Adams Releaseguide 2013

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Adams 2013

Release Guide


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CorporateMSC Software Corporation2 MacArthur PlaceSanta Ana, CA 92707

USATelephone: (800) 345-2078FAX: (714) 784-4056

EuropeMSC Software GmbHAm Moosfeld 1381829 MunichGERMANY

Telephone: (49) (89) 43 19 87 0Fax: (49) (89) 43 61 71 6

Asia PacificMSC Software Japan Ltd.Shinjuku First West 8F23-7 Nishi Shinjuku1-Chome, Shinjuku-KuTokyo 160-0023, JAPANTelephone: (81) (3)-6911-1200Fax: (81) (3)-6911-1201

Worldwide Webwww.mscsoftware.com

DisclaimerThis documentation, as well as the software described in it, is furnished under license and may be used only in

accordance with the terms of such license.MSC Software Corporation reserves the right to make changes in specifications and other information containedin this document without prior notice.

The concepts, methods, and examples presented in this text are for illustrative and educational purposes only,and are not intended to be exhaustive or to apply to any particular engineering problem or design. MSC SoftwareCorporation assumes no liability or responsibility to any person or company for direct or indirect damages resultingfrom the use of any information contained herein.

User Documentation: Copyright2013 MSC Software Corporation. Printed in U.S.A. All Rights Reserved.

This notice shall be marked on any reproduction of this documentation, in whole or in part. Any reproduction ordistribution of this document, in whole or in part, without the prior written consent of MSC Software Corporation isprohibited.

This software may contain certain third-party software that is protected by copyright and licensed from MSCSoftware suppliers. Portions of this software are owned by UGS Corp.Copyright 1997. All Rights Reserved.

The MSC Software corporate logo, Adams, Adams/, MD, MD Adams, MSC, MSC Nastran, and MD Nastran aretrademarks or registered trademarks of the MSC Software Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.FLEXlm is a registered trademark of Macrovision Corporation. Parasolid is a registered trademark of UGS Corp.

All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

ADAM:V2013:Z:Z:Z:DC-REL-PDF


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C o n t e n t s

Adams 2013

Preface

Welcome to Adams 2013 viii

About MSC Software ixOverview ixAbout Virtual Product Development and Adams ix

Technical Support x

Web xPhone and Email xTraining x

Internet Resources xii

1 Whats New

Whats New 2

Adams/Car 3

Model Browser support 3Beam Element Leaf Spring Modeling 4Powertrain Consolidation 5Tire Force visualization and request output 7

Adams/Chassis 9

Beam Element Leaf Spring Modeling 9Powertrain Consolidation 10Straight Line Drive Ride Event 11Solver Settings 12Stabilizer-Bar Optimization 12Part/Bushing Creation Editor 13Request Output at Bushing Location 14

Adams/Driveline 15

Model Browser support 15

Adams/Machinery 17Bearing 17


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Adams 2013

iv

Adams/PostProcessor 18

Improvements 18

Animation Appearance Tab 18Adams/SmartDriver 19

Output filtering 19Power-based shifting 19Automatic initial conditions calculation 21

Adams/Solver 22

Performance Improvements 22

New Non-Linear Beam and Field 22Improved HHT integrator (step size selection, corrector) 22

Adams/Tire 23

PAC2002 with belt dynamics for Ride applications 23Design of Experiments support for PAC2002 23

Adams/View 24

Ribbon Customization 24Model Browser Configuration 24Ability to display, without scrolling, custom text menus on the Main Menu bar25

Copy/Paste support between GUI tables and between GUI tables and Excelcells 25Full Adams/Tire Road visualization support in Adams/View 26

Updated Adams Runtime Environment on Windows 27

2 Running Adams Products

Starting Adams Products 30

Starting Adams Products on LINUX 30Starting Adams Products on Windows 31

Setting Preferences 32Setting Preferences on LINUX 32Setting Preferences on Windows 32

Setting Your Working Directory 33

3 Getting Help

Tool Tips 36


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vCONTENTS

Online Help 37

Versions ofWeb Browsers 38

Accessing the Online Help 39Searching 42Printing 42Index 42

Tutorials and Examples 43

4 Supported Versions of Integration Products

Support for Easy5 and MATLAB 46

Easy5 46MATLAB 46

Supported Versions of Integration Products 47

Index


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Adams 2013

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MD Nastran 2006 Installation and Operations Guide

Preface

Welcome to Adams 2013

About MSC Software

Technical Support

Internet Resources


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Adams 2013Welcome to Adams 2013

viii

Welcome to Adams 2013Thank you for purchasing Adams 2013. Adams is motion simulation software for analyzing the complex

behavior of mechanical assemblies. With it, you can test virtual prototypes and optimize designs for

performance, safety, and comfort, without having to build and test numerous physical prototypes.


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ixPreface

About MSC Software

Overview

MSC Software Corporation is the leading global provider of virtual product development (VPD) tools,

including simulation software and professional services. MSC Software helps companies make money,

save time, and reduce costs associated with designing, testing, producing, and supporting manufactured

products.

