Patran 2008 r2 Release Guide

®
Patran 2008 r2
Release Guide
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P3*2008R2*Z*Z*Z*DC-REL
Contents
Patran Release Guide
Patran Release
Guide,
1 Patran 2008 r2 at a Glance

Key Highlights 2
CAD Access 2
InterOp R18 SP1/SP3 2
Parasolid 19 2
Catia V5 R18 2
NX 5 / NX 6 2
Automatic Feature Recognition 2
MD Nastran and MSC Nastran Support (Patran 2008 r2) 2
Optimization (SOL 200) 2
Implicit Nonlinear Analysis (SOL 400) 3
Explicit Nonlinear Analysis (SOL 700) 3
Thermal-Structural Interaction (SOL 101) 3
Results Access 3
Marc Support 3
New Physics Types 3
Results Access 4
General Enhancements 4
Right Mouse Button (RMB) (Patran 2008 r2) 4
New GUI Skins (Patran 2008 r2 - Pre-Release) 4
Native 64 Bit Port (Patran 2008 r2 - Pre-Release) 4
Batch Image Rendering 4
SimManager Integration 4
SimXpert Integration 4
MSC Sinda Preference 4
Laminate Modeler 5
Utilities 5
Customer Requests (CRs) 5
Supported OS/Hardware Platforms 6

Supported CAD Access 7
Analysis Preferences Tested 9

Technical Support 10
Web 10
Phone and Fax 11
iv Patran Release Guide
Email 12
2 MD Nastran MSC Nastran Preference

Optimization (SOL 200) Enhancements 2
Topology, Topometry, Topography 2
General Optimization - More Design Variables. 5
More Responses, Constraints, Objectives. 5
Optimization Parameters. 7
Design Variable Relations. 7
General (DLINK): 9
Implicit Nonlinear (SOL 400) Enhancements 10
Brake Squeal 10
Contact Improvements - BCONTACT = ALLBODY 10
Contact Detection - Shell Edge Contact. 10
Contact Detection - 3D Beam to Beam Contact 11
Contact Body Movement (BCMOVE) - approach step. 12
Contact Body Definition (BCHANGE/UNGLUE) 12
Contact Table. 13
Initial Contact 15
Solution Controls. 15
Thermal Analysis. 15
Analysis Chaining. 16
Explicit Nonlinear (SOL 700) Enhancements 18
Nastran Thermal-Structural Chaining 23
Nastran Results 24
3 Marc Preference
Multi-Physics Support 28
Marc Results 30
Initial Contact 31
4 General Enhancements
Right Mouse Button (RMB) 34
Model Display Options 35
Node, Element or Geometric Entity Options 35
CONTENTS v
RMButton – Entity Check Options 36

Right Mouse Button Customization 37
New GUI Skins 39
Overview 39
Application Icon Ribbons 39
Native 64 Bit Port 43

Laminate Modeler 51
Import Layup File… 51
Save As… 51
Create LM_Layup Add 51
Layup Definition Spreadsheet 52
Create LM_Layup Laminate 53
Create Results Failure Calc 54
Show LM_Ply Graphics 55
Delete LM_Layup Select 55
Import Plies File 55
Import Results ESAComp xml 56
Verify Laminate 56
Customer Requests 57
61
n Patran Release Guide 61

vi Patran Release Guide
Chapter 1: Patran 2008 r2 at a Glance Patran Release Guide
Patran 2008 r2 at a Glance

1
J Key Highlights 2
J Supported OS/Hardware Platforms 6
J
Supported CAD Access 7
J
Analysis Preferences Tested 9
J
Technical Support 10
2 Patran Release Guide
Key Highlights
1.1 Key Highlights

The following general enhancements are available in Patran 2008 r2:
CAD Access
InterOp R18 SP1/SP3
The Spatial InterOp, Parasolid based translators, have been updated to the R18 SP1 and SP3 revisions.
This gives CAD access support based on the table in Supported CAD Access, 7. MSC makes periodic
updates to CAD access and are available through download patches at:
http://www.mscsoftware.com/support/software_updates/#patran
Note that MSC has converted to the new Connect API version of the Spatial InterOp translators. The
legacy Spatial InterOP translators can be installed and run in conjunction with the Connect API version
if necessary. After installing 2008r2, the user can download the old legacy InterOp translators from the
above web site that are compatible with 2008r2. Instructions to do this are included with the download.
When this is done, both the new Connect API and the old legacy versions of the InterOp translators are
accessible from the Patran user interface.
Parasolid 19
Parasolid import now supports up to version 19. The Patran Parasolid kernel is based on Parasolid 19.
Catia V5 R18
Support for Catia V5 R18 is available through the Parasolid import method using the Spatial InterOp
translators.
NX 5 / NX 6
Support for NX 5 is available on most platforms and NX 6 on Windows is now available.
Automatic Feature Recognition

This revamped feature recognizes geometric features and allows you to view, edit, and delete them. See
Automatic Feature Recognition, 44 for more details.
MD Nastran1 and MSC Nastran Support (Patran 2008 r2)

Optimization (SOL 200)
The following enhancements are provided for support of optimization.
1
SOLs 400 and 700 are only available in MD Nastran and must be submitted using Patran running in
MD mode.
Chapter 1: Patran 2008 r2 at a Glance 3
Key Highlights
• Design Variables: PCOMPG (Global Plys)

• Responses/Constraints/Objectives:
• Bush Forces
• Acoustics
• Fluid Modes
• Objective Function Modification
• Design Variable Relations
• Topology, Topometry & Topography
See Optimization (SOL 200) Enhancements, 2.
Implicit Nonlinear Analysis (SOL 400)

The following enhancements are provided for support of implicit nonlinear analysis.
• Brake Squeal
• Contact Improvements
• Solution Controls
• Thermal Analysis
• Analysis Chaining
See Implicit Nonlinear (SOL 400) Enhancements, 10.
Explicit Nonlinear Analysis (SOL 700)

The following enhancements are provided for support of explicit nonlinear analysis as detailed in Explicit
Nonlinear (SOL 700) Enhancements, 18.
Thermal-Structural Interaction (SOL 101)

Thermal-structural analysis chaining can be performed in a single SOL 101 run using the HEATSTAT
parameter. See Nastran Thermal-Structural Chaining, 23.
Results Access
Exterior acoustics results via the OP2 file and optimization results via the XDB file are now supported.
See Nastran Results, 24.
Marc Support
New Physics Types
New physics types are added to the Coupled analysis type in an on-going effort to support Marc’s
multiphysics capabilities. See Multi-Physics Support, 28.
Key Highlights
Results Access
Output requests now include the ability to select layers of composites. See Marc Results, 30.
Initial Contact. It is now possible to define an initial contact table in the model definition section. See
Initial Contact, 31.
General Enhancements
Right Mouse Button (RMB) (Patran 2008 r2)
The menus accessible via the RMB have been enhanced and the ability to customize has been added. This
is described in detail in Right Mouse Button (RMB), 34.
New GUI Skins (Patran 2008 r2 - Pre-Release)

A pre-release capability to change the Patran graphical user interface (GUI) skin is available in this
release. Details can be found in section New GUI Skins, 39. This is a pre-release capability. Please report
any issues and/or enhancement requests to your MSC representative.
Native 64 Bit Port (Patran 2008 r2 - Pre-Release)

A pre-release version of Patran for Windows 64 bit machines is available for testing in this release. This
version is meant for “beta” testing and is not recommended for full production work. Please report any
issues to your MSC representative so we can solidify this port into a future production release. The
production 32 bit version of Patran can still be run on 64 bit Windows machines. Some details of the 64
bit port are listed in Native 64 Bit Port, 43.
Batch Image Rendering

Graphical image files can be rendered and produced in batch mode. See New GUI Skins, 39 for details.
SimManager Integration
Logon, publish, and retrieve Patran databases and related analysis files through this SimManager
client/server access. See SimManager Integration, 47 for details.
SimXpert Integration
Spawn SimXpert directly from Patran and transfer finite element model data to SimXpert. See SimXpert
Integration, 49 for details.
MSC Sinda Preference

A new thermal analysis preference has been added as a standard analysis preference. See MSC Sinda
Preference, 50.
Key Highlights
Laminate Modeler
A number of enhancements have been add to the Laminate Modeler as detailed in Laminate Modeler, 51.
Utilities
Please review the Utilities/ What is New menu to see additions/updates made to the utilities.
Customer Requests (CRs)

