What's New in V2017 (March 2016)

To identify the version of software that you are running, click the Down Arrow to the right of the Help icon. This icon is at the far right end of the program title bar. Then, click About:

Autodesk Simulation Mechanical 2017 is identified as follows:

Build 2017.00.00.nnnn dd-Month-2016

(where nnnn, dd, and Month are set during the final build of the software)

Note: The following list is not necessarily comprehensive. There may be other minor changes to the software that are not listed on this page.

User Interface (General)

• Images within the Creating Coordinate System Definition dialog have been updated. The new images more clearly reflect the configuration and proper definition of rectangular, cylindrical, and spherical local coordinate systems.

Meshing

• Mesh setting options have been reorganized. Mesh Matching settings are now include in a separate Options group with its own icon. (Formerly, the mesh matching settings were combined with the Model settings group.
• The option to enable or disable mesh matching between parts of an assembly has been made more straightforward. The option is now available from the top-level of the Model Mesh Settings dialog as well as within the Options Mesh Matching dialog. In addition, virtual imprinting is now deactivated automatically when you deactivate the mesh matching option, which helps to ensure non-conformal meshes when they are desired.
• A new solid meshing option has been added—Use Delaunay+AFT mesher. This option may provide more robustness and/or improved mesh quality for some models. It combines Delaunay triangulation algorithms with the Advancing Front Technique (AFT).
• The option Do not match the mesh of contact pairs when applicable has been renamed to Do not match the mesh of surface contact pairs, to better reflects the action. This option is applicable only to nonlinear analyses.

FEA Editor Environment

• A node has been added to the Part branch of the browser for linear plate element parts. This new node indicates whether plate properties are Part-based or Surface-based. In addition, you can quickly switch between the two options using the context menu associated with this new node.
• The workflow for defining surface-based plate element properties has been enhanced in the following five ways:
  • When switching from part-based to surface-based properties, you are prompted with the option to automatically copy the part-based properties to every surface. This is a significant time saver if the part-based properties represent a majority of the surfaces.
  • You can now edit properties within the Element Definition dialog for multiple surfaces in a single operation.
  • You can now copy the properties from one surface to one or more target surfaces in a single operation.
  • You can now pick Normal Points and Nodal Points graphically as an alternative to typing in the coordinates.
  • You can now select one or more surfaces graphically in the display canvas and access a subset of the Element Definition dialog from the right-click context menu. When you do so, the properties you specify are applied to all of the selected surfaces in a single operation.
• The Centroid Creator dialog has been redesigned for better clarity and convenience. You can now specify unique part, layer, and surface numbers for the primary spokes, secondary spokes, and the connecting line. Additional enhancements include a new connector diagram and an option to prevent dismissing the dialog after creating the currently defined geometry.
• In the Part context menu, commands for saving part attributes to a file or reading part attributes from a file have been renamed and grouped into a Part Attributes fly-out menu.
• Mesh refinement points defined in the FEA Editor are now listed in the Meshes branch of browser for convenient editing, manipulation, or deletion. The Refinement Point listings are similar to the Surface Refinement and Edge Refinement lists that were previously implemented in the browser.
• The method of automatically determining the center point, or points, for joints has been improved. The point determination is based on CAD surface data and is no longer sensitive to the mesh size or quality.
• Images within the Element Definition dialogs have been updated, and they now provide a visual indication of whether midside nodes are included.
• The option to output binary stress/strain results at midside nodes is now activated by default for all new models and for all applicable analysis types. Pre-existing models will retain the state of the parameter from the earlier software version, but you can enable or disable it manually.
• Contact settings dialogs have been redesigned for all analysis and contact types for better organization and clarity, including the following highlights:
  • Nastran-specific contact settings are now accessible within the Simulation Mechanical user interface. Use a drop-down menu within the General Contact Settings or Contact Options dialog to choose between SimMech and Nastran settings.
  • Nastran weld failure parameters are now supported. Results will show separation of welded/bonded parts where allowable weld material stresses have been exceeded.
  • You can easily switch the primary and secondary parts/surfaces in an explicit contact pair using a new context menu command (Flip Primary and Secondary).
  • You can copy and paste settings from one contact pair to one or more target pairs using the context menu.

  For more information, see the pages Contact Pairs (general) and Surface-to-Surface Contact (nonlinear), along with their various subtopic pages.

