MSC.

Software: Product Datasheet - PatranTM

DATASHEET

Patran
The Industry’s Leading Finite Element
Modeling Environment

Overview Capabilities
Patran is a comprehensive pre- and post-processing environment for FEA analysis and helps • Intuitive graphical interface with direct access of
engineers to virtually conceptualize, develop and test product designs. Used by the world’s CAD geometry with automatic/interactive feature
leading manufacturing companies as their standard tool for the creation and analysis of recognition.
simulation models, Patran links design, analysis, and results evaluation in a single environment. • Integration with MSC.Software’s analysis solvers
For companies wanting to use FEA analysis to reduce the time and cost of the product and third-party solvers
develop¬ment process through increased use of simulation, Patran is an excellent solution • Robust automatic surface and solid mesh
for finite element modeling and results visualization and processing. By enabling engineers to generation with advanced surface mesh-on-mesh
access one of the industry’s leading analysis programs from MSC.Software, Patran can help capability.
organizations reduce the cost and burden of maintaining multiple pre- and post-processing • Create connectors and bolts with pre-loads
tools in different parts of the organization and get better products to market faster.
• Full 3D general contact available for nonlinear
Through the seamless integration of CAD geometry, pre- and post-processing capabilities and analyses.
the ability to perform sophisticated simulations on virtual parts, assemblies and structures,
• Support for Nastran’s Design Optimization and
Patran is a key part of the design process for companies who rely on fast time to market and Topology Optimization.
extraordinary product quality to drive market share and profits.
• Support for Nastran’s Superelements
Patran enables engineers to directly import geometry from the CAD program of engineer’s
• Support for Marc’s Coupled Analyses
choice, and then define loads, boundary conditions, and material properties, perform different
simulations under different conditions, visualize the results, and ultimately better understand the • Comprehensive results post-processing.
relationship between design decisions and product performance characteristics such as stress, • Results standardization through results templates.
strain, vibration, heat transfer and many more.
• Customization through Patran Command
In addition, Patran’s intuitive graphical interface is built to be fully customizable to your Language (PCL).
organization’s unique engineering processes. With Patran Control Language (PCL), engineers
can supplement the powerful modeling and analysis capabilities with their own, customized
applications, commands, and menus. Patran users can easily and effectively iterate and Benefits
evalu¬ate different design decisions and reuse existing designs and results without non-value- • Increase productivity of your design and
added manual clean-up and recreation of data. development process
• Reduce development costs through increased use
Direct Access of CAD Geometry of simulation technologies

Patran enables access to geometry from leading CAD systems for creating finite element • Improve productivity and accuracy with
models. Support for many industry-standard geometry exchange formats is also provided. An multidiscipline analysis and optimization
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.

Geometry Creation and Editing

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.

Integration with MSC Nastran and MD Nastran

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.
New Patran 2010 interface
 DATASHEET MSC.Software: Product Datasheet - PatranTM

Integration with MSC Nastran Materials and Elements Properties

and MD Nastran Patran supports an array of material models such
Patran is tailored to support both MSC Nastran as Isotropic, orthotropic, anisotropic, composite,
and MD Nastran to enable the use of common thermal isotropic, thermal orthotropic and thermal
finite element models and perform advanced anisotropic to perform a variety of analyses.
engineering analysis and enhance designs using
Nastran’s Design Optimization and Topology Results Evaluation
Optimization capabilities.
Patran can quickly and clearly display analysis
results in structural, thermal, fatigue, fluid,
Support for Multiple FEA Solvers magnetic terms, or in relation to any other
In addition to MSC Nastran and MD Nastran, application where the resultant values are
Patran also supports the other solvers developed associated with their respective finite elements or
by MSC (Marc, Dytran, and MSC Sinda) and nodes.
Geometry access from leading CAD systems
also solvers like Abaqus, Ansys, LS-Dyna and
Pamcrash, enabling you to stay in a single Visualization
graphical user environment even if you have to
use multiple solvers for various analyses. Imaging encompasses the complete graphics
capability found within the Patran product,
including graphic shading and visual verification
64-bit support for Performance prior to analysis. Imaging features a number
With the native port to 64-bit Windows and of options that take advantage of specialized
Linux,Patran can access all the available memory hardware capabilities, including local view
on the systems allowing the users to work with manipulation, local shading, multiple light
larger models, improving their productivity. sources, and transparency.
You can also export images and movies in many
standard formats to include in documents and
Graphical User Interface
web-based reporting.
Patran’s graphical user interface is a forms-
based, mouse-driven menu system for the Quick modeling with advanced mesh technology
operation of all tasks. It is designed to be easy to
Patran Command Language
learn and use. PCL is the programming language at the heart
of Patran. PCL is a high-level, block-structured
language that provides many features found
Interactive Help On-Line
in traditional programming languages. It can
Patran’s “Help” system provides a “context- be used to write application or site-specific
sensitive” hypertext mechanism enabling the commands and menus, perform variational
user to quickly navigate through the entire on-line modeling, and to more completely integrate with
document to find information on topics of interest. commercial or in-house software programs.

Finite Element Modeling Configuration Requirements

Patran’s finite element modeling system permits Patran currently supports many Unix,
the user to directly access model geometry and Win‌dows and Linux based computer platforms, Integrated post-processing environment
to quickly develop finite element meshes. Easily operating systems, and graphic devices. System for analysis results
create and modify your finite element mesh using resources required to operate Patran depend
automated mesh generators and MSC.Software’s upon a number of factors including the overall size
technology such as the Mid-Plane and Advanced and complexity of each model. Please consult
Surface Meshers. with your local MSC.Software representative
for a current list of Patran supported computer
Loads and Boundary Conditions systems for your particular application.

Patran provides a complete set of loads and

boundary conditions such as structural and
thermal. Functional variations can be evaluated
with mathematical factors or other analysis
results. Loads and boundary conditions can be
specified as total or incremental basis. Integration with MD Nastran for
multidiscipline simulations

Corporate Europe, Middle East, Asia-Pacific Asia-Pacific

MSC Software Corporation Africa MSC Software Japan LTD. MSC Software (S) Pte. Ltd.
2 MacArthur Place MSC Software GmbH Shinjuku First West 8F 100 Beach Road The MSC.Software corporate logo, MSC, and the names of the
Santa Ana, California 92707 Am Moosfeld 13 23-7 Nishi Shinjuku #16-05 Shaw Tower MSC.‌Software products and services referenced herein are trademarks
Telephone 714.540.8900 81829 Munich, Germany 1-Chome, Shinjuku-Ku Singapore 189702 or registered trademarks of the MSC.Software Corporation in the United
www.mscsoftware.com Telephone 49.89.431.98.70 Tokyo, Japan 160-0023 Telephone 65.6272.0082 States and/or other countries. All other trademarks belong to their
Telephone 81.3.6911.1200 respective owners. © 2010 MSC.Software Corporation. All rights reserved.

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