www.ansys.com

Analysis Types

Static Analysis

· Static with Inertia Relief
· Differential Stiffness
· Piecewise Linear
· Cyclic Symmetry
· Linear Buckling

Structural Dynamics

· Normal Modes
· Frequency Response

(Direct and Modal)

· Transient Response

(Direct and Modal)

· Complex Eigensolution

(Direct and Modal)

· Normal Modes with

Differential Stiffness

· Normal Modes with Cyclic

Symmetry

Substructuring Analysis

· Component Modes Synthesis

Element Types

1-D

· ROD, BEAM, BAR, ELBOW,

CONROD

2-D

· QUAD4, TRIA3, SHEAR

3-D

· HEXA, HEX8, PENTA, TETRA

Axisymmetric

· TRIARG, TRAPRG,TORDRG,

TRIAAX, TRAPAX

Spring

· ELAS1, ELAS2, ELAS3,

ELAS4

Rigid

· RROD, RBAR, RBE1, RBE2,

RBE3, RSPLINE, RTRPLT

Special Purpose

· MASSi, CONM1, CONM2,

GENEL, DMI, DMIG, VISC

Material Types

Isotropic
Orthotropic
Anisotropic
Composite

A I * N A S T R A N 1 . 0

Product Features

AI*NASTRAN

–

The New Choice for Large, Complex Structures

NASTRAN

®

set the standard for aerospace and automotive simulation

and analysis software more than 40 years ago. Since then, companies in
numerous industries have relied upon NASTRAN’s superior modeling
elements and powerful solvers to prove concepts and prevent catastroph-
ic failures in everything from chemical plants, oil refineries and rail
vehicles to next-generation fighter aircraft, sports cars and sky-
scrapers.

Traditionally, NASTRAN-dependent companies had a limited choice of commer-

cially available packages. For those companies, ANSYS Inc. now introduces

AI*NASTRAN – an effective, alternative NASTRAN package.

Built from the same base code as the original software responsible for mak-

ing such awe inspiring projects as the Apollo space missions a reality,

AI*NASTRAN is ideal for solving extremely large and complex problems.

To handle extremely large

problems, AI*NASTRAN’s

substructuring analysis option

allows a complete structure or

structural system to be analyzed as a

series of separate component systems.

This gives AI*NASTRAN the power to per-

form such intricate analyses as airframe,

turbine design,noise/vibration/harshness

(NVH) and durability problems. The

substructuring analysis option also

facilitates collaboration between

numerous organizations working

together to complete a single

project. AI*NASTRAN’s

capacity to solve large prob-

lems is limited only by the

memory and disk restric-

tions of the hardware on

which it is loaded.

.

Image courtesy of the Center for Aerospace Structures
University of Colorado (Boulder, Colorado, U.S.A.)

ANSYS Inc.
Southpointe; 275 Technology Drive
Canonsburg, PA 15317; U.S.A.

[e-mail]

Publication subject to change without prior notice.
ANSYS is registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
AI*NASTRAN and AI*Environment are trademarks of SAS IP, Inc. a whol-
ly owned subsidiary of ANSYS Inc. NASTRAN is a registered trademark of
the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. All other trademarks
and registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
©2002 SAS IP, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Printed in U.S.A.

MPS0105NOV02

www.ansys.com

Toll-Free:
1.866.ANSYS.AI

(1.866.267.9724)

Toll-Free Mexico:
001.866.ANSYS.AI

Loading and Boundary Types

Static Analysis

· Loading

Point
Pressure
Gravity
Temperature
Distributed

· Boundary Conditions

Single Point
Multi Point
Enforced Displacement

Dynamic Analysis

· Loading

Time Domain
Frequency Domain

· Boundary Conditions

Single Point
Multi Point
Enforced Motion

Static Load Types (in dynamics)

Legacy NASTRAN Characteristics

Wide-ranging analysis types
General purpose equation
solvers

Robust element library
NASTRAN structured data formats
Modular program architecture
DMAP

Solvers

Boeing Computer Services (BCS)

Libraries
· Sparse Symmetric Solver
· Unisymmetric Solver
· Lanczos (Real)

Standard NASTRAN Solvers

· Symmetric DECOMP
· Inverse Powers with Shifts
· Givens
· Modified Givens
· Householder
· FEER

Complex Eigenvalue Solvers

· Hessenberg
· FEER

Pre- /Post-Processors

AI*Environment
FEMAP
I-DEAS
HyperMesh

A I * N A S T R A N 1 . 0

Product Features Cont’d

Integration With Your Existing Analysis Process

AI*NASTRAN was designed to fit into your existing product development process. This

robust software quickly processes input data generated from leading NASTRAN pre-proces-

sors, such as AI*Environment

™

, HyperMesh,

®

FEMAP

®

and I-DEAS,

™

and generates binary

output files that are com-

patible with existing post-

processing software.

Additionally, AI*NASTRAN

reads your legacy NAS-

TRAN files—with features

including executive and

case control, and bulk data

input format—and outputs

files in both standard NAS-

TRAN and Boeing Harwell

sparse formats.

The Power of DMAP

AI*NASTRAN allows you to create
and alter your own solution
sequences with the inclusion of the
Direct Matrix Abstraction Program
(DMAP). This highly flexible and
powerful programming language
gives you the power to integrate
AI*NASTRAN with other software
programs, customize the solution
sequence for specific applications,
and add critical, time-compressing
functionality.

With the most demanded analysis features and functions

—

backed by

ANSYS Inc.’s certi-

fied technical support—AI*NASTRAN is a viable and welcome alternative for NASTRAN
users.

Features such as the substructuring analysis option give AI*NASTRAN users the ability to model
large, complex structures for analysis.

Linear static analysis of an automotive frame assembly component.