NASTRAN format

Rob McDonald · science forum beginner Joined: 01 Dec 2005 Posts: 36

Sorry if this is the wrong forum, but I'm sure many of you know the
answer to this.

Do any of you have a link to a description of the format for NASTRAN
input files?

I'm working to develop a program which will automatically generate 3D
FEA meshes for a particular class of problem. It will not specify
loads, material properties, boundary conditions, or special
connectivity (for example, if two elements are connected by a hinge, it
will not know enough to release that degree of freedom).

It will only describe the geometry of the mesh (unstructured triangles)
and the group to which each triangle belongs (material number, part
number, group number, whatever).

I would like this information to be in as portable a format as
possible. That way, it will be easy for a user to take the file,
specify the missing information (loads, bc's, etc) and run a model. I
think a NASTRAN file is an appropriate choice. If there is a better
choice, please let me know.

Thanks,

Rob

Marko.J · science forum beginner Joined: 19 Jul 2006 Posts: 1

There is a detailed description of NASTRAN input file in the NASTRAN
documentation (there are several books included in the documentation, it
is in one of them). Unfortunately, it is not free and there is no link.
Excuse me for my stupid question, but WHY are you trying to develop a
program which will generate 3D mesh? There is a number of excellent (nad
free, some of them open-source) libraries that accomplish that.

Rob McDonald · science forum beginner Joined: 01 Dec 2005 Posts: 36

Marko.J wrote:

Google