Inventor Nastran 2020.1 list of changes

[John_Holtz]

Inventor Nastran 2020.1 has been released and is now available to install. To update your 2020.0 Nastran to 2020.1, use the Autodesk Desktop App (installed to the computer when any Autodesk software is installed) and locate Autodesk Inventor Nastran 2020.1. Alternatively, go to manage.autodesk.com, and then Product Updates. (Of course, you need to have Inventor 2020 installed before installing Inventor Nastran.)

Note: Inventor Nastran is the new name for Nastran In-CAD. The name change occurred with version 2020.0.

Here is my list of changes, gathered from the What's New, Release Notes, and issues addressed by development (which includes changes to “In-CAD” and to the Nastran solver that are relevant.)

1	Added explicit solver (as a Tech Preview). The explicit solver is ideal for rapid events in dynamic analyses. The following new features are also added as part of the explicit solver: Material type “Rigid” for materials that will not deform. Constraint type “Rigid (Explicit)” to be applied to rigid materials. Load type “Rigid Motion (Explicit)” to apply enforced motions to rigid materials. Material type “Crushable Foam”. Contact option of “self contact” to detect when a part deforms and contacts other areas in the same part.
2	"Prompt for solution complete" check box added in Default settings. When checked (the default), a dialog is shown when the analysis completes, and the user must click OK. When unchecked, the results are shown automatically when the analysis completes.
3	The deformation scale for nonlinear static and nonlinear transient solutions now default to Actual when the analysis is running.
4	Corrected a problem where tables created in version 2019.2 or older would have wrong values when opened in version 2020.0. See Tables created in Nastran In-CAD are wrong when opened with Inventor Nastran.
5	Corrected problem with Stefan-Boltzmann Constant when using mm for length. See Incorrect Stefan Boltzmann Constant for modified SI units in Nastran In-CAD.
6	Corrected problem with hydrostatic load if the coordinates or vector components were blank for the Point on Fluid Surface or Fluid Depth Direction. Blank entries were not interpreted as 0, result in the wrong pressure distribution. (The pressure arrows showed the distribution was wrong, so this problem should have been noticeable to the user.)
7	Corrected miscellaneous problems with the convergence plot graph not showing values or updating properly.
8	Corrected a problem where the Material Orientation is missing when an analysis is duplicated, and the model is re-opened. See Results change in shell or composite model when analyses in Nastran.
9	Disabled the ribbon bar “subcase” drop-down while the Stress Linearization is open.
10	Added information to documentation that a radiation load is only between  the surface and the environment. The radiation load is not between surfaces within the model.
11	For Orthotropic 3D material, the thermal conductivity values K12, K13, and K23 are now disabled in material dialog since they do not apply to the analysis. Those values are only used for Anisotropic 3D materials.