A number of enhancements and defect correction have been made. The most significant ones are listed
in Customer Requests, 57.
Supported OS/Hardware Platforms
1.2 Supported OS/Hardware Platforms

Vendor Description
HP (PA-RISC) For more information on Operating Systems and Hardware support, please see Hewlett-Packard HP-UX
(PA-RISC) Requirements (p. 76) in the Patran Installation and Operations Guide.
SUN (Solaris) For more information on Operating Systems and Hardware support, please see Sun Solaris
Requirements (p. 80) in the Patran Installation and Operations Guide.
Intel (Windows) For more information on Operating Systems and Hardware support, please see Microsoft Windows
Requirements (p. 81) in the Patran Installation and Operations Guide.
Intel (Linux) For more information on Operating Systems and Hardware support, please see Linux Requirements
(p. 85) in the Patran Installation and Operations Guide.
IBM (AIX) For more information on Operating Systems and Hardware support, please see IBM AIX Requirements
(p. 78) in the Patran Installation and Operations Guide.
For a complete description of these configurations, see Required Hardware & Software Configurations
(Ch. 5) in the Patran Installation and Operations Guide.
Supported CAD Access
1.3 Supported CAD Access

Windows
HP 2000 / XP /
(PA-RISC) SUN IBM RS/6000 Vista Linux
CATIA V4* 4.2.4 4.2.4 4.2.4 4.2.4 4.2.4
CATIA V5 R18 R18 R18 R18

Pro/ENGINEER† Wildfire 3.0 Wildfire 3.0 Wildfire 3.0 Wildfire 3.0
Unigraphics‡ NX5.0 NX5.0 NX5.0 NX6.0 XMT**

I-DEAS 11.0 12.0 11.0 12.0
Parasolid 19 19 19 19 19
ACIS 18.1 18.1 18.1 18.1 18.1
*A CATIA CATXPRES (.cat) file can be imported. On Windows and Linux, only the CATIA to Parasolid translator
is available and the CAT Direct Translator which runs CATIA in batch mode is not available.
† The p3_ProE and p3_ProENGINEER executables are built using Pro/ENGINEER version 2000i and therefore will
not work with earlier versions of Pro/ENGINEER. p3_ProE and p3_ProENGINEER Access allows reading of
.geo geometry transfer files generated from other OS installs of Pro/ENGINEER Access. See more notes below.
‡ UG NX supports only 64 bit machines for HP and SUN Platforms.
**Only Parasolid (transmit file) import is supported in this release. Parasolid transmit files generated on other OS
platforms can be imported on LINUX.
Patran has two methods for importing Pro/ENGINEER models:

• Import to Native Patran Geometry which runs from within interactive Patran: requires a
Pro/ENGINEER license to run on the machine where Patran is installed, therefore, the list of
platforms supporting this import method is the Pro/ENGINEER supported machines.
• Import to Parasolid which runs from within interactive Patran: does not does not require a
Pro/ENGINEER license to run.
The following notes are applicable to the Import to Native Patran Geometry method:
The Pro/ENGINEER Wildfire release introduced the following platform changes:

• IBM AIX platform unsupported. Existing Patran translator is still available for pre-
Pro/ENGINEER Wildfire release.
The following steps are necessary for customers to use the Patran Pro/ENGINEER translator with
Pro/ENGINEER after January 10, 2004:
• PTC Important System Notice - Timeout http://www.ptc.com/go/timeout/
• PTC Technical Resource http://www.ptc.com/go/timeout/technical_resource.htm
Supported CAD Access
For Pro/ENGINEER 2001:

• Download NMSD.exe and follow PTC instructions.
For Pro/ENGINEER Wildfire:

• Download NMSD.exe and follow PTC instructions.
• Download wildfire datecode 2003490 and follow PTC instructions.
The Pro/ENGINEER Wildfire 2.0 release introduced the following platform changes:
• HP-UX and SUNS supports 64-bit only. Patran translator compatible with pre-Pro/ENGINEER
Wildfire 2.0 and Pro/ENGINEER Wildfire 2.0 release. If running Pro/ENGINEER Wildfire 2.0,
the HP-UX and/or SUNS platform must be a 64-bit capable machine to run the Patran translator
Pro/ENGINEER Wildfire 3.0

• Linux is supported for Import to Parasolid
• The p3_ProE and p3_ProENGINEER executables are built using Pro/ENGINEER version 2000i
and therefore will not work with earlier versions of Pro/ENGINEER.
p3_ProE and p3_ProENGINEER Access allows reading of .geo geometry transfer files generated from
other OS installs of Pro/ENGINEER Access.
Analysis Preferences Tested
1.4 Analysis Preferences Tested

Solver Platforms Solver Version
MD Nastran MD Nastran R3
MSC Nastran All MSC Nastran 2008 r2
Marc All 2008 r1
Dytran All 2008 r1
Flightloads All 2008 r1
Thermal All 2008 r1
Fatigue All 2008 r1
MSC Sinda All 2008 r1
LS-DYNA3D All 970
PAMCRASH All 1995 / 1997
SAMCEF All 11 / 12
ABAQUS* All 6.8
ANSYS† All 11.0
*ABAQUS discontinued platforms remain at the level of support at the time they were discontinued by HKS. For
instance SUN support is frozen at 6.4.
†Results access is enhanced to 11.0 (results import is frozen at 8.1).
Technical Support
1.5 Technical Support

For help with installing or using an MSC.Software product, contact your local technical support services.
Our technical support provides the following services:
• Resolution of installation problems
• Advice on specific analysis capabilities
• Advice on modeling techniques
• Resolution of specific analysis problems (e.g., fatal messages)
• Verification of code error.
If you have concerns about an analysis, we suggest that you contact us at an early stage.
You can reach technical support services on the web, by telephone, or e-mail:
Web
Go to the MSC.Software website at www.mscsoftware.com, and click on Support. Here, you can find
a wide variety of support resources including application examples, technical application notes, available
training courses, and documentation updates at the MSC.Software Training, Technical Support, and
Documentation web page.
Technical Support
Phone and Fax
United States Frimley, Camberley

Surrey, United Kingdom
Telephone: (800) 732-7284
Telephone: (44) (1276) 67 10 00
Fax: (714) 784-4343
Fax: (44) (1276) 69 11 11
Munich, Germany Tokyo, Japan
Telephone: (49) (89) 43 19 87 0 Telephone: (81) (3) 3505 02 66

Fax: (49) (89) 43 61 71 6 Fax: (81) (3) 3505 09 14
Rome, Italy Paris, France
Telephone: (390) (6) 5 91 64 50 Telephone: (33) (1) 69 36 69 36

Fax: (390) (6) 5 91 25 05 Fax: (33) (1) 69 36 45 17
Moscow, Russia Gouda, The Netherlands
Telephone: (7) (095) 236 6177 Telephone: (31) (18) 2543700

Fax: (7) (095) 236 9762 Fax: (31) (18) 2543707
Madrid, Spain
Telephone: (34) (91) 5560919

Fax: (34) (91) 5567280
Technical Support
Email
Send a detailed description of the problem to the email address below that corresponds to the product you
are using. You should receive an acknowledgement that your message was received, followed by an
email from one of our Technical Support Engineers.
Patran Support mscpatran.support@mscsoftware.com
MD Nastran Support mscnastran.support@mscsoftware.com
MSC.Dytran Support mscdytran.support@mscsoftware.com
MSC.Fatigue Support mscfatigue.support@mscsoftware.com
MSC.Marc Support mscmarc.support@mscsoftware.com
MSC.Mvision Support mscmvision.support@mscsoftware.com
MSC.SuperForge Support mscsuperforge.support@mscsoftware.com
MSC Institute Course Information msctraining.support@mscsoftware.com

Chapter 2: MD Nastran MSC Nastran Preference Patran Release Guide
MD Nastran MSC Nastran Preference

2
J Optimization (SOL 200) Enhancements 2
J Implicit Nonlinear (SOL 400) Enhancements 10
J
Explicit Nonlinear (SOL 700) Enhancements 18
J
Nastran Thermal-Structural Chaining 23
J
Nastran Results 24
Optimization (SOL 200) Enhancements
2.1 Optimization (SOL 200) Enhancements

