (up to version 2006) problem can be submitted using Patrans Analysis Manager. This is accomplished from the Analysis form with the Analysis Preference set to MSC.Marc. The following rules apply to MSC.Marc run-ready input files for submittal: 1. The filename may not have any '.' characters except for the extension. The filename must begin with a letter (not a number). Run-ready input files prepared by Patran follow these rules. Correct and proper analysis files are created by following the instructions and guidelines as outlined in the Marc Preferance Guide. To submit, monitor, and manage MSC.Marc jobs from Patran using the Analysis Manager, make sure the Analysis Preference is set to MSC.Marc. This is done from the Preferences menu on the main form. The Analysis form appears when the Analysis toggle, located on the Patran application switch, is chosen. Pressing the Apply button on the Analysis application form with the Action set to Analyze, Monitor, or Abort will cause the Analysis Manager to perform the desired action. A chapter is dedicated to each of these actions in the manual as well as one for custom configuration of MSC.Marc submittals. Multiple file systems are not supported with MSC.Marc submittals. See Disk Space for more information. Restarts, user subroutines, externally referenced result (POST) and view factor files are handled by the Analysis Manager by optionally copying these files to the executing host first, then running MSC.Marc with the appropriate command arguments. See Restart for more information.

Chapter 2: Getting Started 15

Generic Submittals

Generic Submittals
Aside from the explicitly supported analysis codes, MSC Nastran, MSC.Marc, and ABAQUS, most any analysis application can be submitted, monitored and managed using Patrans Analysis Manager general analysis management capability. This is accomplished by selecting Analysis Manager from the Tools pull down menu on the main Patran form. This brings up the full Analysis Manager user interface which is described in the next section, The Main Form. When the Analysis Manager is accessed in this manner, it keys off the current Analysis Preference. If the Preference is set to MSC Nastran, MSC.Marc, and ABAQUS, the jobname and any restart information is passed from the current job to the Analysis Manager and is brought up ready to submit, monitor, or manage this job. Any other Preference that is set must be configured correctly as described in Installation and is considered part of the general analysis management. The jobname from the Analysis form is passed to the Analysis Manager and the job submitted with the configured command line and arguments. (How to configure this information is given in Miscellaneous and Applications.) If an analysis code is to be submitted, yet no Analysis Preference exists for this code, the Analysis Manager is brought up in its default mode and the user must then manually change the analysis application to be submitted via an option menu. This is explained in detail in the next section. On submittal of a general analysis code, the job file is copied to the specified analysis computer, the analysis is run, and all resulting files from the submittal are copied back to the invoking computer and directory.

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Patran Analysis Manager Users Guide

The Main Form

The Main Form

When Patrans Analysis Manager is invoked either from the system prompt or via a button or a pull down menu from within Patran, the main Analysis Manager form appears as shown. There are two interfaces shown, one for UNIX and one for Windows platforms. Only the main form is shown here with brief explanations. Details are provided in subsequent Chapters.

Chapter 2: Getting Started 17

The Main Form

UNIX Interface

Note:

The rest of this forms appearance varies depending on the Action that is set. Different databoxes, listboxes, or other items in accordance with the Action/Object menu settings are displayed. Each of these are discussed in the following chapters.

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Patran Analysis Manager Users Guide

The Main Form

Windows Interface

Chapter 2: Getting Started 19

The Main Form

Note:

The rest of this forms appearance varies depending on the Tab that is set. Different databoxes, listboxes, or other items in accordance with the Tree and/or Tab settings that are displayed. Each of these are discussed in the following chapters.

Window Pull-down Menus The following simple pull-down menus are available from the Windows interface: Queue The main purpose of this pull-down is to allow a user to Exit the program, Print where appropriate, and to Connect To... other queue manager daemons or services. User Settings can also be saved and read from this pull-down menu. For administrators, other items on this pull-down become available when configuring the Analysis Manager and for Starting and Stopping queue manager services. This is detailed in System Management. These items in the Queue pull-down menu are only enabled when the Administration tree tab is accessed. Gives access to standard text Cut and Paste operation when applicable. This pull-down menu allows the user mainly to update the view when jobs are being run. The Refresh (F5) option graphically updates the window when in monitoring mode. The program automatically refreshes the screen based on the Update Speed also. All Jobs or only the current User Jobs can be seen if desired. The Options under this menu allow the user to change the default editor when viewing result files or input files. The number of user completed jobs viewable from the interface is also set here. The main purpose of this pull-down menu is to hide or display the Status Bar and Output Window at the bottom of the window. Not currently implemented in this release.

Edit View

Tools

Windows Help Windows Icons

These icons appear on the main form.

Folder

The open folder icon is the same as the Connect To... option under the Queue pulldown menu, which allows you to connect to other queue manager daemons/services that may be running and accessible. The diskette icon is for saving user settings. Allows to print when appropriate. This allows refresh of the window when in monitoring mode.

