The steps to run MSC Nastran and Patran on Strauss are presented below. This is not a tutorial on Nastran or Patran and is only meant to supply the minimum number of steps to initiate their execution. Please consult the online Nastran documentation and Patran documentation for complete information.

• Nastran non-interactive execution
• Nastran interactive (graphical) execution
• Patran interactive execution

Nastran non-interactive execution

The following command will start Nastran

nastran input_data_file

where input_data_file is the name of your Nastran input data file with .dat extension. For example, the same results can be produced for ex1.dat as described in the Nastran graphical execution by typing

% nastran ex1

The output displayed will be similar to the following:

MD Nastran V2006.0 (SUN SPARC SunOS 5.9) Thu Feb  1 14:30:36 2007

     *** USER WARNING MESSAGE (pgm: nastran, fn: validate_lcl_keywords)
         The disk identified by "dbs=." is remotely mounted.

         This could result in significant elapsed time penalties.

     *** SYSTEM INFORMATION MESSAGE (pgm: nastran, fn: estimate_job_requirements)
         Starting ESTIMATE, please wait...

     *** USER INFORMATION MESSAGE (pgm: nastran, fn: estimate_job_requirements)
         Estimated DOF=3
         Estimated memory=32.0MB
         Estimated disk=1.2MB
     MD Nastran beginning job ex1.  PID: 17969.

A successful job will produce a set of files like this one:

% ls ex1.*
      ex1.DBALL   ex1.dat     ex1.f06     ex1.pch
      ex1.MASTER  ex1.f04     ex1.log
      

Nastran interactive (graphical) execution

The steps described here invoke the "interactive" (graphical) mode of Nastran. You must be at a Sun Ray terminal or running an X server package (such as XMING or Cygwin) order to run Nastran interactively. This interactive version of Nastran may not be available in future releases. Alternatively, you can run Nastran in non-interactive mode.

1. Type the following command:

   xnastran

   The Submit MSC.Nastran Version window will open, overlapping the Submit MSC.Nastran interactive window behind it.

   

   NOTE

   The Submit MSC.Nastran Version window should disappear in a few seconds. Make the Submit MSC.Nastran window larger before proceeding.

2. On the Submit MSC.Nastran window Setup menu, click  MSC.Nastran Version to display the Setup MSC.Nastran Version window.

   

3. In the Run Command box, type /opt/bin/nastran and click the Accept button.

   

4. Click the Select File button next to the Input Data File box to select your Nastran input data file. In this example, the input data file ex1.dat is selected. Click the OK button.

   

   The window will disappear and /home/usra/0c/00000/ex1.dat will be displayed in the Input Data File box of the Submit MSC.Nastran window.

   

5. To submit the job, use the scroll bar to move to the bottom of the Submit MSC.Nastran window and click the Submit Job button.

   

   This will display the MSC.Nastran window for job ex1.

   

   The last two lines in the window should display:

   		MD Nastran job ex1 completed.
        <EOT>     

   Press RETRN or ENTER to close the MSC.Nastran window.

   A successful job will produce the same set of files for ex1.dat as described above in the Nastran non-interactive mode.

6. To exit Nastran, click Exit on the File menu at the top of the Submit MSC.Nastran window.

   

Patran interactive

Patran is a graphical-only program - there is no "non-interactive" mode as there is in Nastran. You must be at a Sun Ray terminal or running an X server package (such as  XMING  or Cygwin) order to run Patran.

1. Type the following command:
   
   patran

   The MSC.Patran Startup window will open the windowing environment.

   

   NOTE

   The MSC.Patran Startup window should disappear after awhile, and the MSC.Patran 2005 r2 window will be displayed.

   

2. To quit Patran, select Quit on the File menu at the top of the MSC.Patran 2005 r2 window.

   

Nastran documentation

Nastran documentation can be viewed on the Web at

• DMAP Programmer's Guide
• Installation and Operations Guide
• Quick Reference Guide
• Release Guide
• Design Sensitivity and Optimization User's Guide
• Explicit Nonlinear (SOL 700) User's Guide
• Implicit Nonlinear (SOL 600) User's Guide

Patran documentation

Online help is available from within Patran by clicking the Help menu item at the top of the main window. Choosing most Help menu items will open a Firefox browser on Strauss if you haven't already opened one.

• Help -> Contents and Index

  Displays the entire contents of the Help system.

• Help -> PCL

  Accesses all PCL Help with a separate contents list and index.

• Help -> On Help

  Provides additional details on using MSC.Patran Help and navigating the contents.

• Help -> Technical Support

  Directs you in obtaining the technical support you might need.

• Help -> What's New in MSC.Patran

  Reports the key hightlights and describes all the new features for MSC.Patran.

• Help -> About MSC.Patran

  Opens a separate window containing the version and legal notices for the MSC.Patran product software. Click the Cancel button to close the window.

/usr/local/firefox/mozilla-xremote-client: Error: Failed to find a running server.

Patran documentation can also be viewed on the Web.