Results Environment

• The following five new results inquiry commands have been added under Results Inquire Inquire Other Results:
  • Reaction Force and Moment
  • Internal Force and Moment
  • Applied Force and Moment
  • Element Force and Moment
  • Stress Tensor

  Each of these commands produces a table of results for the current selection set. Click here for more information.

• The performance when entering the Results environment has improved. The time to load results is significantly shorter, particularly for large models.
• The performance has been significantly improved when rectangle-selecting a large number of nodes in the Results environment, particularly for large models.
• The Stress Linearization utility has been completely redesigned and significantly enhanced for 2017. The following list summarizes the changes:
  • This utility is now integrated into the Results environment (it longer has a separate user interface). Once started, the utility is located within the Stress Linearization tab of the Output Bar.
  • Stress linearization is now supported for all linear and nonlinear analysis types that produce stress tensor results (that is, every structural analysis type except modal and critical buckling).
  • 2D elements and second order bricks and tetrahedra (with midside nodes) are now supported by the Stress Linearization utility.
  • The endpoints of the stress classification line (SCL) can now be defined at any set of coordinates. The endpoints do not have to correspond to node locations.
  • When you export stress linearization results to a CSV file, the exported file now contains additional information. Specifically, the primary membrane stress intensity (Pm), primary bending stress intensity (Pb), and the total primary stress (Pm + Pb) values are exported. These results are included for both calculation methods (based on Maximum Shear Stress and on Von Mises Stress).
  • The SCL reference point is displayed on the model canvas.
  • Internal mesh visibility is automatically enabled when you choose to display only the elements of the model that the SCL intersects.
  • You can now specify a custom number of divisions for the SCL, controlling the number of calculation points.
• Results contours showing contact pressure, traction, and status are now available for linear and nonlinear stress analyses run using the Nastran solver. This enhancement was previously made available as part of the Supplemental Results Add-In for Simulation Mechanical 2016. In V2017, the Nastran contact results are directly supported. The Add-In is no longer required. See the Nastran Solver Results page for more information.

Static Stress with Linear Material Models

• The Description field within the Load Case Multipliers table of the Analysis Parameters dialog is now blank by default. The Load Case Description line is now omitted from the annotation in the Results environment if you do not enter a description in the analysis parameters.

MES and Static Stress with Nonlinear Material Models

• The Normal direction is no longer available for surface forces applied to nonlinear shell elements. You must specify a vector direction. This change does not affect surface pressure, hydrostatic, or variable loads, which continue to support the Normal direction option.
• Certain Nastran Nonlinear Solution Parameters can now be specified within the Simulation Mechanical Analysis Parameters dialog for Static Stress with Nonlinear Material Models analyses. These parameters only affect analyses solved using the Nastran processor.

Autodesk Nastran Editor Interoperability and Third-Party FEA Import/Export

• Exported Nastran decks no longer contain wide field tag identification (ID) values, which are unnecessary. The ID values were eliminated to avoid potential conflicts with IDs in other INCLUDE files (for customers who use INCLUDE-based submodeling).
• You can now export linear 2D plane stress and linear 2D plain strain models to Nastran. In addition, you can now merge linear 2D plane stress or plane strain results (*.FNO files), from analyses solved in the Autodesk Nastran Editor, into Simulation Mechanical for post-processing in the Results environment.
• Newly implemented Nastran Nonlinear Solution Parameters are supported for exported and imported Nastran decks (for nonlinear static stress analyses).
• Pyramid (5-node) elements in Nastran decks are now correctly imported.
• Imported Nastran decks are now mapped to the correct Simulation Mechanical analysis type.
• Newly supported Nastran contact type and contact settings data is also supported for exported and imported Nastran decks. See the Nastran Contact Options and Nastran Weld Failure Determination pages for more information on the supported Nastran contact types and parameters.
• Imported SIGMA (Stefan-Botzmann constant) and TABS (Absolute temperature scale) parameters are now correctly read from imported Nastran decks and converted to the appropriate Simulation Mechanical variables.

Tutorials

• The Remote Crank CAD Model tutorial has been revised to avoid a known issue with Pin Constraints and to address changes in the Centroid Creator design.

  Details: When a Pin Constraint surface intersects an adjacent part, the surface may be over-constrained, causing incorrect analysis results. The model has been revised to confine all nodes of the Pin Constraint surface to a single part.

• The Computer Case Static Stress Analysis tutorial has been augmented to demonstrate the plate/shell display options that are available in the Results environment.