Simcenter 3D Desktops Tutorial
This tutorial will introduce you to submitting Simcenter Nastran jobs in batch to the Rescale platform. We will create an input file in Simcenter 3D on a Rescale Desktop, start a Rescale job, submit, and transfer the results back to Simcenter 3D for viewing.
Example model is shared below for the tutorial.
- Click on the button below to access the job files
- Save the job in your Rescale Account
In this step, we will see how to create the input file in Simcenter 3D for Simcenter Nastran batch job submission. Here we will use Simcenter 3D on Rescale Desktop. If you have Simcenter on your local machine, skip this section and proceed to Write Input Files in Simcenter 3D
Set up a Rescale Desktop Session with Simcenter 3D:
- In order to access the Desktops feature, log in to your (Rescale account). If you don’t have a Rescale account, you can create an account at no charge here: Rescale Signup.
- To proceed with setting up a Desktops session, click on the Desktops tab and select + New Custom Desktop
- Name the Rescale Desktop appropriately
- Under 1. Choose Configuration dropdown, select the hardware for your Desktop Session
- Under 2. Add Software dropdown, select Simcenter 3D. Select the version from the dropdown
- Click on License and specify the license. A popup window will open
- Specify the license settings. In this tutorial, we are using On-Demand licenses from Rescale
- Under 3. Jobs dropdown, search for the job you wish to add by typing the name and/or browsing through the list. Click dd to add a job to the Desktop
- Click on Launch to launch the Rescale Desktop
- Click Launch in the Launch Desktop pop-up window
- You will see that the Desktop is launching as shown on the log messages, as well as, the grid symbols shown on the configuration page
- Once the Desktop is ready, you will notice the grid symbols are replaced by a dropdown arrow shown on each section of the configuration page. Click on Connect
- Click on Connect using in-Browser Desktop
- Rescale Desktop will launch in a new tab
- Once the session is started, launch Simcenter 3D located on the Rescale Desktop
- Click on File > Import > Simulation…
- In the Import Simulation window, select OP2 Binary under File Type
- Under File Name, click on the Browse icon and Select File to Import window will appear
- Browse to the location where the OP2 files is located
- Click on the file. Click on OK
- On a Rescale Desktop, the input file is located in the attached_jobs folder as shown below
- Click OK on the New FEM and Simulation window
- Once the model is loaded, click on Structural Navigator. Expand the Structural navigator node. it should have 4 sub-nodes: RPM=800, RPM=900, RPM=1000 and RPM=1100
- Right click on the Structural navigator node and click on Solve
- In the Solver Parameters window, Under License Type select Enterprise
- Click OK in the Solver Parameters dialog box
- Click on Edit Advanced Solver Options
- In the Advanced Solver Options, under Output File name select the radio button for User Defined
- Under the File Name field, click on the browse icon
- In the Choose output file dialog box, specify the location and file name. Click on OK
- Click OK in the Advanced Solver Options dialog box
- In the Solving Options dialog box, under Submit drop down, select Write Solver Input File
- Click OK in the Solve dialog box
- Once the input file is written, you should see a message Nastran Deck Successfully Written in the Information dialog box
- Now, you can save and close the model
- Upload the .dat file generated to Cloud Files
Click on the button below to access the batch job setup or view results of the batch run
Import Job Setup
Get Job Results
Steps to setup the batch job are listed below:
- Click on New Job
- Name job appropriately
- Click on Add from cloud storageCloud storage is a simple and scalable way to store, access,...
- Select the .dat file and click on Add Selected Files
- Click on Software and search for Simcenter applications. Select Simcenter Nastran Advanced and click on Next
- Select the software version from the drop down. The command should populate automatically as shown below
- Specify the License Options and click on Next
- Specify the Hardware, Number of Core and Maximum Job Duration. Click on Next
- Click on Submit
- Once the job is finished running, you should see the results under the Results tab
Once the job is completed, you can either view the results on your local workstation or on a Rescale Desktop. Both methods are presented below:
On a Rescale Desktop
- Configure a Rescale Desktop with Simcenter 3D as outlined above
- Attach the completed job to the Rescale Desktop
- Click on Connect
- Click on Connect using In-Browser Desktop
- Once Desktop is launched, click on File > Import > Simulation…
- Click on Simcenter Nastran and click on OK
- Select OP2 binary file type
- Browse to the location where the file is saved
- Select the op2 file and click on OK
- Click OK in the Import Simulation dialog box
- Click OK
- Click on the Post Processing Navigator
- Double click on the Structural node and the results will be displayed
- Navigate to Forcing Frequency 1
- Click on Velocity
- Click on Contour Plot and the results will be displayed
On your Local Workstation
Once the job is completed, you can select the file(s) that you wish to download.
Note: If you have large output files, it is recommended that Windows users use Rescale Transfer Manager (RTM) to download files faster onto your on-premises workstation. More information about RTM can be found here. Linux or Mac user can use Rescale CLI to download larger output files.
- Go to the job results page, click Download with Rescale Transfer Manager. If a warning message pops up, click on Open Rescale.TransferClient.UI
- A Browse for folder window will open, select a destination where you want to save the job results and click ok. It will download and wait until the status shows “Complete”. The files will be saved into a folder named after the job.