Features

Overview

  • Python 2.7, 3.6-3.7
  • BSD-3 license
  • unicode support
  • importable from within Matlab
  • limited package requirements for BDF/OP2/F06

  • additional features available with more packages

    • BDF/OP2:

      • h5py for HDF5 input/output support
      • PyQt4/PyQt5/PySide/PySide2/wxpython for file loading popup

    • OP2:

      • pandas for results/matrices for use in the Jupyter Notebook

    • F06:

      • matplotlib support for plotting

    • GUI: range of choices

      • PyQt4/PyQt5/PySide/PySide2
      • VTK 7/8

    • logging using cpylog

      • colorama for console logging
      • HTML logging for Jupyter Notebook
      • no markup when piping output to a file
      • supports overwriting logger object with user-defined logger

BDF Reader/Writer

  • Input/Output:
    • 473 cards supported including:
      • optimization
      • aero
      • thermal
      • superelements
    • small, large, double precision file reading/writing
    • pickling
    • HDF5 reading/writing
    • comments are stored
    • simplified card adding `python >>> model.add_grid(nid, xyz=[4.,5.,6.], comment='nid, cp, x, y, z') ` ` $GRID comment $grid,nid,cp,x,y,z GRID,10,,4.0,5.0,6.0 `
  • methods:
    • loads summation
    • mass properties (including NSM)
    • nodal equivalencing
    • mesh quality
      • aspect ratio, taper ratio, skew, min/max interior angle
      • quad collapsing
      • element deletion
    • deck merging
    • renumber
    • unit conversion
    • cutting plane
    • visualization of material coordinate systems
    • mirroring
    • solid skinning
    • length, area, volume, mass breakdowns
  • list of cards supported…
Card Group Cards
MATS1 MATS1
MATT1 MATT1
MATT2 MATT2
MATT3 MATT3
MATT4 MATT4
MATT5 MATT5
MATT8 MATT8
MATT9 MATT9
aecomps AECOMP
aefacts AEFACT
aelinks AELINK
aelists AELIST
aeparams AEPARM
aero AERO
aeros AEROS
aestats AESTAT
aesurf AESURF
aesurfs AESURFS
ao_element_flags CBARAO
asets ASET, ASET1
axic AXIC
axif AXIF
bconp BCONP
bcrparas BCRPARA
bcs CONV, CONVM, RADBC, RADM, TEMPBC
bctadds BCTADD
bctparas BCTPARA
bctsets BCTSET
blseg BLSEG
bsets BSET, BSET1
bsurf BSURF
bsurfs BSURFS
cMethods EIGC, EIGP
caeros CAERO1, CAERO2, CAERO3, CAERO4, CAERO5
convection_properties PCONV, PCONVM
coords CORD1C, CORD1R, CORD1S, CORD2C, CORD2R, CORD2S, GMCORD
creep_materials CREEP
csets CSET, CSET1
csschds CSSCHD
csuper CSUPER
csupext CSUPEXT
dareas DAREA
dconstrs DCONADD, DCONSTR
ddvals DDVAL
delays DELAY
dequations DEQATN
desvars DESVAR
divergs DIVERG
dlinks DLINK
dload_entries ACSRCE, QVECT, RANDPS, RANDT1, RLOAD1, RLOAD2, TLOAD1,
  TLOAD2
dloads DLOAD
dmigs DMIG
dmijis DMIJI
dmijs DMIJ
dmiks DMIK
dmis DMI
doptprm DOPTPRM
dphases DPHASE
dresps DRESP1, DRESP2, DRESP3
dscreen DSCREEN
dtable DTABLE
dti DTI
dvcrels DVCREL1, DVCREL2
dvgrids DVGRID
dvmrels DVMREL1, DVMREL2
dvprels DVPREL1, DVPREL2
elements CBAR, CBEAM, CBEAM3, CBEND, CBUSH, CBUSH1D, CBUSH2D,
