MSC Nastran

Software Overview

MSC Nastran is a professional finite element analysis (FEA) application used to analyze structures. It was originally developed for NASA in the 1960s but has since evolved and been made available through MSC Software. The program is available for Windows and Linux.

Nastran gives you a variety of tools to design, test, fix, and optimize structural designs. You can virtually prototype instead of physically prototype to save money, optimize the performance of existing designs, and fix structural issues during a product's service to reduce downtime. The application also enables you to perform fatigue analysis by using its embedded fatigue technologies that help prevent buckling, excess stresses, and detrimental deformations.

Nastran provides optimization algorithms that automate the structural optimization process. These algorithms can enhance the shape or profile of structural members, determine optimal bead or stamp patterns for sheet metal parts, find optimal composite laminate ply thickness, and optimize multiple models simultaneously.

Nastran is mainly used by aerospace and automotive engineers to optimize the structural integrity of systems, such as, landing gear, airbags, and fan blades. The application allows you to perform a variety of functions with relative ease, as it comes with multi-core and multi-node clusters with parallelization technologies that allow you to solve large problems fast. MSC Nastran is a high quality choice for engineers looking to perform system structure analysis.

Primary File Type

.NASNastran Input File

Supported File Types