Topology, Topometry, Topography
A new Action has been added to the Analysis form to encompass topology, topometry, and topography
optimization jobs. The new Action is called Toptomize. This replaces the “quick” topology optimization
that used to be available under the Optimize action by using the Customized Solution form. All the
functionality of the Customized Solution form is now available under the Toptomize action. Using this
Action, a user can quickly set up and run a topology, topometry, or topography optimization job.
Combined topology and sizing optimization is still available under the Optimize action.
To use the standard optimization (Optimize action) a user must first create the design variables, objective,
and constraint functions and combine them into a valid Design Study using the Tools / Design Study /
Preprocessing utility. That Design Study must then be selected for the optimization analysis. With the
Toptomize action, this is not necessary. All the design variables, objective and constraints are defined
directly within the Toptomize form and subordinate forms. Naturally this subjects it to certain limitations,
these being:
• Only separate topology, topometry, or topography optimization is allowed; no combinations or
combined sizing optimization is possible
• Supported objectives are limited to minimizing compliance or maximizing frequency or a
combination of both (represented as an equation)
• Constraint targets are limited to mass fraction, weight, or volume
Enhancements over the previous release include:

• Addition of topometry and topography design variables (TOMVAR, and BEADVAR)
• Combined objective as mentioned above
• Weight and volume target constraints as mentioned above
• Ability to designate portions of design domain with different manufacturing and other
constraints
A typical setup scenario is (see picture below):
• A. Define the optimization type (topology, topometry, or topography), the objective of the
optimization (minimize compliance or maximize frequency) and the target constraint (mass
fraction, weight, or volume) using the Objective & Constraints form.
• B. Set any optimization controls such as the maximum number of design cycles and other
necessary items to properly define the problem using the Optimization Control form.
• C. Define the design domain by selecting existing property sets and defining the parameters
associated with each, such as manufacturing constraints under the Design Domain form.
• Run the Analysis.
Chapter 2: MD Nastran MSC Nastran Preference 3
A.
B.
C.
Topology job showing original and optimized (non-smoothed) geometry determined using multiple
design domain regions to preserve the connection and bolt holes, and a combined objective of minimizing
compliance / maximizing frequency and a mass target constraint
Topography optimization job showing the shape change from a flat plate to maximize the first frequency.
Topometry optimization job: A real complex example car body is used here to demonstrate topometry
optimization for graphical postprocessing. This example also shows that SOL 200 is able to deal with
very large optimization problems. The objective is to minimize structural compliance and keep weight
unchanged. SOL 200 produces an element thickness distribution file *.des that can be used by Patran to
view topometry optimization results.
For more details on the usage of this new functionality, please see Toptomize (p. 462) in the Patran
Interface to MD Nastran Preference Guide.
General Optimization - More Design Variables.

Support for specifying composite shell thickness and orientation based on global ply layers as design
variables is now supported (PCOMPG - previously only PCOMP was supported). Design variable
creation has also been extended to PCOMPG property entries for values such as offset, non-structural
mass, reference temperature, etc.
More Responses, Constraints, Objectives.

The following are available to define as responses, constraints, and objectives (DRESP1 / DRESP2
entries):
• CBUSH Forces – available as constraint or objective for linear statics, normal modes, frequency
and transient response.
• Acoustic responses available as constraints or objectives for frequency response analysis.
• Fluid modes for normal modes analysis.

Optimization Parameters.
Objective Function Modification: This toggle is available on the Advanced Optimization Parameters
form under the Analysis (Action=Optimize) application when submitting the job. Turning this toggle
ON indicates to MD Nastran SOL 200 to modify the objective function such that it reports back in the
summary (F06 file) the relative change instead of the absolute change. For example if only one part of
the model is being optimized and it changes by 0.2 lbs, then that is what is reported rather than saying
the over all structural weight went from 100005.0 to 100004.8 lbs. This is written to the DOPTPRM
(OBJMOD) entry.
Design Variable Relations.

This new Variable Relations feature allows you to define an expression which contains a number of
design variables linking them as dependent and independent. Once a variable relation has been defined
it can be associated to a Design Study. A Design Study is a selection or grouping of the applicable design
variables, constraints, objective, and responses that the user wishes to employ in a particular
optimization. The variable relations are also selected as part of a Design Study in order to activate them
for any particular optimization.
There are several ways to define an expression or variable relation:

General (DLINK):
A number of design variables are linked by the DLINK card in MD Nastran. The dependent design
variable is selected on the main form and the subordinate form is for selecting the independent design
variables and associating a coefficient to each. The following simple, general equation is used to define
the relationship between the selected design variables:
DDVID = C0 + CMULT *(C1*IDV1 + C2*IDV2 + … + Cn*IDVn)
DDVID = Dependent design variable

C0 = Constant offset value
CMULT = Constant multiplier
Ci = Constant multiplier for each independent design variables
IDVi = Independent design variable
Implicit Nonlinear (SOL 400) Enhancements
2.2 Implicit Nonlinear (SOL 400) Enhancements

Brake Squeal
Support for Brake Squeal Analysis (BSQUEAL). Specific brake squeal parameters are set on the Static
Subcase Parameters form. The analysis is performed with a static step followed by with a complex
eigenvalue step.
Contact Improvements - BCONTACT = ALLBODY

This is written to case control if:
1. There are contact bodies in the selected load case, AND
1. The user does not make any changes to the contact table (i.e., all entries are default values)
If the user wants the contact table written out, they can simply make any minor change and Patran will
write the contact table.
Contact Detection - Shell Edge Contact.

Shell edge contact (with moment carrying glue) is supported on the Contact Detection form shown
below. Moment carrying glue option is controlled globally via the Contact Detection form, by contact
body, and via the contact table per body pair. See the next section on beam to beam contact and the
section on contact table improvements.
Contact Detection - 3D Beam to Beam Contact

Beam to beam contact can be turned on under the Contact Detection form. Beam contact radii are defined
on in the Element Properties application when defining beam properties. A standard default value defined
by MD Nastran is used if not specified.
Contact Body Movement (BCMOVE) - approach step.

Under the Analysis form when setting up subcases or load steps, a body approach subcase can be
specified. In this subcase, active contact bodies are moved into place until one or all are just touching for
the beginning of the next subcase, or load step. The Synchronized toggle indicates to the analysis code
to move all bodies in sync with one another until the first contact is made at which point the movement
is stopped for the load step. If this toggle is off, then bodies continue to move until all are in contact. This
is controlled in Nastran using the BCMOVE entry.
Contact Body Definition (BCHANGE/UNGLUE)

The following improvements are available when defining deformable contact bodies:
• Contact Area - When defining a deformable contact body, nodes which come into contact can be
specified using the Contact Area definition.
• Exclusion Region - Edges and faces of deformable contact bodies that are to be excluded and
ignored in the contact detection algorithms can be defined using the Exclusion Region.
• Glue Deactivation – Certain areas of a contact body (that has been designated as glued) can be
switched to standard touching contact so not all nodes of a contact body need to be glued.
• Note that Edge contact can be specified at the contact body level also.
Contact Table.
The following improvement have been made to the contact table such that the following can be specified
per body pair:
• Braking Glue (BKGL) Parameters - defines the threshold at which a glued node separates
• Edge Contact - controllable at the body pair level as well as per body and globally
• Moment Carrying Glue - can be turned on/off per body pair for those bodies that are defined as
glued. This works in conjunction with the toggle to retain gaps.
Initial Contact
The initial contact table can now be defined for both the Nastran and Marc Preferences under the Contact
Parameters form.
Solution Controls.
More options to control the load incrementation have been opened up in the graphical interface. For
example, the ability to specify automatic switching between displacement and residual force
convergence criteria. Most items on the MD Nastran entries below are now accessible.
• Load Increment Parameters form (NLAUTO)
• Nonlinear Static and Transient Analysis Controls (NLPARM/TSTEPNL)
• Additional Load Increment Parameters (NLADAPT)
Thermal Analysis.
SOL 400 thermal analysis is now supported under the MD Nastran Thermal preference for unchained
heat transfer analysis. Supported solution types are Steady State and Transient Heat Transfer analysis.
This includes specifying heat transfer contact bodies and the ability to control thermal properties per
body pair using the contact table.
Analysis Chaining.
This is the ability to create multiple subcases (load steps), select them in the order in which they should
be run and the analyses are chained together, meaning that the results from the last increment of the
previous load step become the starting point for the next load step. An example is a modal or a buckling
stiffening problem where a static linear or nonlinear analysis is performed first and then the modal or
buckling step. The following analysis types are available to be chained:
• Linear and Nonlinear Static Analysis
• Normal Modes Analysis
• Buckling Analysis
• Transient Dynamic Analysis
• Direct Complex Eigenvalue
• Modal Complex Eigenvalue
• Body Approach
Explicit Nonlinear (SOL 700) Enhancements
2.3 Explicit Nonlinear (SOL 700) Enhancements