  CDAMP1, CDAMP2, CDAMP3, CDAMP4, CDAMP5, CELAS1, CELAS2,
  CELAS3, CELAS4, CFAST, CGAP, CHBDYE, CHBDYG, CHBDYP,
  CHEXA, CIHEX1, CIHEX2, CONROD, CPENTA, CPLSTN3, CPLSTN4,
  CPLSTN6, CPLSTN8, CPYRAM, CQUAD, CQUAD4, CQUAD8, CQUADR,
  CQUADX, CQUADX4, CQUADX8, CRAC2D, CRAC3D, CROD, CSHEAR,
  CTETRA, CTRAX3, CTRAX6, CTRIA3, CTRIA6, CTRIAR, CTRIAX,
  CTRIAX6, CTUBE, CVISC, GENEL
flfacts FLFACT
flutters FLUTTER
frequencies FREQ, FREQ1, FREQ2, FREQ3, FREQ4, FREQ5
grdset GRDSET
gridb GRIDB
gusts GUST
hyperelastic_materials MATHE, MATHP
load_combinations LOAD, LSEQ
loads ACCEL, ACCEL1, FORCE, FORCE1, FORCE2, GMLOAD, GRAV,
  LOADCYN, MOMENT, MOMENT1, MOMENT2, PLOAD, PLOAD1, PLOAD2,
  PLOAD4, PLOADX1, QBDY1, QBDY2, QBDY3, QHBDY, QVOL,
  RFORCE, RFORCE1, SLOAD, SPCD, TEMP
masses CMASS1, CMASS2, CMASS3, CMASS4, CONM1, CONM2
materials MAT1, MAT10, MAT11, MAT2, MAT3, MAT3D, MAT8, MAT9, MATG
methods EIGB, EIGR, EIGRL
mkaeros MKAERO1, MKAERO2
monitor_points MONPNT1, MONPNT2, MONPNT3
mpcadds MPCADD
mpcs MPC
nlparms NLPARM
nlpcis NLPCI
nodes EPOINT, GRID, SPOINT
normals SNORM
nsmadds NSMADD
nsms NSM, NSM1, NSML, NSML1
nxstrats NXSTRAT
omits OMIT1
paeros PAERO1, PAERO2, PAERO3, PAERO4, PAERO5
params PARAM
pbusht PBUSHT
pdampt PDAMPT
pelast PELAST
phbdys PHBDY
plotels PLOTEL
points POINT
properties PBAR, PBARL, PBCOMP, PBEAM, PBEAML, PBEND, PBMSECT,
  PBRSECT, PBUSH, PBUSH1D, PCOMP, PCOMPG, PCOMPS, PCONEAX,
  PDAMP, PDAMP5, PELAS, PFAST, PGAP, PIHEX, PLPLANE,
  PLSOLID, PPLANE, PRAC2D, PRAC3D, PROD, PSHEAR, PSHELL,
  PSOLID, PTUBE, PVISC
properties_mass PMASS
qsets QSET, QSET1
radcavs RADCAV, RADLST
radmtx RADMTX
radset RADSET
random_tables TABRND1, TABRNDG
rigid_elements RBAR, RBAR1, RBE1, RBE2, RBE3, RROD, RSPLINE, RSSCON
ringaxs POINTAX, RINGAX
ringfl RINGFL
rotors ROTORD, ROTORG
se_bsets SEBSET, SEBSET1
se_csets SECSET, SECSET1
se_qsets SEQSET, SEQSET1
se_sets SESET
se_suport SESUP
se_usets SEQSET1
sebndry SEBNDRY
sebulk SEBULK
seconct SECONCT
seelt SEELT
seexcld SEEXCLD
selabel SELABEL
seload SELOAD
seloc SELOC
sempln SEMPLN
senqset SENQSET
seqgp SEQGP
setree SETREE
sets SET1, SET3
spcadds SPCADD
spcoffs SPCOFF, SPCOFF1
spcs GMSPC, SPC, SPC1, SPCAX
splines SPLINE1, SPLINE2, SPLINE3, SPLINE4, SPLINE5, SPLINE6,
  SPLINE7
suport SUPORT
suport1 SUPORT1
tables TABLEH1, TABLEHT, TABLES1, TABLEST
tables_d TABLED1, TABLED2, TABLED3, TABLED4
tables_m TABLEM1, TABLEM2, TABLEM3, TABLEM4
tables_sdamping TABDMP1
tempds TEMPD
thermal_materials MAT4, MAT5
tics TIC
transfer_functions TF
trims TRIM, TRIM2
tstepnls TSTEP1, TSTEPNL
tsteps TSTEP
usets USET, USET1
view3ds VIEW3D
views VIEW
  • Executive Control Deck
  • System Control Deck
  • Case Control Deck
  • cross-referencing to simplify accessing data
    • *_ref attributes are cross-referenced
    • element.nodes is not cross-referenced
    • element.nodes_ref is cross-referenced
  • safe cross-referencing for imperfect models
  • optional error storage to get a list of all discovered errors as once
  • model validation