Save Printer Paintbrush

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Patran Analysis Manager Users Guide

Invoking the Analysis Manager Manually

Invoking the Analysis Manager Manually

If installed properly, Patrans Analysis Manager can be invoked from the system prompt with the following arguments:
$P3_HOME/p3analysis_mgr arg1 arg2 arg3 arg4 [optional args] [args5-8]

where $P3_HOME is a variable indicating the <installation_directory>, the directory location of the Patran installation. Each argument is described in the following table. Argument arg1 (start-up type) Description The program can be started up in one of the following 8 modes (enter the number only): 1- Start up the full interface. See The Main Form. (default) 2- Start up the Queue Monitor. See Monitor. 3- Start up the Abort Job now. See Abort. 4- Monitor a Running Job. See Monitor. 5- Monitor a Completed Job. See Monitor. 6- Submit the job. See Submit. 7- Submit in batch mode. (No user interface appears or messages.) 8- Same as 7 but waits until job is done. Returns status codes: 0=success, 1=failure, 2=abort. arg2 (extension) arg3 (jobname) arg4 (application type) This is the extension of the analysis input file (e.g., .dat,.bdf, .inp). (.dat is the default) This is the Patran jobname; the jobname that appears in any jobname textbox (without the extension). (default = unknown) This is the analysis application requested (enter the number only). 1 2 3 20 21 29
-

MSC Nastran (default) ABAQUS MSC.Marc General code #1 General code #2 thru General code #10

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Invoking the Analysis Manager Manually

Argument optional args (MSC Nastran) optional args (ABAQUS)

Description -coldstart coldstart_jobname The -coldstart parameter followed by the cold start MSC Nastran jobname indicates a restart job. Also see P3Mgr. -runtype <0, 1 or 2> -restart oldjobname The -runtype parameter followed by a 0, 1 or a 2 is to specify whether the run is a full analysis, a restart, or a check run respectively. The -restart parameter is to specify the old jobname for a restart run.

optional args (MSC.Marc) arg5 (x position)

See P3Mgr Optional - Specifies the X position of upper left corner of Patran right hand side interface in inches. (UNIX only) Optional - Specifies the Y position of upper left corner of Patran right hand side interface in inches. (UNIX only) Optional - Width of right-hand side interface in inches. (UNIX only) Optional - Height of right-hand side interface in inches. (UNIX only)

arg6 (y position)

arg7 (width) arg8 (height)

If no arguments are provided, defaults are used (full interface (1), .dat, unknown, MSC Nastran (1)). The arguments listed in the table above are very convenient when invoking the Analysis Manager from pre and postprocessors such as Patran, which have access to the pertinent information which may be passed along in the arguments. It may, however, be more convenient for the user to define an alias such that the program always comes up in the same mode. Here are some examples of invoking Patrans Analysis Manager: $P3_HOME/bin/p3analysis_mgr or $P3_HOME/p3manager_files/p3analysis_mgr 1 bdf myjob 1 or $P3_HOME/p3manager_files/p3analysis_mgr 1 bdf myjob MSC.Nastran This invokes Patrans Analysis Manager by specifying the entire path name to the executable where $P3_HOME is a variable containing the Patran installation directory. The entire user interface is brought up specified by the first argument. The input file is called myjob.bdf and the last argument specifies that MSC Nastran is the analysis code of preference. Here is another example:

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Patran Analysis Manager Users Guide

Invoking the Analysis Manager Manually

p3analysis_mgr 1 inp myjob 2 -runtype 1 -restart oldjob p3analysis_mgr 1 inp myjob ABAQUS -runtype 1 -restart oldjob This example invokes the Analysis Manager by assuming the executable name can be found in the users path. The entire user interface is brought up specified by the first argument. The input file is called myjob.inp. The code of preference is ABAQUS and the last two arguments indicate that a restart analysis is to be performed and the job is a restart from a previous job called oldjob. Another example: p3analysis_mgr 3 dat myjob 20 This example requests the termination of an analysis by the jobname of myjob with an input file called myjob.dat. The analysis code specified is a user defined application defined by the number 20 in the configuration files. p3analysis_mgr 5 dat myjob 1 This example requests the completed monitor graph of an MSC Nastran analysis by the jobname of myjob with an input file called myjob.dat. If only the full interface is brought up by the user in stand-alone mode, it may be more convenient to specify an alias and place it in a login file (.login, .cshrc) such as: alias p3am p3analysis_mgr 1 dat unknown 1 This way all the user has to type is p3am to invoke the program each time.

Chapter 2: Getting Started 23

Files Created

Files Created
Aside from the files generated by the analysis codes themselves, Patrans Analysis Manager also generates files, the contents of which are described in the following table. Argument jobname.mon Description This file contains the final monitoring or status information from a submitted job. It can be replotted using the Monitor | Completed Job selection from the main form. This is the analysis manager log file that gives the status of the analysis job and parameters that were used during execution. This file contains the messages that would normally appear on the screen if the job were submitted interactively. When a silent submit is performed (batch submittal), this file is created. Interactive submittals will display all messages to a form on the screen. This file contains any messages that would normally go to the standard output (generally the screen) if the user had invoked the analysis code from the system prompt. This file will contain any messages from the analysis which are written to standard error. If no such messages are generated this file does not appear.

jobname.tml jobname.submit

jobname.stdout

jobname.stderr

Any or all of these files should be checked for error messages and codes if a job is not successful and it does not appear that the analysis itself is at fault for abnormal termination.