New support is best illustrated by case study problems in which those shown below and like problems
can now be prepared as run-ready input to MD Nastran:
• Airbags and multi-compartmental airbags
• Blasts and Sloshing

• Bird strike / Prestress & Impact on Rotating Fan Blade
• SPH (smooth particle hydrodynamics) and

Drop test of computer package
• Rod penetration
• Train barrier/pickup truck
This translates into support of the following MD Nastran SOL 700 entries which can be defined in the
following application areas of Patran:
Loads/BCs
• AIRBAG/BCSEG – Defines an airbag; Loads/BC object is an Airbag; BCSEG entries are
created from the defined application region of the airbag
• BCGRID – Defines contact grids; available as a new Contact boundary condition option
• BCPROP – Defines contact based on element properties; available as a new Contact boundary
condition option
• BCBOX - Another way of defining a contact body; available under Box Definition; all elements
inside the defined box are part of the contact body
• SPCD2 – Imposed nodal motion
• GRIA – Grid point in a bag reference geometry; defined when creating an airbag
• TICEUL1, TICREG, TICVAL, SPHERE – Eulerian initial conditions
• MESH – Defines a mesh; this is done as a boundary condition under the Loads/BCs application
• FLOWDEF – Eulerian flow boundary; defined as a boundary condition under the Loads/BCs
application
• COUPLE, COUOPT – General Euler-Lagrange coupling surface; defined in the Loads/BC as a
Coupling LBC
• TICD – Transient analysis initial conditions; defined as a boundary condition in Loads/BCs
application
• HYDSTAT - Hydrostatic Preset of Density in Euler Elements; defined in the Loads/BCs
application as Hydrostatic Preset
Materials
• EOSGAM – Eulerian Gas; defined under Materials application,
• MATDUEL – Eulerian material properties; defined under the Materials application
• EOSPOL – Polynomial equation of state; defined in the Materials application as a Eulerian-Solid
• MATDERO – Erosion material; defined under Materials application as Erosion model
• MATRIG – Rigid body properties; defined under the Materials application as a Rigid
constitutive model for an Isotropic(SOL700) material
• EOSGRUN – Gruneisen equation of state; defined under Materials application
• MATD020 – Rigid material
• MATD014 – Soil and foam with failure
Element Properties
• PEULER1 - SOL 700 eulerian solid properties; defined under the Element Properties application
• PSHELL1 – SOL 700 shell element properties; defined under the Element Properties application
• CSPH, PSPH – Defines an SPH particle; done as a 0D element property under the Element
Properties application
Analysis
• PRESTRS – To perform a pre-stress run and determine the pre-stress state, which is used as
initial conditions; activated in the Analysis application under Solution Parameters
• DYDEFAUL – SOL 700 defaults settings; defined in the Analysis application under Solution
Parameters
• SPHDEF – SPH analysis controls; set under the Analysis application under Solution Parameters
FEM (Finite Elements)

• CSPOT, CFILLET, CBUTT – Spot weld, fillet weld, and butt weld; defined as MPCs in the
FEM application
• Meshing - Because of lack of numerical grid, SPH processor requires some conditions in setting
initial particle masses and coordinates. The particle mesh needs to be regular, i.e., all particles of
given neighborhood need to have same mass. As a consequence, the particles of the same
material which has same initial density need to have same volume. To preserve this they need to
be distributed on a uniform mesh. When meshing a cylinder it is better to use regular mesh to
guarantee stability and convergence of the method. To get a regular mesh, this is done under the
FEM application: Create/Mesh/Regular
Nastran Thermal-Structural Chaining
2.4 Nastran Thermal-Structural Chaining

It is now possible to set up a chained thermal-structural analysis in one run using SOL 101. The procedure
is to:
1. With the Preference set to Structural, create and set up your structural LBCs and load case
2. Change the Preference to Thermal, create and set up your thermal LBCs and load case
3. Set the Solution Type to STRUCTURAL HEAT ANALYSIS
4. Set up two Subcases, one referencing the structural load case and the other referencing the thermal
load case.
5. Select the two Subcases in the order: Thermal, Structural
6. Submit the job
The Nastran run is submitted as a SOL 101 with two Subcases. The first subcase is the heat transfer run
to determine the temperature loading. The temperature results from the first subcase are used along with
any other structural LBCs called out in the second subcase, which is a SOL 101 run. The PARAM,
HEATSTAT, YES is written to the input deck.
Select STRUCTURAL HEAT ANALYSIS
Select the two Subcases
This only works for SOL 101 presently. The model shown is a computer chip with temperature fringe
due to heating and convection and resulting (exaggerated) structural deformation.
Nastran Results
2.5 Nastran Results

OUTPUT2 File
Exterior acoustic results via the OP2 file can now be imported. Shown are results on a field point mesh.
Results include Intensity, Acoustic Power, and Results on Field Point Meshes.
The following datablocks are now supported via the OP2 file for exterior acoustics analysis:
• OARPWR1- Acoustic power
• OAIG1- Acoustic Intensity
• OUGFP1- Field point Mesh
• OVGFP1 - Field point velocity
Nastran Results
XDB File
Topology element density results can now be imported via the XDB file under Tools / Design Study ->
Post-Process… Shown is the element density as imported via the XDB file for a topology optimization
job.
Nastran Results
Chapter 3: Marc Preference Patran Release Guide
Marc Preference
3
J Multi-Physics Support 28
J Marc Results 30
J
Initial Contact 31
Multi-Physics Support
3.1 Multi-Physics Support

In the previous release, the following physics types were supported in addition to Structural, Thermal,
and Thermal-Mechanical coupling:
• Electrostatic
• Joule Heating (Electrodynamic-Thermal coupling)
This release now supports:

• Electrostatic-Structural coupling
• Joule-Structural coupling
• Magnetostatics
• Electromagnetics
• Induction Heating (Electromagnetic-Thermal coupling)
• Piezoelectric
The physics selection is done under the Analysis application from the Step Select form as shown below.
Chapter 3: Marc Preference 29
Multi-Physics Support
Shown is a micro-thermal actuator / an electrical-thermal-mechanical coupling (Joule-structural).

The following enhancements have been made to the Materials, Element Properties, Fields, and Loads and
BCs applications in support of Multiphysics:
• Materials: Electrostatic, Electrodynamic, Magnetostatic, and Piezoelectric constitutive model for
applicable material types (Isotropic, Orthotropic, and Anisotropic)
• Fields: Magnetic material fields to define B-H relations
• Element Properties: Support for the following Marc elements:
• 109 – Hex/8 3D Magnetostatics
• 110 – Hex/12 3D Semi-infinite Magnetostatics
• 111 – Quad/4 Planar Electromagnetic
• 112 – Quad/4 Axisymmetric Electromagnetic
• 113 – Hex/8 3D Electromagnetic
• 160 – Quad/4 Plane Stress Piezoelectric
• 161 – Quad/4 Plane Strain Piezoelectric
• 162 – Quad/4 Axisymmetric Piezoelectric
• 163 – Hex/8 3D Piezoelectric
• 164 – Tet/4 3D Piezoelectric
• 181 – Tet/4 3D Magnetostatic
• 182 – Tet/10 3D Magnetostatic
• 183 – Bar/2 3D Magnetostatic
• Loads and BCs: The following are supported for the above mentioned physics types
• Current (boundary, body, vector, and wire current)
• Charge (boundary and body)
• Voltage
• Potential (electrostatic, magnetostatic)
• Magnetization (permanent magnet)
Marc Results
3.2 Marc Results

A significant new enhancement regarding requests for Marc results output is the ability to specify the
layers of composite results. The Results Output Format must be set to 2007 (POST code revision 13) on
the Translation Parameters form to access this functionality.
1. Set Results Output Format to 2007 (POST Code rev13) in Translation Parameters form
2. In Step Create form, go to Output Requests
3. In Output Requests form go to Element Results
4. In Element Results go to Layers form.
The default is not to specify any layers. Options are all layers, top/bottom/middle, layers only or a list of
layers.
Chapter 3: Marc Preference 31
Initial Contact
3.3 Initial Contact