MSC Software works with thousands of companies worldwide, in hundreds of industries, to develop

better products faster by using information technology, software, and services to enhance and automate

the product design and manufacturing process. Simulating your product performance reduces

development costs, time to market, and warranty costs.

About Virtual Product Development and Adams

Youve heard it before: manufacturing companies today face intense global competition, demanding

customers, fragmented markets, increasing product complexity, compressed product cycles, price andprofit pressures, strict regulatory and liability environments, systems integration and supply chain issues,

skyrocketing costs of testing and physical prototyping, and on and on

What you dont often hear, though, is a strategy for enabling your company to improve your new product

development process to meet these challenges.

Whether you are delivering airplanes, automobiles, ships, biomedical devices, golf clubs or childrens

toys to your customers, MSC Softwares goal is to help you improve your new product development

process, allowing you to be significantly better at your concept development, design, testing, andproduction activities through the application of VPD.

VPD is an environment that uses an integrated combination of both simulation software technology and

traditional techniques to design, test, manufacture, and support products. The result is that cost-effective

designs that meet all performance, safety, durability, and reliability requirements can be brought to

market in less time and for less cost.

Adams, as part of VPD, is focused on enhancing your ability to make better product development

decisions, explore innovative design alternatives, and consistently get the product right. It is the world's

most widely used mechanical system simulation software. It enables you to produce virtual prototypes,

realistically simulating the full-motion behavior of complex mechanical systems on your computers and

quickly analyzing multiple design variations until an optimal design is achieved. This reduces the

number of costly physical prototypes, improves design quality, and dramatically reduces product

development time.


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Adams 2013Technical Support

x

Technical SupportFor help with installing or using an MSC Software product, contact MSC technical support. Our technical

support provides technical assistance on questions related to installation and use of the software. For

further details please see the Technical Support Usage Guide, which is accessible via our support web

site.

You can reach MSC technical support on the web, by telephone, or e-mail.

Web

Go to the MSC Software web site at www.mscsoftware.com, andclick on Services -> Technical

Support. Here, you can find a wide variety of support resources including Product Updates, Discussions,

Technical Articles, and Documentation updates.

In addition, we provide several excellent sources of online information:

SimCompanion - Find solutions to problems in this repository of troubleshooting tips,examples, and frequently asked questions. To access the SimCompanion, go to:

http://simcompanion.mscsoftware.com VPD Community - The VPD community is where to go when you are looking for peer support,

as well as technical expertise. Many of our consultants, developers, and technical support staff

monitor the forums. To sign up for the forums, go to:

http://forums.mscsoftware.com

Then:

To view the Adams discussions, select Adams.

To view product alerts and company news and events, select MSC News.

Phone and Email

For a current list of phone numbers and language based email addresses please visit our support web site

and click on Contact Technical Support.

Training

MSC Software training provides comprehensive training in Virtual Product Development. We offer

standard and customized training courses in the application of CAE tools to solve from basic to complex

problems within any industry. We offer over 100 courses in our state-of-the-art classroom facilities and

individual computer graphics laboratories at training centers throughout the world. All of our courses

emphasize hands-on computer laboratory work to facilitate skills development. We are uniquely

positioned to optimize your investment in design and simulation software tools.
http://simcompanion.mscsoftware.com/http://forums.mscsoftware.com/http://forums.mscsoftware.com/http://simcompanion.mscsoftware.com/


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xiPreface

Our industry experienced expert staff is available to customize our course offerings to meet your unique

training requirements. For the most effective training, we also offer many of our courses at our

customer's facilities.

We specialize in customized training based on our evaluation of your design and simulation processes,

which yields courses that are geared to your business. In addition to traditional instructor-led classes, we

also offer video courses, interactive multimedia training, web-based training, and a specialized

instructor's program.

Course Information and Registration

For detailed course descriptions, schedule information, and registration call the Training Specialist at(800) 732-7211 or visit www.mscsoftware.com.

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Adams 2013Internet Resources

xii

Internet Resources

MSC Software (www.mscsoftware.com)

MSC Software corporate site with information on the latest events, products and services for the

CAD/CAE/CAM marketplace.

MSC Software Store (store.mscsoftware.com)

store.mscsoftware.com is a virtual marketplace where clients can find engineering expertise, and

engineers can find the goods and services they need to do their job.


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1 Whats New

Whats New, 2

Adams/Car, 3

Adams/Chassis, 9

Adams/Driveline, 15 Adams/Machinery, 17

Adams/PostProcessor, 18

Adams/SmartDriver, 19

Adams/Solver, 22

Adams/Tire, 23 Adams/View, 24

Updated Adams Runtime Environment on Windows, 27

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Adams 2013Whats New

2

Whats NewThe following are highlights of additions to existing products. ForKnown Issues and Resolved Issuessee respective MSC SimCompanion article.

