NAS101, Appendex A, Page NAS101, Appendex A, Page 11

DOCUMENTATION

This section briefly describes the MSC.Nastran documentation. A quick overview of these documents is shown in Table 1.

MSC.Nastran Quick Reference GuideContains a complete description of the NASTRAN statements, File Management statements, Executive Control statements, Case Control commands, Bulk Data entries, and parameters. This book is necessary for all MSC.Nastran users.

MSC.Nastran Release GuideDescribes version-dependent capabilities and presents illustrative examples. This document is required to use the new capabilities in each new version of MSC.Nastran.

NAS101, Appendex A, Page NAS101, Appendex A, Page 22

DOCUMENTATION (Cont.) MSC.Nastran Common Questions and Answers

Contains answers to commonly asked questions on a wide variety of analysis topics.

MSC.Nastran Reference ManualContains material that is primarily reference oriented, non-solution sequence dependent material and is highly subdivided for ease of use. This manual is independent of machine type or operating system. This document is typically not required for the day-to-day analysis activities of most analysts and can therefore be shared by a group or department.

MSC.Nastran Configuration and Operations GuideContains machine-dependent information for installing, customizing, and using MSC.Nastran.

NAS101, Appendex A, Page NAS101, Appendex A, Page 33

DOCUMENTATION MSC.Nastran DMAP Module Dictionary

replaces Section 5 of the old MSC.Nastran User’s Manual. This manual is required if you are using MSC.Nastran DMAP features.

MSC.Nastran User’s Guides and Other Books

User’s Guides describe in detail all aspects of MSC.Nastran input, output, and modeling guidelines used for specific analysis capabilities. These documents are recommended for the various capabilities that you use most often. The following books are available:

NAS101, Appendex A, Page NAS101, Appendex A, Page 44

DOCUMENTATION (Cont.)

Getting Started with MSC.Nastran User’s Guide MSC.Nastran Linear Static Analysis User’s Guide MSC.Nastran Basic Dynamic Analysis User’s Guide MSC.Nastran Advanced Dynamic Analysis User’s Guide MSC.Nastran Design Sensitivity and Optimization User’s Guide MSC.Nastran Thermal Analysis User’s Guide

NAS101, Appendex A, Page NAS101, Appendex A, Page 55

DOCUMENTATION (Cont.)

MSC.Nastran Numerical Methods User’s Guide MSC.Nastran Aeroelastic Analysis User’s Guide MSC.Nastran Bibliography

Lists approximately 1900 technical papers pertaining to MSC.Nastran arranged by author and topic.

NAS101, Appendex A, Page NAS101, Appendex A, Page 66

DOCUMENTATION (Cont.)

Table 1. MSC.Nastran Documentation System.

MSC.Nastran Documentation

Reference Manual

DMAP Module Dictionary

Quick Reference Guide

User’s Guides

Online Encyclopedia CD-ROM

Bibliography

Common Questions & Answers

Configuration and Operations Guide

Release Guide

NAS101, Appendex A, Page NAS101, Appendex A, Page 77

ADDITIONAL DOCUMENTATION

Older User Documentation Available MSC.Nastran Handbook for Superelement Analysis MSC.Nastran Handbook for Nonlinear Analysis MSC.Nastran Demonstration Problem Manual

Shows illustrative examples with MSC.Nastran input and output.

MSC.Nastran Verification Problem ManualProvides examples for which there are known solutions and compares MSC.Nastran output with theory. Examples using most of the Unstructured Solution Sequences are included.

NAS101, Appendex A, Page NAS101, Appendex A, Page 88

ADDITIONAL DOCUMENTATION (Cont.)

The NASTRAN Theoretical ManualExplains the theoretical basis of the elements and algorithms. The numerical algorithm material is superseded by the MSC.Nastran Handbook for Numerical Methods and the MSC.Nastran Numerical Methods User’s Guide.

MSC.Nastran Programmer’s ManualDescribes the input and output for the modules. This manual is not recommended for general use but is useful for advanced DMAP development.

All of the documents listed above can be ordered from your local MSC office representative or directly from our website.

NAS101, Appendex A, Page NAS101, Appendex A, Page 99

ADDITIONAL DOCUMENTATION (Cont.)

MSC Corporate Web Site The MSC.Software Corporation’s Web site provides several

sources of information that can assist you in running MSC.Nastran and our other products. MSC’s Web address is

http://www.mscsoftware.com Here you can find out what is new with MSC, read white papers

on the use of MSC products, download technical papers from previous User’s Conference, order documentation from the MSC Bookstore, obtain a schedule of training courses, share feedback and suggestions interactively with other users, and even download software patches and utilities. The sssalter library and error list will also be posted on the Web in the future.