The initial contact table can now be defined for both the Nastran and Marc Preferences under the Contact
Parameters form.
Initial Contact
Chapter 4: General Enhancements Patran Release Guide
General Enhancements
4
J Right Mouse Button (RMB) 34
J New GUI Skins 39
J
Native 64 Bit Port 43
J
J
J
J
J
J Laminate Modeler 51
J
Customer Requests 57
Right Mouse Button (RMB)
4.1 Right Mouse Button (RMB)

Additional context-dependent functionality has been added to the right mouse button to reduce the
“mouse travel” required to manipulate the display or obtain simple model information.
• RMB Display Control – right click on an open area of the viewport to perform operations such
as: clean up the display or refresh the graphics, “tile” the viewport and menus in the Patran
window, or do a “fit view” to see the entire model.
• RMB Viewport Control – right click on an open area of the viewport to change the model
orientation, render style, reverse the background, or show the cycle picking labels.
• RMB Model Information – right click on an entity to find information or attributes of that entity.
Picking filter controls entity selection.
• Right click on a node or element to obtain information such as location, attributes, verification
options or associations.
• Right click on a geometry entity to obtain information such as surface area, curve length or
arc dimension, and FEM association such as mesh seeds or associated nodes / elements.
Note: The right mouse button menu is completely customizable so you can add your favorite
viewport or display function to the menu. The customization procedure is described below.
Chapter 4: General Enhancements 35
Model Display Options

Many of the most commonly used display control commands are available through the RMB menu. This
shows the Viewport Display and Model Orientation menu options.
Node, Element or Geometric Entity Options

You can use the right mouse button in conjunction with the select filter to get information on FEM
entities without navigating the Action-Object-Method (AOM) menus. Clicking the right mouse button
when over an entity will bring up the RMB menu where you can choose from a long list of options.
Some of the options available from the right mouse button apply to individual entities, such as the
transform, modify, show or sweep options.
RMButton – Entity Check Options

Many of the options available from the right mouse button apply to all posted entities in the model, such
as Verify – Element - Boundaries, Verify – Hex – Aspect Ratio, etc.
Right Mouse Button Customization

Through the customization capability you can add a menu-item to a particular RMB menu.
To do this you must specify:
• Name of the menu where the item needs to be added
• Callback function for the menu-item (PCL)
• Condition function for the menu-item (PCL) – This decides if the menu-item is activated or
deactivated.
• Label for the menu-item (optional)
Consider the case of adding a menu-item to set the color of all selected geometric entities. Let us name
the menu-item as AsmSetColor. Let us also specify the callback function as asm_set_color_cb, the
condition function as asm_set_color_cond, and the label as “Set Color.” Once selected the icon will take
the user to the same application menu form he or she is used to seeing, thus there is no learning curve
required.
• There are 2 types of xml files. One containing the information regarding the menu layout and the
callback of menu-items. The other contains the “resource” related information for the menus and
menu-items.
• The file containing the definition (p3_user_menu.xml) starts with the tag <RMBMAP>. The one
containing the resource information (p3_user_menu_res.xml) starts with the tag
<RMBRESOURCEMAP>. These 2 files are kept in the Patran installation directory
($P3_HOME) by default, but can be anywhere in the PCL path and are read after all other
default menu-definition files, which also reside in the $P3_HOME/rmb_menu directory. The
menu-items defined in these files appear at the bottom of the menu.
• Add the following definition in p3_user_menu.xml within the <RMBMAP> tags:
<MENU>
<NAME>NoEntityMenu</NAME>
<ADDMENUITEM>AsmSetColor</ADDMENUITEM>
</MENU>
<MENUITEM>
<NAME>AsmSetColor</NAME>
<CALLBACK>asm_set_color_cb</CALLBACK>
<CONDITION>asm_set_color_cond</CONDITION>
</MENUITEM>
• Add the following in p3_user_menu_res.xml within the <RMBRESOURCEMAP> tags:
<MENUITEM>
<NAME>AsmSetColor</NAME>
<LABEL>Set Color</LABEL>
</MENUITEM>
• Implement the callback function in any .pcl file (note the function input arguments):
FUNCTION asm_set_color_cb( sel_entities, entity_type )
STRING sel_entities[]
STRING entity_type[]
dump sel_entities
dump entity_type
END FUNCTION
• Implement the condition function in any .pcl file (note the function input arguments):
FUNCTION asm_set_color_cond( sel_entities, entity_type )
STRING sel_entities[]
STRING entity_type[]
RETURN TRUE
END FUNCTION /* Activate this menu item */
• Run Patran. Load the PCL file containing the callback and condition function definition
using !!input command in the Patran command window. Thus if you put the functions in the
text file test_rmb.pcl, you would type
!!input test_rmb.pcl
Once the functions are input (compiled), click on the RMB in the viewport to see that “Set
Color” was added at the bottom:
A slightly more complex example can be performed by replacing the name NoEntityMenu in the
<NAME>NoEntityMenu</NAME> line of the p3_user_menu.xml file with ASM_MENU. If you do this
and carry through with the rest of the example, you will find that the “Set Color” option will only appear
at the bottom of the RMB menu after you have selected multiple types of geometry.
The above examples show how users can add functionality to the RMB. The XML files that control the
default RMB menu are in the Patran installation directory under the rmb_menu subdirectory. Users can
examine these files to see how the submenu structures are set up if they wish to create their own. Users
can also modify these files to change the default behavior of the RMB, or even change the functions
called by the call backs.
New and more complex call back functions can be created by the user, however, these call back functions
must all have argument lists that follow the same format. Specifically they must use the format and
arguments identical to those of the example: two string variables as arguments. This means that there are
no limits on what the call back functions do as long as the argument list is matched.
New GUI Skins
4.2 New GUI Skins1
Overview
A pre-release capability has been added to Patran’s graphical user interface (GUI) for the Windows
platform. Additional options are available to streamline user interaction. These options are available
using the -skin command line argument:
%patran -skin <skin>
where the available skins are:
office2007 (default)
xproyale
xpluna
le5
vista
xptunes
The database content is independent of which GUI skin option is used, including the legacy Patran skin
(no -skin option used) and so it is acceptable to switch skins on the same database between Patran
sessions.
Application Icon Ribbons

The new GUI skins provide for application icon ribbons allowing the user to avoid the normal
permutation of pull-down menus by providing easy-access ribbon toolbars populated with icon buttons.
Once selected the icon takes the user to the same application menu form they are accustomed to seeing,
thus there is no learning curve required. See picture below.
Used in conjunction with the new right mouse button (RMB) capabilities, these new GUI skins provide
the user with an exceptional experience.
The tabs in the ribbon are equivalent to the legacy Patran GUI skin’s applications. To open an application,
click on the tab. To close an application, select another tab. The Home tab will close any application
currently open and show no tab application.
Future plans will continue to improve this enhanced interface.
1This
is a pre-release capability. If you encounter problems, please revert back to the legacy Patran skin and
report problems to your MSC representative so they can be corrected. This capability is only available on
Windows.
New GUI Skins
Application Menu Ribbon Groups Menus (tabs)

New GUI Skins
Application Menu Ribbons Provide Easy Access to

Functions Without Searching the Pull-Down Menus
Click on the
Application Ribbon
Icon to Bring up the
Application Form
Icons Pull Up Familiar Action – Object – Method / Type Menus