Adams/Car, 3

Adams/Chassis, 9

Adams/Driveline, 15

Adams/Machinery, 17

Adams/PostProcessor, 18

Adams/SmartDriver, 19

Adams/Solver, 22

Adams/Tire, 23

Adams/View, 24

Updated Adams Runtime Environment on Windows, 27

3CHAPTER 1
http://simcompanion.mscsoftware.com/infocenter/index?page=content&id=KI8008352http://simcompanion.mscsoftware.com/infocenter/index?page=content&id=KI8008353http://simcompanion.mscsoftware.com/infocenter/index?page=content&id=KI8008353http://simcompanion.mscsoftware.com/infocenter/index?page=content&id=KI8008352


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3CHAPTER1Whats New

Adams/Car Model Browser support

Beam Element Leaf Spring Modeling

Powertrain Consolidation

Tire Force visualization and request output

Model Browser support

Model browser support is available in Adams/Car in the Standard Interface as well as Template Buildermode. The content of the model browser can be customized using an .xmlfile that is packaged along with

the installation ($topdir//ModelBrowser.xml).

To customize the model browser:

Copy theModelBrowser.xmlto the current working directory

Edit the .xmlto reflect the required customization

Any subsequent launch of Adams/Car will pick up the customized .xmlfile and accordingly display thecontent of the model browser.

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Adams/Car


Adams/Car now supports the direct modeling of leaf springs. The new functionality is based on already

existing capability in Adams/Chassis. The model is composed of a series of parts connected throughbeam elements. The contact between the leaves is modeled using vector forces with optional friction.

Input data has to be entered in unloaded configuration. A new leaf spring editor is made available for this

purpose. Adams/Car then takes this data, along with bushing and hardpoint data from the template to

create a new leaf spring model. This model can then be included in a template or subsystem for further

analysis.

In Adams/Car, a new menu item is added for building and modifying leaf springs. The dialog box takes

hardpoint and bushing data as input, along with an unloaded leaf spring property file, and sends that data

to a utility that exercises the leaf spring. The resulting model is then displayed in Adams/Car.

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Whats New


Simplified powertrain capabilities are implemented through GSE solver elements featuring 4 different

powertrain types.

The interface is accessed through Simulate Full-Vehicle Analysis Vehicle Set-Up Set

Powertrain Parameters and under the Adjust Powertrain Properties for the standard powertrain

subsystem.

A drop-down menu allows for the user to select among the following options for engine and transmission

modeling, and adjust the different parameters according to the selected version:

1. Manual Gear Shifting: engine map, simplified clutch, manual transmission;

2. Simple (CVT): simplified engine (torque proportional throttle), continuous variable

transmission;

3. Automatic with Torque Converter: engine map, torque converter splines, automatic transmission;

4. Robotized Dual-Clutch: engine map, step function clutch, and automatic transmission.

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Adams/Car

Under the Power/Velocity Plot button the user can visualize the power at the transmission output for

given engine map and transmission shift points:

7CHAPTER1Wh t N


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Whats New

Tire Force visualization and request output

The animation controls panel offers a new option to visualize the tire - road interaction forces during the

animation.

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Adams/Car

In addition the user can specify the tire request output in the new dialog 'Tire Request Activity' window:

9CHAPTER1Whats New


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What s New

Adams/Chassis Beam Element Leaf Spring Modeling


Straight Line Drive Ride Event

Solver Settings

Stabilizer-Bar Optimization

Part/Bushing Creation Editor

Request Output at Bushing Location


The new functionality is based on already existing capability in Adams/Chassis. The model is composed

of a series of parts connected through beam elements. The contact between the leaves is modeled using

vector forces with optional friction.

The editor can still be accessed through the "Utilities" menu. An additional field has been added in the

spring editor such that the leaf spring property file (.ltf) is now directly accessed from the editor. A button

was added to directly edit the leaf property that is associated with the current vehicle. When accessed

from the spring editor, the hardpoint and bushing properties are automatically populated in the new leaf

spring editor.

The Leaf Spring Editor is a new designed GUI for creating, visualizing, editing, and saving leaf spring

property files. In the Leaf Spring Editor you can easily copy, paste or delete leaves or clips. You can also

plot the leaf profiles or change the numerical values of leaf spring property file. The input data is

organized into the following tabs:

a. General - This tab contains data shared across the leaves. Here you can change the number

of the leaves or clips by entering a new value in the corresponding cell. Then thecorresponding tab will be updated accordingly. It is also possible to enter a comment in this

tab.

b. Leaves - Data specific to the individual leaves. There is one column for each leaf. Profile data

for each leaf is entered at the bottom of the editor (Leaf #1, and so on.).

c. Axle - Position and mass properties of the "dummy axle" used during the loading of the leaf

spring submodel.

d. Shackle - Mass and position of the shackle part.

e. Geometry - Hardpoint locations are selected in Adams/Car, and displayed here for

informational purpose (not editable).

