Professional Documents
Culture Documents
• Presentation Objectives
• Finite element method
• Patran graphical user interface
• MSC Nastran input file structure
• Structural elements
• Materials
• Element properties
• Loads and boundary conditions
• Analysis submission
• Basic post-processing
• Demo
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OBJECTIVES
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WHAT IS THE FINITE ELEMENT METHOD?
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SAMPLE FINITE ELEMENT MODEL
Node
Element
Sample Finite Element Model
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FINITE ELEMENTS
• Finite elements have shapes which are relatively easy to formulate and
analyze. The three basic types of finite elements are beams, plates, and
solids.
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ONE DIMENSIONAL ELEMENTS
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TWO DIMENSIONAL ELEMENTS
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THREE DIMENSIONAL ELEMENTS
• 3D solid elements are used to model thick components such as the piston
head shown below:
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HOW DOES FEM WORK ?
• Basic Approach
– A given problem is discretized by dividing the original domain into simply
shaped elements.
X
Z
– Elements are connected to each other by nodes.
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HOW DOES FEM WORK ? (Cont.)
y
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THE DISPLACEMENT METHOD
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THE DISPLACEMENT METHOD (Cont.)
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THE DISPLACEMENT METHOD (Cont.)
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BUILDING A FINITE ELEMENT MODEL
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PATRAN GRAPHICAL USER INTERFACE
• The Patran GUI for the Window is shown in the following slides. Except
for the color scheme and icon arrangements, the Windows and Unix GUIs
are basically identical.
• This material will be presented using the Windows GUI.
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WINDOWS GUI
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THE MAIN MENU
Menu Bar
Status Icon
Tools Application Tabs ● Static Green indicates Patran is
waiting for user input
● Rotating Blue indicates Patran is
performing a process which can
be stopped immediately with the
abort icon
● Rotating Red indicates that
History Window Patran is performing a process
which cannot be interrupted
Command Line
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THE MAIN MENU (Cont.)
Reset Graphics
Open Recent
File Save
Copy to Clipboard
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THE VIEWPORT
Display Mode
Current Group
Current Viewport
Database Name
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APPLICATION FORMS
Action
Object
Method
Select Menu
(Filter Buttons)
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APPLICATION FORMS (Cont.)
Toggle button is an on/off
switch
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ENTITY PICKING
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ENTITY ID SYNTAX
Syntax Description
Surface 3.1 References an entity associated with a higher order one (i.e. edge 1 of
surface 3, that is similar to a curve)
Solid 1:10.2 Combinations of entity ID syntax is possible (face 2 of solids 1 through 10)
{[ ][ ]} Signifies an axis with first point representing the base and the second
determining the direction
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ENTITY GRAPHICAL PICKING
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CURSOR PICKING
• Single Entity - Move the cursor to the entity label/centroid and press the
left mouse button
• Multiple Picking - Hold down the shift key and select the entities with the
left mouse button
Shift
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CURSOR PICKING (Cont.)
• Polygon Picking
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CURSOR PICKING (Cont.)
● Deselect Move the cursor to the entity’s label/centroid and
click on the Ctrl + Shift + right mouse button
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PATRAN-NASTRAN WORKFLOW AND FILES
Patran
Pre-Processing Nastran
.bdf
●Import/create geometry
●Create finite element mesh Solver
●Apply boundary condition
●Apply loads K u = F
●Create material properties
●Solve for u
●Create element properties
●Submit model to solver ●Compute strain
●Compute stress
.xdb
Post-Processing .op2
●Deformation plots
●Stress fringe plots
●Reports .f04
.f06
.log
.db
.ses
.db.jou
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BASIC PATRAN FILES
File Extension File Type Comments
.db.jou Journal File One per model. Record of all PCL commands
from database creation to present.
Concatenated session files. EXTREMELY
useful for rebuilding a database.
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BASIC NASTRAN FILES
File Extension File Type Comments
.f06 Results File This is the main Nastran output file. It contains
the results of your analysis such as displacements
and stresses. It is in ASCII format so it can be
viewed in any text editor. It also contains
warning messages, error messages, and diagnostic
messages to help the user evaluate the quality of
the analysis results.
.f04 Execution Summary File Contains a time history of job execution.