New GUI Skins
Some Ribbons Have Application Menu Ribbon Group

Sub-Menus With Pull-Down Options
Native 64 Bit Port
4.3 Native 64 Bit Port1

A native port to Windows 64 bit machines is available for testing in a pre-release status. The native 64
bit version of Patran can be installed from the installation disk. The 32 bit production version is still
available for both 64 and 32 bit Windows machines as well as all other supported platforms.
Advantages of a native 64 bit Patran mainly include access to all available memory. On 32 bit machines,
the memory limitation is 2 gigabytes. The only limitation on 64 bit is the available memory of the
machine. This allows for the user to work with larger models in many aspects of the finite element
modeling process such as meshing and other modeling aspects.
It is possible to work with existing databases. An existing database created from a 32 bit version of Patran
on Windows will go through a porting process to enable it to be opened from the 64 bit version of Patran.
A 64 bit database can also be taken back to 32 bit via the porting process. Databases from other platforms
should first be converted up to the 2008r2 level on the original platform and then ported to the Windows
32 bit version of Patran and finally ported to 64 bit.
The following functionality is available in the Windows 64 bit port. Anything not listed here is not yet
available.
• Patran (core application)
• MSC Nastran Preference
• MD Nastarn Preference
• MSC Marc Preference
• ABAQUS Preference
• ANSYS Preference
• Laminate Modeler
• Patran Thermal (P/Thermal)
• UG NX Access
• CAD Interfaces (Spatial InterOP access only)
• CATIA V4 / V5
• ACIS
• STEP AP203/209
• IGES
• I-DEAS
Future plans are to support all Patran supported platforms with native 64 bit ports.
1This is a pre-release capability on Windows only. If you encounter problems, please report problems to your
MSC representative so they can be corrected. MSC advises against using this port for production work until
it is officially released. This port is made available as pre-release to facilitate testing and gather feed back to
MSC.
4.4 Automatic Feature Recognition

Automatic feature recognition (AFR) has been removed from the Tools/Pre-Release menu and is now a
supported feature under Tools pull down menu. It works from parasolid geometry. Select the entity type
and entities of interest; set the controls; then right-mouse-click on the features you want to recognize
(holes, chamfers, blends) in the tree widget. This populates the tree widget with the recognized features.
Right mouse click on the features to show, edit, or delete them.
Edited hole/feature.
1. Select Solid
1. Expand Feature Tree
1. Select “Holes”
1. Right-mouse-click: Recognize - Automatic (tree-
widget expands with recognized features)
1. Select feature (Hole 9, say)
1. Right-mouse-click: Edit
1. Make changes as required.
The Parasolid Kernel will fail to edit or delete a feature if there is a topological dependency on other
geometry. Multiple features can be deleted as long as all dependent features have also been selected for
deletion in the same operation.
The propagation controls get passed to the feature recognition API to control the type of recognition. In
other words, if you select the “Chain” option for Blends and do interactive recognition then it will do the
recognition and then perform chaining so finally you will get “Blend Chains”. Each “Blend Chain” may
be a combination of several individual Blends. To recognize each blend individually you can select the
“Single” option.
For automatic recognition these propagation control options are not used. For automatic recognition
these options have been set to default values of Hole:Single, Chamfer:Chain, Blend:Chain.
These options are valid for interactive recognition only and respective values get passed through the
second argument in the API.
status = ifr_recognize_blends_list(entity_list, propagation, @
topology, entity_type, number_of_features)
“Recognize – Automatic:” works with Geometric Entity as “Solid” only.
“Recognize – Interactive:” works with Geometric Entity as “Face” or “Edge” only.
“Recognize – Automatic” does not need any input other that “Solid ID” in which the features need to be
recognized. All other inputs are defaulted. It is available to provide user a convenience only. It will
recognize the features in the whole solid. Recognizing features in the whole solid may not always be
useful as there may actually only be the need of recognizing features in one particular region of the solid.
In this case simply select the faces/edges where the need to recognize the features exists and use
“Recognize – Interactive.”
“Recognize – Interactive” does not work with “Solid” geometric entities. Change the Geometric Entity
option to “Face” or “Edge” and select the faces or edges in the vicinity where the features are to be
recognized. If you select all the faces of solid, this is equivalent to automatic recognition with additional
propagation controls besides the default values. “Edge” Geometric Entity is available for holes only.
Batch Image Rendering
4.5 Batch Image Rendering1

The combined usage of the batch and graphics command line arguments for invoking Patran used to be
mutually exclusive. Now you can generate graphical images in batch mode by using both together to
invoke Patran via a session file (-sfp session file name) as shown here:
patran -b -graphics -sfp test.ses
Batch mode does not know what the dpi resolution is and uses a default of 100. But you can set this in
the settings.pcl file with graphics_batch_dpi, e.g.,
pref_env_set_real( "graphics_batch_dpi", 92.5 )
This works for JPEG, MPEG, BMP, PNG and TIFF graphics file formats.
1Customer
Request (CR) 40421
4.6 SimManager Integration

Publish and retrieve Patran databases and other related analysis files directly from within Patran with the
SimManager client, now directly accessible from the File pull down menu. Once the server connection
properties and settings are established users can easily communicate with SimManager. Once logged on,
the user may publish, retrieve, and browse as well view connection properties and access the Web Client.
Can retrieve and then open

databases directly in
Patran.
The following variables need to be set or are asked to be set during installation in order to communicate
with the SimManager server. For more information on this, the user is directed to the SimManager
documentation.
SM_RICH_CLIENT_CONFIG_FILE <location of SmRichClt.properties file>
SM_RICH_CLIENT_IC_HOST <host_name>
SM_RICH_CLIENT_IC_PORT <port number>
SM_RICH_CLIENT_IC_PROTOCOL http
SM_RICH_CLIENT_IC_WEBCONTEXT SimManager_R3
SM_RICH_CLIENT_ROOT <path>
Client access to a SimManager server via Patran is only supported on Windows machines. For more
information on settings these environment variables, please see Patran Environment Variables (p. 48) in
the Patran Installation and Operations Guide.
SimXpert Integration
4.7 SimXpert Integration

SimXpert can be launched from Patran under the File pull down menu or from within the MD Nastran
Preference. Launching from the File menu only launches SimXpert with no data transfer. Launching
from the Analysis application will transfer the finite element model to SimXpert. For this capability to
be available, the user must set the environment variable MSC_SX_HOME to the top level directory of a
valid, local installation of SimXpert. If an installation of SimXpert is detected at installation time, this
will automatically be configured for the user.
MSC Sinda Preference
4.8 MSC Sinda Preference

MSC Sinda is now a new thermal analysis offering from MSC. As such a new MSC Sinda preference is
available to give access to this state-of-the-art thermal analysis module. MSC Sinda must be installed in
order for the Preference to be able to submit analyses and retrieve results. However, Sinda database can
be created without an MSC Sinda installation. Besides setting up a model for thermal analysis, various
utilities are also available from an additional pull down menu to read in material data from Excel
spreadsheets and other capabilities. You are referred to the MSC Sinda Preference User Guide for further
in formation.
This Preference is only available on Windows. MSC Sinda solves problems using resistance-capacitance
network approach, coupled with fast finite difference numerical methods and including power
FORTRAN programming. Very Powerful!
Laminate Modeler
4.9 Laminate Modeler

Laminate Modeler incorporates a number of enhancements to promote the effective modeling of
laminated composites structures. These are described below under the headings of the appropriate
command.
The Laminate Modeler initialization form, which allows the user to begin the Laminate Modeler session
now has two new options:
Import Layup File…

Available if no mesh exists in the current Patran database. This opens the selected Layup file AND
imports the shell mesh in the Layup file into the database. This avoids the need to issue the Import Model
Layup File command manually after opening the Layup file.
Save As…
Saves the Layup model to the selected Layup file AND updates the current file name. This is convenient
when investigating multiple configurations.
Create LM_Layup Add

When creating an analysis model (i.e., generating properties) at the same time as creating or modifying
a LM_Layup, the default laminate orientation method and additional options were used previously. This
meant that for fine control of the property generation, the user would need to use the separate Create
Laminate Modeler
Laminate LM_Layup command. Now, the user can set detailed options directly on the first form,
increasing efficiency and promoting the use of the most appropriate orientation option.
For many problems, best practice is to use coordinate systems to define both the Reference Directions of
plies, and the orientation of the generated laminate materials. This maximizes correlation between ply
and property definition, and means that the coordinate system is written to the analysis input deck and
directly available to the solver.
Layup Definition Spreadsheet

The Layup spreadsheet allows the definition of the Ply Group and Sequence associated with each Layup
Ply instance as shown below. This is not used directly within the analysis environment but promotes
interoperability with composites design systems where plies are grouped hierarchically under these
headings. Transferring a design model from CATIA Composites Design and Laminate Modeler using
Laminate Modeler
Simulayt's Composites Link will transfer this information bi-directionally to ensure that designers and
analysts can communicate effectively.
The symmetry of the current Layup sequence is now reported as a label instead of the previous option
menu to emphasize that this is a result of the Layup sequence defined and not an option that can be set
by the user.
Create LM_Layup Laminate