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f. Eyehooks - Geometry and position of eyehooks relative to leaf.

g. Bushings - Bushing property information. Since the bushing property files are supplied by

Adams/Car, only the interleaf bushings are specified here. Select the Fix Joint Leaf-to-Leafto model the interleaf bushings as fixed joints.

h. Clips - These are optional attachments at the ends of the leaf spring. In this case there is no

clip defined in the property file therefore the clip table is empty.


Simplified powertrain capabilities are implemented through GSE solver elements featuring 4 different

powertrain types.

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This new functionality has been added to the full powertrain templates (fwd.py, rwd.py, awd.py). The

interface can be found under the "Engine" tab of the powertrain subsystem. A new example vehicle

database (rwd_ind_gse.vdb) has been added to the Adams/Chassis examples directory.Similar to Adams/Car, a drop-down menu allows for the user to select among the following options for

engine and transmission modeling, and adjust the different parameters according to the selected version:

0: Original: Uses original powertrain configuration as in previous releases.

1: Manual Gear Shifting: engine map, simplified clutch, manual transmission;

2: Simple (CVT): simplified engine (torque proportional throttle), continuous variable

transmission;

3: Automatic with Torque Converter: engine map, torque converter splines, automatic

transmission;

4: Robotized Dual-Clutch: engine map, step function clutch, and automatic transmission.

Note that the construction option "powertrain_model_type" should not be set to "Full" in order to use

this feature.

Straight Line Drive Ride Event

This new event has been added to facilitate full vehicle ride events. Among other parameters, this event

features an option to interpolate output, which allows the Solver to select the step size without being

limited by the output step size. If this option is selected, the user can optionally specify the x-coordinate


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locations of obstacles, which will add sensors to the model to detect the obstacle during the simulation

and prevent the Solver from missing those impact events (for example, a pothole).

Solver Settings

These options are added to support the HHT integrator and the INTERPOLATE option on the

INTEGRATOR statement. These options, as other solver settings, are accessed in the system parameters.

Stabilizer-Bar OptimizationThe new stabilizer bar optimization option is added to the GUI. For stabilizer bars with many profile

points, this can improve the performance by eliminating the number of beam elements that make up the

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stabilizer bar model. The algorithm eliminates points that exceed a certain angle tolerance. The option is

activated by a construction option.

Part/Bushing Creation Editor

Now automatically add parts and connectors "on-the-fly" directly from the Adams/Chassis GUI. For

simple customizations, this eliminates the need for custom python coding. Like in previous releases, to

add a new part/bushing, use the "Add" button in the GUI. When this feature is active, it will

automatically add the desired element to the model. For parts, the default CG option is only valid if a

hardpoint exists with the same name as the part. Similarly, the bushing will be located at a hardpointlocation with the same name as the bushing. In addition, for user-defined bushings, a new editor will be

visible to select the attachment parts. The option is activated via a construction option.


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Request Output at Bushing Location

New interface is added for specifying request output at a bushing location. This interface allows the user

to more closely control which requests are written out. In the past a single toggle controlled all the request

output. The new interface allows the specification of the type of request (displacement, velocity,

acceleration, force), along with an offset location. This location will be where the request is measured

from, and it is defined relative to the hardpoint location that defines the bushing.

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Adams/Driveline Model Browser support

Model Browser support

Model browser support is available in Adams/Driveline in the Standard Interface as well as Template

Builder mode. The content of the model browser can be customized using an xml file that is packaged

along with the installation ($topdir//ModelBrowser.xml).



Edit the.xmlto reflect the required customization

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Any subsequent launch of Adams/Driveline will pick up the customized .xmlfile and accordingly display

the content of the model browser.

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Adams/Machinery Bearing

Bearing

The new Adams/Machinery Bearing module provides for the modeling of bearings within the

Adams/View environment. Three modeling methods are available:

Joint

The joint method uses an ideal kinematic joint is used to represent the bearing. Constrained degrees offreedom will have no relative motion. This method is useful for only the most basic sizing applications

Compliant

A force is used to represent the bearing. Linear stiffness and damping can be applied. This method is

useful when the effects of compliance must be considered.

Detailed (Currently available on Windows only)

A force is used to represent rolling element bearings. Using advanced analysis technology from world-

renowned drivetrain simulation software KISSsoft, stiffness is calculated at every step based on the

positions and velocities at the bearing location. Damping is based on user-specified factors. Also, a

KISSsoft library can be used to lookup characteristic geometry values for many catalog bearings from

several manufacturers. This method provides a far more accurate representation of the bearing

compliance than the compliant method. It also allows for service life prediction based on industry

standards.To access Adams/Machinery Bearing, from the Adams/View Ribbon click on the Machinery tab and use

the icons in the Bearing container.

