Hi i'd like to know if NASTRAN is able to use all the CPUs when solving a Sol 106, and in case it can, does NASTRAN do the parallel computing automatically or do i have to write something in the the .bdf file? I couldn't find any clear information on the internet and msc's guide on nastan.
Thanks for your help

SOL 106? If possible, I would use SOL 400 for Nonlinear static analysis since it is way faster, simpler, and more reliable.

To understand Parallel processing, try viewing WM85 at this link, http://simcompanion.mscsoftware.com/infocenter/index?page=content&id=WM120


You can also send an email to mscnastran.support@mscsoftware.com and I am sure you will get a straight answer from them.

Lastly, there is a chart with all the supported SOLs for SMP and DMP. I will try lurking through all the documentation to find that chart.

To add to my previous post, a table of supported SOLs for "Domain Decomposition Solution Method" is given at the following link. Refer to Table 4-2,

http://books.google.com/books?id=lTUrKh_iTSEC&lpg=PT204&ots=3F9Rcf3aFT&dq=Analysis%20Types%20and%20Partitioning%20Methods%20SolutionSequenceDMP%20Method%20Partitioning%20Methods%20Available&pg=PT206#v=onepage&q&f=false

I am not 100% sure if SOL 106 is supported by parallel computing.

I use NX Nastran, which is almost the same thing as MSC but not exactly.

For parallel processing I use the command "PARALLEL". This can be inserted in one of several places. You can put it in the analysis deck (which I think is your bdf file) as one of the first few lines in the file, in which case it would be written like this:
NASTRAN PARALLEL = N
where N = number of processors. I have it in my configuration file, which I think is called "conf.rcf". In that file, it is written as "PARALLEL=2".

There is another thread on this topic here: http://www.eng-tips.com/viewthread.cfm?qid=204419

I'm not aware of any limitations on, or problems with, parallel processing in Nastran. Nevertheless, I recommend referring to the Nastran documentation to make sure and to get more information. I refer to it all the time, especially when trying out a feature I haven't used before, and occasionally stumble across some helpful tidbit that I never knew before, or pitfall I didn't know about.

Lastly, you can open Windows Task Manager to make sure all the processors are actually being used.

thanks a lot for your response. unfortunately the job runs on the cluster of my company and i can't see the task manager. i'll try the parallel command though
tnz a lot