1 hour

Paul Kastle, Program Manager, Training and Documentation

Finite element analysis (FEA) is a useful and powerful tool for applying engineering fundamentals to the design and development of products.  Practicing the use of finite element analysis using real world tools is beneficial for engineering universities.  With some basic knowledge of the products offered by MSC Software, faculty and students can start to use these tools effectively and gain a skill that is valued in industry while improving the results of their classes and research projects.

We will discuss and demonstrate how to use Patran, MSC Software’s widely used finite element pre and post processing program, in association with MSC Nastran, MSC’s industry standard FEA solver.  This session will introduce you to the basics of using these tools and make you familiar with the variety of university specific resources available to help you successfully implement them in your university environment.

• Basics of Patran and Nastran and their uses and abilities

• Workflow in the Patran GUI

• A five minute FEA analysis

• CAD import and geometry creation options

• Applying basic mechanics of materials theory to realistic structures

• Choices in modeling reality, the art of engineering analysis

• Tools to help, a tour of the new MSC Software Acadamia website

Paul Kastle is a Mechanical Engineer in MSC’s Training and Documentation group and has 8 years experience using and teaching MSC Software’s engineering analysis products.  He was introduced to FEA through a university FEA course at UC Irvine that was taught in partnership with MSC and has been working with it and MSC ever since.  As part of the training and documentation team, Paul generates a variety of content including presentations, example problems, videos, manuals, and html help systems that help people learn to use MSC’s products.