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Adams/PostProcessor Improvements

Animation Appearance Tab

Improvements

Multiple improvements have been implemented:

Adams/PostProcessor window can be open simultaneously with Adams/View window andmulti-monitor support for Adams windows has been improved

Plot configuration file (.plt) import/export functionality no longer requires Adams/View users toload the "Adams/Car Plotting" plugin

Plot configuration file (.plt) coverage has been extended, notably for:

Bode plots

Scatter plots

Curve math

Some complex function expressions with multiple analysis result component references

Access to "Create Spec Line" via toolbar button

Toggle between selected curves within a plot via up/down arrow keys

Ability to pan a zoom window across plots

Ability to copy page and window-pane content directly to the clipboard for more convenient

paste actions to other programs like Microsoft Word or PowerPoint (previously one had to

rely solely on file export actions and subsequent import actions)

Animation Appearance Tab

New functionality has been added to the animation dashboard: the animation appearance tab. This

enables one to modify the appearance of any piece of geometry during animation based on conditions

applied to any result set component, animation frame, or simulation time.

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Adams/SmartDriver Output filtering

Power-based shifting

Automatic initial conditions calculation

Output filtering

The filters for outputs from the driving machine controllers have been exposed. These can help improve

controller performance (particularly steering) on rough roads.

Power-based shifting

The existing "kick-down control" feature has been improved and exposed in the SmartDriver event

dialog box. This feature can provide runtime shifting behavior that more nearly matches the assumptions

used to calculate velocity targets in vehicle limits events.

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Automatic initial conditions calculation

The option to have "optimal" values of initial vehicle speed, longitudinal acceleration and/or gear

automatically calculated during the target calculation pre-phase of SmartDriver events has been added(to minimize "lap time", for example).

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Adams/Solver Performance Improvements

New Non-Linear Beam and Field Improved HHT integrator (step size selection, corrector)

Performance Improvements

Adams/Solver C++ underwent architectural changes to accommodate high performance coding.

The following changes have been implemented:

1. Streamlined selected sections of the code to improve execution speed.

2. Optional parallel LU factorization. This option can only be triggered using the environment

variable MSC_ADAMS_PARALLEL_CALAHAN. This option improves the performance of large

models and/or models with flexible bodies.

New Non-Linear Beam and Field

Two new beam formulations are now available for the BEAM statement.

The parameter FORMULATION has a default value of LINEAR (to match the behavior of previous

releases); however, users can set it to NONLINEAR to set a geometrically non-linear Euler-Bernoulli

formulation, or users can set it to STRING to set an approximate geometrically non-linear formulation

(see Theory of Matrix Structural Analysisby J.S. Przemieniecki).

The FIELD statement also has the new parameter FORMULATION set to LINEAR by default. This

default guarantees backward-compatibility with previous releases. However, FORMULATION can beset to NONLINEAR forcing the solver to use an approximate geometrically non-linear formulation. This

new option is useful for case when FIELD elements are used to model tapered beams. Along with this

option, a LENGTH_TOLEARANCE has been provided to avoid divisions by zero.

Improved HHT integrator (step size selection, corrector)

The step size selection algorithm in the HHT integrator has been enhanced to avoid the problem of havinga too small time step causing either a simulation failure or poor performance. The HHT integrator now

chooses a better step size to proceed with the simulation.

The HHT integrator now honors the CORRECTOR=MODIFIED option. In previous release, the HHT

integrator only had one type of corrector convergence criteria. Starting with this release,

CORRECTOR=MODIFIED will force the solver to relax HHT's convergence criteria of Lagrange

multipliers only. Research showed that Lagrange-multipliers corrections suffer from fluctuations when

having small time steps. Those fluctuations provide false convergence assurance. Using

CORRECTOR=MODIFIED, the fluctuations are ignored during the convergence assessment improving

overall performance.

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Adams/Tire PAC2002 with belt dynamics for Ride applications

Design of Experiments support for PAC2002

PAC2002 with belt dynamics for Ride applications

Typically Pacejka handling tire models with relaxation modeling for transient are valid up to

approximately 8 Hz. They are state of the art for handling type of simulation on rather smooth road.

However for vehicle simulations when chassis control is involved or (short) road obstacles tire belt

dynamics starts to play a role.

With the new belt dynamics modeling in PAC2002 Adams/Tire provides a tire model that offers the

Force and Moment accuracy of a Pacejka model in combination with a high fidelity required for ride and

chassis control.

Design of Experiments support for PAC2002

PAC2002 offers the user to define a set of DOE parameters in the tire property file. Adams/Car supportsthis functionality by creating an array for each tire containing these parameters and which are then

referenced by Adams/View Design Variables. These Design Variables can be used in for example,

Adams/Insight to change PAC2002 properties in design of experiments studies.