This new command extracts ply and layup definitions stored in the Laminate Materials using global ply
identifiers (GPlyIds). The plies are named gplyid.X where X is the appropriate GPlyId value. The start
point is arbitrarily set to the centroid of the element in the ply having the lowest Id, and the application
direction is set opposite its normal direction. The ply type is set to a Projected type based on rotation with
respect to the element datum, and the rotation is set to that for the start element. Please note that as these
are necessarily arbitrary assumptions, modifying a ply of this type will reset orientations so that this
should be avoided.
Laminate Modeler
The global plies are added to the LM_Layup in increasing order of GPlyId. Please note that while this
follows recommended practice for the use of global ply identifiers, there is no guarantee that the order
on each element will be consistent and so this should be checked carefully.
Create Results Failure Calc

This command has been enhanced to work with results that have already been sorted by MD Nastran on
the basis of global ply identifiers (GPlyIds). The results are assumed to be sorted already if results layer
ids do not begin at layer 1 OR the results layer ids are not sequential OR the number of elements in a
result increases with results layer id OR an element in a result does not exist in a previous layered result.
With this comprehensive checking, it is highly unlikely that sorted results will be identified as unsorted
ones.
The failure calculation in Laminate Modeler has traditionally supported custom failure criteria using a
PCL function. Now, comprehensive support for custom failure criteria is provided by means of Add-Ins
developed in C++ using Simulayt's Add-In architecture. The Add-Ins are simply placed in a directory
identified by the environment variable SLTAddinPath, after which the Add-In becomes available for
selection by the user as shown below. Both the Allowable values and the Results created are set by the
selected criterion and are then respectively input and selected readily by the user.
The flexibility of the new Add-In failure criterion system will allow the creation of high performance
failure criterion able to model multiple failure criteria in a single compound criterion. And, as the
criterion's interface is well defined, these same criteria could be used consistently in other calculation
environments, such as a spreadsheet for initial calculations.
Laminate Modeler
Show LM_Ply Graphics

This command has been enhanced to allow the visualization of draped and flat patterns where
appropriate. These are computed on-the-fly and can prove to be a most effective visualization tool,
particularly when the Auto Execute option is used in the ply selection listbox.
Delete LM_Layup Select

As a Laminate Modeler model can only contain a single LM_Layup, the name of an exiting LM_Layup
is now displayed in a databox and not a listbox to prevent confusion.
Import Plies File

When importing plies from a Layup file or FiberSIM data, the plies from the source file are mapped onto
the destination elements in Patran. If the source and destination elements are too widely separated, the
mapping is not initialized and it was difficult to identify the faulty element previously. Now, if selected
elements are unmapped, a warning is given and the unmapped elements are placed in a group called
LMImportUnmappedElements so they can be identified easily. This allows quicker identification and
resolution of mapping problems.
Mapping was calculated using a line from the centroid of a destination element in the element normal
direction. Now, the option of defining an average normal direction based on the surface normals at each
node of an element has been added. This can improve mapping where the destination surface contains
sharp creases as shown below. This is a common situation for frames and spars commonly used in the
aerospace industry.
Laminate Modeler
Import Results ESAComp xml

ESAComp is a laminate analysis tool that can generate failure criteria that are written in an xml file. This
new command reads the result data from the file and creates a Patran result that can be viewed in the usual
way.
Verify Laminate
This new command allows the user to verify that the laminate created satisfies general rules that reflect
the requirements of the aerospace industry, such as symmetry, balance, taper ratio and so on. The user
selects the element to be verified, a "main" direction (such as the trailing edge of a wing) and thickness
and angle tolerances required for some tests. The required test is then selected and applied. Elements
which fail the selected tests are highlighted in the viewport using the relevant color, and a spreadsheet
listing all failed elements and the test they have failed is displayed. The results of a symmetry check on
a vertical tail plane model are shown as an example below.
Customer Requests
4.10 Customer Requests

Many customer requests (CRs) were addressed in this release. These consist of defect corrections and
enhancement request. The following are significant customer requests or defects that were addressed that
may be of interest to users in addition to those that have already been referenced in previous
chapters/sections:
CR # Description
1-68705473 File / Open Recent - Allows you to select from a list of recently accessed database files.
The number of files visible is controlled by settings.pcl file environment variable:
pref_env_set_integer("max_num_recent_files",num_files)
The list of recent files is found in a file called .Patran.RecentFiles located in the
users’ home directory. On Windows, this is determined by the HOMEDRIVE and
HOMEPATH variables, e.g., “C:” and “\” = C:\.Patran.RecentFiles. On UNIX,
the environment variable HOME must be set, e.g., /home/user.
1-66889951 Preselection Highlighting Entity Offset - A defect was corrected where if a group of nodes
and/or elements was erased that caused a fit view to occur (Preferences->Graphics->Auto
Extend), then pre-selection highlighting would display nodes offset from their true
position.
1-64306194 OEFIT OP2 Datablock - A defect was corrected where failure indices from composite
failure analysis were not being processed correctly when reading the OEFIT datablock
from a Nastran OP2 file.
1-66078121 Long Result Case Names - Result case names that exceeded 80 characters would result in
a PCL traceback if filtered. The character limit has been increased to 256 to avoid this.
1-15765121 “$” Allowed in Group Names - Groups with “$” symbols in the name now function
properly when editing Global Subcase Output.
1-16900917 15 Noded CPENTA Results - Results for 15-noded CPENTA elements can now be
accessed via XDB files.
1-19052381 Material Stiffness Matrix Terms - The C44, C55 and C66 terms are now ordered correctly
when converting 3D Orthotropic materials to 3D Anisotropic for MAT9 entries.
1-19730217 Jobname and Results Case Name Conflict - In cases where an existing jobname is active
but an XDB file is attached with subcases not associated to the active job, the results cases
were picking up the jobname instead of the actual subcase name as defined in the Nastran
job. A new settings.pcl variable has been implemented to control this.
pref_env_set_integer("RESULTS_TITLE_CHECK_LEVEL",level)
This is an integer value with the following meanings:

Customer Requests
CR # Description
1-19730217 0 - Default behavior: not set or zero or >3 - if results (XDB) file name and jobname do not
match for Nastran Preference only, results case names do not get associated to load case
names of the existing jobname
1 - user is prompted for default behavior (NO) or to use previous behavior, which is to put
the loadcase names associated to the current jobname into the result case names (NOT
RECOMMENDED - but the use can do it if he wants)
2 - users is notified that jobname and results file name differ and given the choice to
continue or not. Continuing will give the default behavior.
3 - user is warned that the jobname and results file name differ but the default behavior still
occurs
In all cases, if the jobname and the XDB filename are the same, then the functionality
remains the same as the default behavior. Values of 1, 2, or 3 only have effect if the
jobname and the XDB file name differ.
1-19960526 DB Import Changes Poisson’s Ratio Value - This corrected an incorrect rounding of
material data occurring occasionally on import into another database, which slightly
changing the property value.
1-23657326 Some Result Layers missing from XDB Attachment - XDB attachments were only
recognizing layers of the first results cases even though subsequent result cases had more
layers.
1-50872269 TET10 Stress Data using GAUSS on PSOLID - Incorrect fringe plots have been corrected
when the GAUSS field on the PSOLID entry is activated during a Nastran run and results
accessed from Patran via the XDB file.
1-32732851 MBOLTUS Import Support - MBOLTUS entries in the Nastran input deck are now
imported as Overclosure MPCs
1-52553651 Residual Vector Computation - In the Nastran preference, on the solution parameters form,
the Residual Vector Computation toggle now writes RESVEC=YES or RESVEC=NO if
the parameter is present in the database for that job no matter what. Previously only
RESVEC=NO was being written because RESVEC=YES is the default for most SOL
sequences. But for SOL 103, no RESVEC entry defaults into RESVEC=COMPONENT
where the desired default is RESVEC=YES or BOTH. So now RESVEC=YES is written
if the toggle is ON.
1-64846211 Large Listbox Capability - There are number of places in the Element Properties,
LoadsBCs, Materials, and Fields applications as well as Groups and Regions where the
large listbox capability has been enabled without having to invoke Patran with the “-l”
option for large listbox capability. A small icon appears next to the listbox that can be
expanded to a large listbox.
1-18201068 PLOAD4 Import - Importing Nastran files with PLOAD4 pressures that vary spatially now
import correctly and a proper spatial field is created for each load set.
Customer Requests
CR # Description
1-40919043 Significant Digit Control - More control for writing significant digits is given when writing
Nastran input decks. Individual control is now given under the Translation Parameter form
for grids, coordinate frames, MPCs, LBCs, materials and properties.
1-45336797 Mesh in Wrong Location after Surface Transformation - After transforming parasolid
surfaces to new locations using Group/Transform, subsequent meshes were being placed
in the wrong physical location using the Hybrid or Sheet Body meshers.
1-40918941 MPCs & Tools/List/Create - The ability to create lists of nodes associated to MPCs has
been implemented under the Tools/List/Create utility.
1-67076271 Fastener Results in Multiple XDB files - An issue where fastener results were not
accessible if multiple XDB files were attached has been corrected.
1-70170481 Significant Digits in Envelope Plots - It is now possible to control the number of significant
digits in envelope plots under the Tools / MSC.Explore utility.
1-19671064 SPOINT Import - SPOINTS associated with beam definitions of warping degrees-of-
freedom from the Nastran input deck are now imported to retains those definitions in the
beam element properties.
1-18657123 Nodes/Grid Projection in Radial Direction - Nodes and grids can now be projected onto a
surface in the radial direction when a cylindrical system is referenced. Spherical systems
are also supported and all other component directions.
1-9146004 Nodes Left Behind After Group/Transform - Nodes referenced as GO points for defining
beam orientations were not transformed during a Group/Transform operation. Now if
nodes in a group are referenced in properties, fields or MPC's, then during the transform
operation such nodes are copied.
1-25240879 SOL 600 TEMPD Support - Nastran case control TEMP(LOAD), TEMP(INIT), and bulk
data TEMPD entries now supported for SOL 600.
1-59220230 Torsional Constant J of Cross Cross-sections - The calculation of the torsional constant J
of a cross-type cross-section does not have a closed form solution. The beam section library
now calculates J and the shear stiffness factors of this standard cross section by using the
routines for calculating these properties for arbitrary beams cross sections.
1-17613229 Turn Spectrum Off with Constant Contours - When creating a contour plot, the user can set
the attributes to 'Constant', displaying all contour lines in a single color. Other results tools
automatically turn off the spectrum and hide the option from the user, but the contour
leaves the spectrum in place with its varying colors. The user no longer must manually turn
off the spectrum to see a correct plot.
1-70358907 Automatic Spectrum Update - When a new spectrum is selected from the
Display/Spectrums form, the spectrum is applied immediately without having to recreate
the results plot.
1-43797130 Imprinted Parasolid Geometry - It is now possible to mesh imprinted Parasolid geometry.
Customer Requests
CR # Description
28974 Deletion of Multiple Load Cases - The ability to delete multiple load cases in one operation
has been implemented.
1-75970050 Large listbox capability has been implemented for portions of the Tools / Design Study /
1-77244825 Preprocessing application.
1-54421399 In the FEM application, when equivalencing nodes you can now do the boundary verify
operation on the same form rather than having to change the Action / Object to Verify /
Boundaries
1-77359861 Direct Text Input for the MSC Nastran Preference now allows you to specify if you want
the text input at the start or the end of the specified section of the input file.
1-78080878 Correction to Shear Area Factor K for tube cross sections.
1-50781738 Correction of assembly meshes of some parasolid models that were incorrectly offset.
1-62817224 RSPINR entry for Nastran rotor dynamics has been updated to support both Nastran 2007
and pre 2007 formats.
1-67083505 Connector elements are now erased in a deformation plot if the user requests the
undeformed shape to be hidden.
MSC.Fatigue Quick Start Guide
Index
Patran Release Guide
Numerics K
64 Bit Port, 4, 43 Key Highlights, 2
P A L
atr ACIS, 7 Laminate Modeler, 5, 51
an AIX, 6 LINUX, 6
R Automatic Feature Recognition, 2, 44
el M
ea B Marc, 3, 28
se Batch Image Rendering, 46 MD Nastran Preference, 2, 1
MSC Marc Preference, 3, 28
G MSC Nastran Preference, 2, 1
ui C
CAD Access, 2, 7 MSC Sinda Preference, 4, 50
Catia V5, 2
InterOp, 2 N
Parasolid, 2 Nastran, 2, 1
UG NX, 2 Nonlinear Analysis, 3, 10, 18
CATIA V4, 7
CATIA V5, 7 O
Contact, 4, 31 Operating systems, supported, 6
Customer Requests, 5, 57 Optimization, 2
E P
Enhancements, 2 Parasolid, 7
Platforms, supported, 6
G Pro/ENGINEER, 7
GUI Skins, 4, 39
R
H Red Hat, 6
Hardware, 6 Results, 3, 24, 30
Highlights, 2 Right Mouse Button, 4, 34
HP, 6
S
I SimManager Integration, 4, 47
IBM, 6 SimXpert Integration, 4, 49
I-DEAS, 7 Sinda, 4, 50
Intel, 6 Skins, 4, 39
Solaris, 6
Sun, 6
Supported OS levels, 6
Supported platforms, 6
T
Thermal Analysis, 3, 23
Topography, 2
Topology, 2
Topometry, 2
U
Unigraphics, 7
Utilities, 5
W
Wildfire, 7
Windows, 6

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1 Patran 2008 r2 at a Glance

Supported OS/Hardware Platforms 6

Analysis Preferences Tested 9

2 MD Nastran MSC Nastran Preference

RMButton – Entity Check Options 36

Batch Image Rendering 46

n Patran Release Guide 61

Patran 2008 r2 at a Glance

1.1 Key Highlights

Automatic Feature Recognition

MD Nastran1 and MSC Nastran Support (Patran 2008 r2)

• Design Variables: PCOMPG (Global Plys)

See Optimization (SOL 200) Enhancements, 2.

Implicit Nonlinear Analysis (SOL 400)

See Implicit Nonlinear (SOL 400) Enhancements, 10.

Explicit Nonlinear Analysis (SOL 700)

Thermal-Structural Interaction (SOL 101)

New GUI Skins (Patran 2008 r2 - Pre-Release)

Native 64 Bit Port (Patran 2008 r2 - Pre-Release)

Batch Image Rendering

MSC Sinda Preference

Customer Requests (CRs)

1.2 Supported OS/Hardware Platforms

1.3 Supported CAD Access

CATIA V4* 4.2.4 4.2.4 4.2.4 4.2.4 4.2.4

CATIA V5 R18 R18 R18 R18

Unigraphics‡ NX5.0 NX5.0 NX5.0 NX6.0 XMT**

Patran has two methods for importing Pro/ENGINEER models:

The Pro/ENGINEER Wildfire release introduced the following platform changes:

For Pro/ENGINEER 2001:

For Pro/ENGINEER Wildfire:

Pro/ENGINEER Wildfire 3.0

1.4 Analysis Preferences Tested

1.5 Technical Support

Phone and Fax

United States Frimley, Camberley

Telephone: (49) (89) 43 19 87 0 Telephone: (81) (3) 3505 02 66

Telephone: (390) (6) 5 91 64 50 Telephone: (33) (1) 69 36 69 36

Telephone: (7) (095) 236 6177 Telephone: (31) (18) 2543700

Telephone: (34) (91) 5560919

Patran Support mscpatran.support@mscsoftware.com

MD Nastran Support mscnastran.support@mscsoftware.com

MSC.Dytran Support mscdytran.support@mscsoftware.com

MSC.Fatigue Support mscfatigue.support@mscsoftware.com

MSC.Marc Support mscmarc.support@mscsoftware.com

MSC.Mvision Support mscmvision.support@mscsoftware.com

MSC.SuperForge Support mscsuperforge.support@mscsoftware.com

MSC Institute Course Information msctraining.support@mscsoftware.com

MD Nastran MSC Nastran Preference

2.1 Optimization (SOL 200) Enhancements

Enhancements over the previous release include:

General Optimization - More Design Variables.

More Responses, Constraints, Objectives.

• Fluid modes for normal modes analysis.

Design Variable Relations.

There are several ways to define an expression or variable relation:

DDVID = Dependent design variable

2.2 Implicit Nonlinear (SOL 400) Enhancements

Contact Improvements - BCONTACT = ALLBODY

Contact Detection - Shell Edge Contact.

Contact Detection - 3D Beam to Beam Contact

Contact Body Movement (BCMOVE) - approach step.