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THE NASTRAN INPUT FILE
• The two files which contain the finite element model definition are
– The Patran database file
– The Nastran input file
• The Nastran input file is useful in a number of ways:
– Can be viewed and edited in any text editor
– Can include comments to document modeling assumptions and changes
– Allows the user to add entries which are not supported in Patran
– Useful in debugging a model
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ORGANIZATION OF THE NASTRAN INPUT FILE
CEND
Case Control Section
Required
Delimiters
ENDDATA
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NASTRAN INPUT FILE SECTIONS
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NASTRAN INPUT FILE DELIMITERS
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SAMPLE MODEL
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NASTRAN INPUT FILE OF SAMPLE MODEL
ID TRUSS,SAMPLE
Executive SOL 101
Control TIME 5
CEND
TITLE = SAMPLE INPUT FILE
SUBTITLE = TRUSS STRUCTURE
LOAD = 10
Case Control SPC = 11
DISP = ALL
ELFORCE = ALL
SPCFORCE = ALL
BEGIN BULK
$
$ GRID POINTS DESCRIBE THE GEOMETRY Comments start
$ with a dollar sign
GRID 1 0. 0. 0.
GRID 2 0. 120. 0.
GRID 3 600. 120. 0.
GRID 4 600. 0. 0.
$
$ TRUSS MEMBERS MODELED WITH ROD ELEMENTS
$
Bulk Data CROD 1 21 2 3
CROD 2 21 2 4
CROD 3 21 1 3
CROD 4 21 1 4
CROD 5 21 3 4
$
PROD 21 22 4. 1.27
MAT1 22 30.E6 .3
FORCE 10 4 1000. 0. -1. 0.
SPC1 11 12 1 2
SPC1 11 3456 1 2 3 4
ENDDATA
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FORMAT OF BULK DATA ENTRIES
• Each Bulk Data entry has a specific pre-defined format and purpose
(described in the Nastran Quick Reference Guide, Section 5)
• Shown below is the CROD entry description from the Quick Reference
Guide:
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FORMAT OF BULK DATA ENTRIES (Cont.)
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FIELD FORMAT
• Each Nastran input file line contains 80 columns. There are three field
formats for entering data in these 80 columns:
– Small Field Format
– Large Field Format
– Free Field Format
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FIELD FORMAT (Cont.)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8
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FIELD FORMAT (Cont.)
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FIELD FORMAT (Cont.)
Example:
GRID,10,,7.5,8.6,9.0,,456
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GRID POINTS
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DEGREES OF FREEDOM
• Each grid point is capable of moving in six directions. These are called
degrees of freedom (DOF).
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DEGREES OF FREEDOM (Cont.)
• For each grid point, all six degrees of freedom must be accounted for:
– Think in terms of 3D even if the problem is only 1D or 2D.
– Any un-used DOF must be constrained
1 2
5
4
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THE NASTRAN GRID ENTRY
Field Contents
CD Identification number of coordinate system in which displacements, degrees of freedom, constraints, and
solution vectors are defined at the grid point (integer 0 or blank; default = basic coordinate system).
PS Permanent single-point constraints associated with grid point (any of the digits 1-6 with no embedded blanks)
This method of constraining a structure is not recommended.
SEID Superelement ID
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NASTRAN ELEMENTS
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COMMONLY USED NASTRAN ELEMENTS
0-D Scalar 1-D 2-D 3-D Axisymmetric Rigid
Elements Elements Elements Elements Elements Elements Elements
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MASS ELEMENTS
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SCALAR ELEMENTS
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SCALAR ELEMENTS
• Scalar Elements
CELAS1 Connects two points, which may be grid points, scalar points, or both,
with reference to a property entry.
CELAS2 Connects two points, which may be grid points, scalar points or both,
without reference to a property entry
CELAS3 Connects only scalar points with reference to a property entry (Not
Supported in Patran)
CELAS4 Connects only scalar points without reference to property entry (Not
Supported in Patran)
CBUSH Connects two GRID points. Avoids the grounding problem inherent in
CELASi elements (when mis-used). May connect 1 to 6 DOF.
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CBUSH ELEMENT
• Scalar Elements
– The CBUSH is the recommended form for scalar springs.
• It avoids the potential grounding which may occur when two non-coincident points
are connected.
• The CELASi elements simply insert terms directly into the stiffness matrix without
considering geometry or displacement coordinate systems.
• The CBUSH correctly accounts for the effects of geometry and displacement
coordinate systems.
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THE CROD ELEMENT
A B Xe
T P P T
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THE CROD ELEMENT (Cont.)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
CROD 23 1 1 7
Field Contents
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THE CROD ELEMENT (Cont.)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Field Contents
A Cross-sectional area
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THE CBAR ELEMENT
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THE CBAR ELEMENT (Cont.)