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Adams/View Ribbon Customization

Model Browser Configuration Ability to display, without scrolling, custom text menus on the Main Menu bar

Copy/Paste support between GUI tables and between GUI tables and Excel cells

Full Adams/Tire Road visualization support in Adams/View

Ribbon Customization

Two Adams/View Ribbon customization features have been added:

General Ribbon Customization

This allows users to read in their customized .xmlfiles from within Adams/View. The user can do this in

two ways:

Via command language by executing the "interface ribbon read filename=user-defined .xml

filename" command Selecting the ribbon.xmlfile from the File-Open dialog that appears when the user clicks on

Tools Ribbon Read

When this command is executed, the earlier ribbon will be deleted and a new ribbon will be created based

upon the .xmlfile read in. If the XML file syntax is incorrect the default ribbon.xmlprovided in the

installation folder will be used. Once the user has read his/her customized ribbon, they can revert back to

the default ribbon by do one of the following:

Via command language by executing "interface ribbon read" providing no filename parameter.

By clicking on Tools Ribbon Read Local Ribbon

Ribbon Customization for Plugins

This allows users to specify individual ribbon.xmlfor each plugin. This will be done by allowing the user

to add the Ribbon entries relating to the Plugin tab in the file _plg.xmlfile associated with

the plugin.

Model Browser Configuration

The content of the model browser can be customized using an .xmlfile that is packaged along with the

installation ($topdir//ModelBrowser.xml).



Edit the .xmlto reflect the required customization

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Any subsequent launch of Adams/View will pick up the customized xml file and accordingly display the

content of the model browser.

Ability to display, without scrolling, custom text menus on theMain Menu bar

Custom menus can now be added in the main menu bar, without having to use scroll-bars. The user can

allocate how the horizontal space is shared between the Main Menu bar and the Standard Toolbar. The

Main Menu bar expands to fill up any extra space not used by the Standard Toolbar. The hidden buttons

on the Standard Toolbar appear in a popup window on clicking the extension button on the toolbar.

Copy/Paste support between GUI tables and between GUItables and Excel cells

It is now possible to copy/paste data from cells inside Adams Table. The data can be copied and pasted

between Adams Tables or between an Adams Table and cells in an Excel spreadsheet. In addition to

using the popup menu on right click for copy and paste, users can also use Ctrl-C and Ctrl-V shortcuts,

respectively.

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Full Adams/Tire Road visualization support in Adams/View

In Adams/View the supported road formats have been extended with the RGR and CRG road formats

while the visualization of 3D Spline roads has been improved.

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Updated Adams Runtime Environment on Windows

The Adams runtime environment on Windows:

Eliminated files written to the C:\windows directory.

Eliminated Adams configuration data from being stored in the Windows registry.

The scripts now "discover" where they are installed.

The MSC_LICENSE_FILE string storage was moved from the Windows registry to theAdams registry. Users can override the installed license in their local Adams registry.

Enable any installation of Adams to be used as a centralized server installation.

To run Adams as a network installation:

1. Install Adams 2013.

2. Share the directory where Adams is installed.

3. On client workstations use the network path to run Adams:

\\CAE_Server\Adams_x64\2013\common\mdi.bat

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MD Nastran 2006 Installation and Operations GuideMD Nastran


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2 Running Adams Products

Starting Adams Products, 30

Setting Preferences, 32

Setting Your Working Directory, 33

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Starting Adams Products


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Starting Adams ProductsThis sections described how you can start your Adams products on LINUX and on Windows.

Starting Adams Products on LINUX

The Adams Toolbar is a starting point to using Adams products on LINUX. The toolbar is shown below.

You can also use the Adams Toolbar to:

Customize, keep track of, and organize multiple libraries of standard Adams products

Create binaries

Manage custom memory models and product preferences

For more information on these or other Adams Toolbar operations, see the Running and Configuring

online help (from the Help menu in any product, select Adams Help, on the left pane, select

Configuring Adams).

To start a product on LINUX:

1. To display the Adams Toolbar, at the command prompt, enter the command adamsx where x is

the version number, for example adams2013.

2. Click on the tool representing the product you want to start.

Adams Toolbar tool - Right click to set up Toolbar, manage

memory models, access online help and Technical Support

resources and more

Product tools - Click to run product or right-click to

configure products and create user libraries.

Hold the cursor over a tool to see the name of the associated

product.

Note: We recommend that you use the Adams Toolbar to start your Adams products, but

if you want to automate certain operations, use the text-based Program Menu. Formore information, see the Running and Configuring online help.

31CHAPTER2Running Adams Products

St ti Ad P d t Wi d


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Starting Adams Products on Windows

You start any Adams product from the Start menu. You can also use the Start menu to:

Change your license type

Generate problem reports

Set Adams preferences

For more information on these or other operations, see the Running and Configuring online help.

To start a product on Windows:

From the Start menu, point to Programs, point to MSC.Software, point to Adams 2013, pointto the name of the product you want to start, and then select the product type. For example, point

to ACar, and then select Adams - Car.

Tip: Select the corresponding desktop icon for the product, if you installed it on your

desktop.

Adams 2013Setting Preferences

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Setting Preferences


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Setting PreferencesThis section describes how you can set preferences, such as your working directory, graphics setting, and

memory model size.