OP4 Reader

  • For matrices, the OP2 is preffered. It’s simply faster.
  • Types:
    • ASCII/binary
    • SMALL/BIG MAT format
    • Real/Complex
    • Sparse/Dense
    • Single/Double Precision
  • ASCII writer

OP2 Reader / F06 Writer

  • Supported Nastran versions:
    • MSC Nastran
    • NX Nastran
    • Optistruct
    • Radioss
    • IMAT
    • Autodesk Nastran/Nastran-in-CAD
      • geometry not supported
  • Input/Output:
    • Very fast OP2 reader (up to 500 MB/sec with an SSD)
    • Memory efficient
    • support directly loading into HDF5 for very large models
    • HDF5 export/import support for MATLAB integration
    • pandas support (results & matrices)
    • F06 writing
    • Most fatal errors caught (BDF input errors not caught)
    • geometry can be read directly from op2 (it’s not perfect, but it’s much faster)
  • Operations:
    • transform displacement/eigenvectors/spc/mpc/applied loads to global coordinate system
    • transform stresses/forces to material coordinate system
  • Supports:
    • superelements
    • optimization
    • mesh adaptivity
    • preload
    • shape optimization

OP2 Results

  • This is probably an incomplete list. Most results are supported.

  • Basic Tables

    • Types:
      • Displacment
      • Velocity
      • Acceleration
      • Eigenvectors
      • SPC/MPC Forces
      • Applied Loads
      • Load Vectors
      • Temperature
    • Real/Complex
    • Random; no NO (Number of Crossings) or RMS results

  • Stress/Strain

    • Real/Complex

    • Random; no NO (Number of Crossings) or RMS results

    • Types:

      • Spring, Rod, Bar, Beam, Bushing, Gap, Shell, Solid

  • Forces

    • Real/Complex

    • Types:

      • Loads: Spring, Rod, Bar, Beam, Bushing, Gap, Shell (Isotropic/Composite), Solid
      • Thermal Gradient/Flux: 1D, 2D, 3D

  • Grid Point Forces

    • Real/Complex

  • Strain Energy

    • Real/Complex
    • Types:
      • Spring, Rod, Bar, Beam, Bushing, Gap, Shell (Isotropic/Composite), Solid, Rigid, DMIG

  • Matrices

    • Basic:
      • Real/Complex
      • Sparse/Dense
      • Single/Double Precision
    • MATPOOL:
      • Real/Complex
      • Sparse/Dense
      • Single/Double Precision

  • Other

    • Eigenvalues
      • Modal, Buckling, Complex
    • Grid Point Weight
    • Monitor Points
    • Design Optimization:
      • Convergence History
      • Limited Design Responses:
        • Weight
        • Stress (Isotropic/Composite)
        • Strain (Isotropic/Composite)
        • Force
        • Flutter

F06 Plotter

  • flutter (SOL 145) parser
    • Supports:
      • multiple subcases
      • PK and PKNL methods
    • plot_Vg_Vf(…), plot_Vg(…), plot_root_locus(…)
    • input/output units

GUI

  • buttons for picking, rotation center, distance, min/max

  • GUI Features:

    • Packages:

      • PyQt4/PyQt5
      • PySide/PySide2
      • QScintilla & pygments support for scripting code editor

    • color coded logging

    • legend menu

      • min/max control
      • number of labels/colors
      • additional color maps
      • legend position

    • animation menu

      • mix and match fringe/displacement/vector results (e.g., stress shown on a displaced model)
      • Real/Complex Results
        • Scale factor
        • Phase
        • Time
      • Multiple Animation Profiles
      • Where:
        • in GUI
        • exported gif

    • node/element highlighting

    • element groups

    • high resolution screenshots

    • nodal/centroidal picking

    • coordinate systems

    • results sidebar

    • custom user results

      • nodal fringe
      • centroidal fringe
      • deflection
      • nodal vector results (e.g., SPC forces)

    • preferences menu

Nastran Specific Features

  • multiple OP2s
  • deflection plots
  • SOL 200 support
  • geometry
    • all elements supported in BDF
  • bar profile visualzation
    • 3D
    • dimensional vectors
  • aero models
    • CAERO panels & subpanels
    • sideslip coordinate systems support
  • mass elements
  • plotting elements (e.g., PLOTEL)
  • nominal geometry (useful for deflection plots)

Nastran Geometry Results

  • node id
  • element id
  • property id
    • PSHELL breakdown
      • thickness, ts/t, 12I/t^3
      • for each material:
        • material id
        • stiffnesses
        • is_isotropic
    • PCOMP breakdown
      • total thickness
      • for each layer:
        • thickness
        • material id
        • stiffnesses
        • is_isotropic
    • PSOLID breakdown
      • material id
      • stiffnesses
      • is_isotropic
  • loads
  • optimization
    • design regions
    • current value
    • lower/upper bounds
  • mesh quality:
    • area, min/max interior angle, skew angle, aspect ratio, taper ratio results

Nastran OP2 Results

  • solution types:
    • analysis types:
      • static
      • modal
      • frequency response
      • load step
    • additional model complexity
      • optimization
      • preload
  • result quantities:
    • displacement, velocity, acceleration, eigenvectors
    • SPC/MPC forces
    • applied loads
    • temperature
    • stress/strain
    • strain energy
    • limited element forces
    • thermal gradient/flux

Converters / Additional GUI Options

pyNastran’s code base makes it easy to develop other useful tools that make use of common code. As such, additional formats are supported in terms of readers/writers/converters/viewing, but are not a main focus.

These include:

  • AFLR
  • AVL
  • Cart3d
  • Panair
  • OpenFOAM
  • S/HABP
  • LAWGS
  • FAST
  • STL
  • SU2
  • Tetgen
  • Tecplot
  • Usm3d
  • Abaqus