PATRAN
The Industry’s Leading Finite Element Modeling Environment
OVERVIEW
Patran is the world’s most widely used pre/post-processing software for Finite Element Analysis (FEA), providing solid modeling, meshing, analysis setup and post-processing for multiple solvers including MSC Nastran, Marc, Abaqus, LS-DYNA, ANSYS, and Pam-Crash.
It is a comprehensive pre- and post-processing environment for finite element analysis, helping engineers to conceptualize, develop and test product designs. Used by the world’s leading manufacturing companies as their standard tool for the creation and analysis of simulation models, Patran links design, analysis, and results evaluation.
Patran provides a rich set of tools that streamline the creation of analysis ready models for linear, nonlinear, explicit dynamics, thermal, and other finite element solutions.
From geometry cleanup tools that make it easy for engineers to deal with gaps and slivers in CAD, to solid modeling tools that enable creation of models from scratch, Patran makes it easy to create FE models.
Meshes are easily created on surfaces and solids alike using fully automated meshing routines, manual methods that provide more control, or combinations of both.
Finally, loads, boundary conditions, and analysis setup for the most popular FEA solvers is built in, minimizing the need to edit input decks.
Patran’s comprehensive and industry tested capabilities ensure that your virtual prototyping efforts provide results fast so that you can evaluate product performance against requirements and optimize your designs.
PATRAN - CAPABILITIES
Direct Access of CAD Geometry
Patran enables access to geometry from leading CAD systems for creating finite element models. Support for many industry-standard geometry exchange formats is also provided. An option is also available for direct import from and export into Parasolid format supported by several CAD systems. All finite elements, loads, boundary conditions, and material properties can be associated to the geometry.
Advanced Geometry Creation, Editing and Feature Recognition
Patran contains an advanced set of geometry creation tools in addition to the direct CAD access capabilities for generating finite element model geometry.
Patran also has a sophisticated feature recognition capability that allows users to delete or edit holes, fillets, and chamfers. For 3D solid geometry, existing meshes and loads will be automatically re-applied to the model after a change is made to the geometry.
Support of Multiple FEA Solvers
Patran is tailored to support both MSC Nastran and MD Nastran to enable the use of common finite element models and perform advanced engineering analysis and enhance designs using Nastran’s Design Optimization and Topology Optimization capabilities.
In addition to MSC Nastran, Patran also supports the other solvers developed by MSC (Marc, Dytran, and MSC Sinda) and also solvers like Abaqus, Ansys, LS-Dyna and Pamcrash, enabling you to stay in a single graphical user environment even if you have to use multiple solvers for various analyses.
Post-Processing and Reporting Tools
Patran displays results for structural, thermal, fatigue, fluid, magnetic analyses, or in relation to any other application where the resultant values are associated with their respective finite elements or nodes.
Imaging encompasses the complete graphics capability found within the Patran product, including graphic shading and visual verification prior to analysis. Imaging features a number of options that take advantage of specialized hardware capabilities, including local view manipulation, local shading, multiple light sources, and transparency.
You can also export images and movies in many standard formats to include in documents and web-based reporting.
Patran Command Language
Patran Command Language (PCL) is the programming language at the heart of Patran. PCL is a high-level, block-structured language that provides many features found in traditional programming languages.
It can be used to write application or site-specific commands and menus, perform variational modeling, and to more completely integrate with commercial or in-house software programs.
PATRAN - BENEFITS
• Increase productivity of your design and development process
• Reduce development costs through increased use of simulation technologies
• Improve productivity and accuracy with multidiscipline analysis and optimization
MODULES
CAE Fatigue with PATRAN
Patran works in conjunction with MSC Fatigue to provide comprehensive durability results for your assessment. MSC Fatigue is an FE-based durability and damage tolerance solver, and can deal with the full range of fracture and fatigue life calculations for static and dynamic problems in both the time and frequency domain.
Testing against repeated loading cycles, sometimes millions of times over, is often too expensive and time-consuming to be practical. Finite element analysis programs can tell you where stress “hot spots” exist, but on their own can’t tell you whether those hot spots are critical areas for fatigue failure, or when fatigue might become a problem.