Setting Preferences on LINUX

You use the Registry Editor from the Adams Toolbar to set a variety of preferences. For information on

the preferences you can set, see the Running and Configuring online help.

To display the Registry Editor:

From the Adams Toolbar, right-click any product tool, and then select Change Settings.

Setting Preferences on Windows

You use the Settings menu to modify:

Graphics settings HOOPS settings

Memory model size

To display the Settings dialog box:

From the Start menu, point to Programs, point to MSC.Software, point to Adams 2013, andthen select Adams - Settings.

33CHAPTER2Running Adams Products

Setting Your Working Directory


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Setting Your Working Directory

During a session in a default or custom product, you can select the directory where you want to place

your model and output files.

For Adams/View, you can set the working directory from the Welcome dialog box.

To set your working directory:

1. From the File menu, select Select Directory.

2. In the dialog box that appears, select the working directory.

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3 Getting Help

Tool Tips, 36

Online Help, 37

Tutorials and Examples, 43

Adams 2013Tool Tips

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Tool Tips


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pTool tips display information about the item the cursor is currently over in an Adams product. The

following shows the tool tip that appears when you place the cursor over the link geometry tool.

To display tool tips:

Move the cursor over the item in the interface on which youd like information.

A brief description of the item appears.

37CHAPTER3Getting Help

Online Help


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Online Help

To help you use the Adams products, MSC Software provides online help (HTML format). To view the

online help and tutorials, you can use your default Web browser. An example of online help is shownbelow

Adams 2013Online Help

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Versions ofWeb Browsers


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For the Adams Help system, all you need is a Windows, Macintosh, or LINUX computer running a fairly

new browser with JavaScript enabled. If JavaScript is not enabled, then the Help set will not display in

its entirety. You also need to have appropriate Acrobat reader to view PDF files from online help system.

We recommend that you view the online help using one of the following browsers:

Internet Explorer 5.x or 6.x

Netscape Navigator 7.x or 8.x

Mozilla/Firefox 2.x or 3.x


Accessing the Online Help


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You can view help for a dialog box, a product, or for all Adams products. The figure below shows the

help for all Adams products, called the integrated master site. You can use this site to view any productshelp and search across all product help. You can also access release notes for all products, and view the

documents in Adobe Reader.

To get help on a dialog box:

1. Click in the dialog box for which you need help.

2. Press F1.

Adams launches a browser window that contains information about the dialog box.


40

To get general help on your product:

From your products Help menu select Product Name Help (where Product Name is the name


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From your product s Help menu, selectProduct Name Help (whereProduct Name is the name

of your Adams product).

Adams launches a browser window that contains the starting point for your products onlinehelp.

To get help on another Adams product:

Perform one of the following:

If youre in an Adams product, from its Help menu, select Adams Help.

If youre in the help for an Adams product, use the All Products Help button ( )to get to

main help system.

Your default browser starts and displays the master site for Adams online help.

To open the Adams online help from the Adams Toolbar:

Right-click the Adams Toolbar tool, and then select Online Help.


To open the Adams online help from the Start Menu:

From the Start menu, point to Programs, point to MSC.Software, point to Adams 2013, andthen select Adams - Online Help.



Navigating through the Help


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You navigate through the Adams help system as you do through any help system, selecting topics in the

pane on the left. In addition, weve provided:

Navigation arrows at the top of the pane to let you scroll through topics one at a

time.

Automatic sync to show you where your current topic is in the table of contents (TOC).

This is very helpful if you, for example, search for a topic and want to know if there are more

topics on the subject. It shows you where the topic is in the TOC, allowing you to see whether or

not there are more topics with it.


42

Searching

Y h ll th h l fil i HTML f t f ti l d t ll Ad d t


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You can search all the help files in HTML format for a particular product or all Adams products.

If you are in a product specific help

1. Open the online help for your product.

2. Press Search button at the top of the help window, enter the search text, and then

press the Go button .

The results appear in the pane on the left, replacing the table of contents.

3. Click the topic you want to view.

If you are in Adams help system

1. Press search button at the top of help window, which will give an option to search All Available

products or A single product.

2. Enter the search text and follow Steps 2 and 3 above

Printing

To print a file:

In the help system you can select the Print button . to print the topic that you are viewing

You can select the PDF button . to see the entire PDF file pertaining to the topic and print

the file like a regular PDF file. Notice that some of the images in PDF file may be cropped.

Index

The Index tab displays an alphabetical list of keywords associated with help topics. To view index entries,

you can select a letter group to display the entries for that group. When you click on an index entry, the

related topic will display in the topic frame. You can select Indexes in a product specific help or in the

main help system.


Tutorials and Examples


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Adams products have a set of tutorials or getting started guides that step you through examples of using

the products features, as well as introduce the basic concepts of the product. The getting started guidesare online. In addition, many of the products have examples of its features that are stored in Knowledge

Base Articles.

You will find links to all the tutorials and examples for a product under its Examples tab.