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THE CBEAM ELEMENT
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THE CBEAM ELEMENT (Cont.)
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TWO-DIMENSIONAL ELEMENTS
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TWO-DIMENSIONAL ELEMENTS (Cont.)
• A plate is a structural element with one small dimension and two large
dimensions.
– A thin plate is one in which the thickness is much less than the next larger
dimension (roughly 1/15)
– For linear analysis, Nastran plate elements assume classical engineering
assumptions of thin plate behavior:
• The deflection of the midsurface is small compared with the thickness
• The midsurface remains unstrained (neutral) during bending. (This applies to lateral
loads, not in-plane loads.)
• The normal to the midsurface remains normal to the midsurface during bending
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TWO-DIMENSIONAL ELEMENTS (Cont.)
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THREE-DIMENSIONAL ELEMENTS
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THREE-DIMENSIONAL ELEMENTS (Cont.)
• HEXA
– Recommended for general use. Accuracy degrades when element is skewed
and used in a situation where bending behavior is dominant. In most modeling
situations, it has superior performance to the other 3D elements.
• PENTA
– Commonly used to model transition. This element is designed to behave well
as a reasonable thin shell element. If the triangular faces are not on the
exposed surfaces of the shell, it results in excessive stiffness.
• TETRA
– Frequently used by automatic mesh generators. The 4-noded TETRA is not
recommended for modeling. The 10-noded TETRA elements will provide
much better accuracy.
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RIGID ELEMENTS
• Rigid Elements
– A very useful set of elements are defined as Rigid Elements. They are most
commonly used as general connection elements, where we do not wish to
model the connections in detail.
– The most common Rigid Elements are:
• RBE2 - one independent node and multiple dependent nodes.
• RBE3 – one dependent node and multiple independent nodes.
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COMMONLY USED “RIGID” ELEMENTS IN
NASTRAN
• Geometry-based
– RBAR
– RBE2 }Really-rigid “rigid” elements
• Geometry- & User-input based
– RBE3
• Less Common “Rigid” elements
– RBAR1, RJOINT, RROD, RTRPLT, RTRPLT1, RBE1, RSSCON, RSPLINE
– User-input based
• MPC
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MATERIAL PROPERTIES
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MATERIAL PROPERTIES
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WEIGHT UNITS vs. MASS UNITS
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WTMASS PARAMETER EXAMPLE
Method 2
Enter the weight density directly into Nastran. Use the WTMASS parameter to
convert weight units to mass units.
MAT1 1 29.E6 0.32 0.283
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ELEMENT PROPERTIES
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ELEMENT PROPERTIES
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ELEMENT PROPERTIES (Cont.)
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CREATING ELEMENT PROPERTIES
CBAR
CBEND
CBEAM
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CREATING ELEMENT PROPERTIES (Cont.)
• A snap shot of a NASTRAN input file shows how the connectivity entry,
the property entry, and the material entry are linked together.
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LOADS AND BOUNDARY CONDITIONS
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LOADS AND BOUNDARY CONDITIONS (cont.)
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LOADS AND BOUNDARY CONDITIONS (Cont.)
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CREATING LOADS AND BOUNDARY CONDITIONS
Sample Displacement Sample Force
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SUBMITTING ANALYSIS
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ATTACHING RESULTS
• Both Nastran binary output files can be accessed by Patran for results
post-processing. Each has advantages.
– The .xdb is a database that is accessed by Patran. The results do not
become a part of the Patran database. Therefore, large results files can be
attached without a degradation in performance. The .xdb must be kept with
the Patran database to view results. It does not support composite failure
indices.
– The .op2 is a results file that is read into the Patran database. The results
become part of the Patran database. As a result, the .op2 does not need to
be maintained in order to view results. The Patran database size will expand
due to the results data stored within. It does support composite failure
indices.
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ATTACHING RESULTS (Cont.)
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POST-PROCESSING
• The Patran Results menu provides options for a variety of result plots or
reports. The more commonly used plots include:
– Quick Plot
• Combined fringe and deformation plot
• Fringe results are averaged at the nodes
– Deformation
– Fringe
• Contoured plot
• Provides significant control for result averaging and extralopation
– Marker
• Plots individual markers for scalar, vector or tensor data.
– Graph
– Reports
– Freebody
• Provides tools to generate freebody and interface plots
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POST-PROCESSING (Cont.)
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DEMO
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