To access the tutorials and examples:

From the online help for a product, from the pane on the left, select Examples.

From the online help, from the left pane, select Getting Started and select the product that youare interested in.

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4 Supported Versions ofIntegration Products

Support for Easy5 and MATLAB, 46

Supported Versions of Integration Products, 47

Adams 2013Support for Easy5 and MATLAB

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Support for Easy5 and MATLAB


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Easy5This release of Adams/Controls is certified to run with Easy5 2010, 2010.1.2, 2010.1.3 and 2010.1.4.

Easy5 version support is subject to change. For the latest information, see updates to the Release Guide

here:

http://simcompanion.mscsoftware.com/.

MATLAB

The supported versions of MATLAB are R2011b and R2012a. For more information on MATLAB

platforms and compatibility, see:

http://www.mathworks.com/support

Note: If you want to co-simulate with Easy5 or MATLAB and you are running Adams/Controls

on one of the platforms that Easy5 or MATLAB does not support, you should consider

using TCP/IP communication. This allows Adams/Controls to communicate with Easy5 orMATLAB even though the codes are running on different platforms.

47CHAPTER4Supported Versions of Integration Products

Supported Versions of Integration Products
http://simcompanion.mscsoftware.com/infocenter/index?page=content&cat=2012_A30http://www.mathworks.com/support/sysreq/release14sp3/unix.htmlhttp://www.mathworks.com/support/sysreq/release14sp3/unix.htmlhttp://simcompanion.mscsoftware.com/infocenter/index?page=content&cat=2012_A30


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Company Product Name Product VersionAdamsProduct Platform

The Mathworks,

Inc.

MATLAB R2011b

MATLAB Coder

Simulink Coder

Version 7.13

Adams/Controls

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.4

x64

Windows Server 2008

Windows Server 2008 x64

Windows 7

Windows 7 x64

The Mathworks,

Inc.

MATLAB R2012a

MATLAB

Simulink

Real-Time

Workshop

Version 7.14

Adams/Controls

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.4

x64

Windows Server 2008

Windows Server 2008 x64

Windows 7Windows 7 x64

MSC Software

Corporation

Easy5 2010, 2010.1.2,

2010.1.3 and 2010.1.4

Adams/Controls Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.4

x64

Windows 7

Windows 7 x64

MSC Software

Corporation

MD Nastran R1 and above Adams/Car Ride

Adams/Vibration

LINUX and Windows

MSC Software

Corporation

MSC.Nastran V69.X and above Adams/Durability

Adams/Flex

LINUX and Windows

MSC Software

Corporation

Marc 2005 and above

2003 and above

Adams/Durability

Adams/Flex

LINUX and Windows

MSC Software

Corporation

Fatigue 2001 and above Adams/Durability LINUX and Windows

nCode FE-Fatigue Version 5.2 and above Adams/Durability LINUX and Windows

Adams 2013Supported Versions of Integration Products

48

ANSYS Inc ANSYS V6 0 and abo e Adams/D rabilit LINUX and Windo s

Company Product Name Product VersionAdamsProduct Platform


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ANSYS, Inc. ANSYS V6.0 and above

V5.4 and above

Adams/Durability

Adams/Flex

LINUX and Windows

Hibbitt,

Karlsson &

Sorensen, Inc.

(HKS)

ABAQUS/ADAMS Version 6.3 and above

Version 6.1-1 and

above

Adams/Durability

Adams/Flex

LINUX and Windows

UGS PLM

Solutions

I-DEAS Mechanism

Design

I-DEAS NX 10 and

above

I-DEAS 8, 9, NX 10

and above

Adams/Durability

Adams/Flex

LINUX and Windows

MSC.Fatigue Quick Start Guide

I n d e xAdams 2013


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AAccessing

online help, 39Adams

Starting, 30

Adams Toolbarstarting online help from, 40Automatic TOC sync, about, 41

BBrowsers, versions for help, 38

DDialog box, accessing help for, 39

EEasy5, 46Examples, 43

FF1, using to access help, 39Firefox version for help, 38

IIntegrated master site, about, 39Integration Products, 47Internet Explorer version for help, 38

LLinux

Preferences, 32Starting Adams, 30Starting online help from, 40

MMaster help site, 39Matlab, 46

Mozilla, using with help, 38

NNavigating through online help, 41Netscape Navigator version for help, 38

OOnline Help, 37

accessing, 39Online help

navigating through, 41printing, 42searching single product, 42

PPreferences, 32Printing online help, 42

SScrolling through help, 41

Searchingonline help, 42

SettingWorking Directory, 33

StartingOn Linux, 30On Windows, 31online help, 39

Starting Adams, 30Support for

Easy5, 46Matlab, 46

VViewing all product help, 39

WWeb browsers, versions for help, 38

IndexIndex

Adams 2013

50

Whats New, 2Windows

Preferences, 32starting Adams 31


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starting Adams, 31

Starting online help from, 40

Documents

Adams Releaseguide 2013