August 8, 2014

Release Notes - Read Me file
Autodesk, Inc.

In a continuing effort to provide high quality products, Autodesk has released Autodesk Simulation Mechanical 2015 R1. This file highlights open issues with Autodesk Simulation Mechanical 2015 R1 and provides information that is useful while using this software.

Installation Instructions

Summary of Known Issues

Analysis

CAD/FEA Interoperability

Simulation CFD Interoperability

General / User Interface

Meshing

Nastran Processors

Report Environment

Results Environment

Simulation Mechanical Flex

Legal Notice

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Before you begin...

1. Install all Windows Updates that are pending on your machine, and then restart:

• For Windows 7 and Windows 8, use the Windows Update utility located in the Control Panel or under All Programs in the Start Menu.

2. Close all Autodesk applications before you install, maintain, or uninstall Autodesk Simulation Mechanical 2015 R1.

To install Autodesk Simulation Mechanical 2015 R1:

Uninstall Autodesk Simulation Mechanical 2015 Beta or Autodesk Simulation Mechanical 2015 if you installed it previously.

1. Insert the product DVD or locate the installer file that you downloaded from the Autodesk website (typically *.exe, *.msi, or *.msp).
2. Double-click Setup.exe on the DVD, or alternatively the downloaded file, to start the installation process.
3. In the Configure Installation page, set preferences.
4. After configuration, start to install.
5. When the installation is done, click Finish.
6. If required, restart the system after the installation is finished.



To Activate Autodesk Simulation Mechanical 2015 R1:

1. Start Autodesk Simulation Mechanical and select the Activate button.
2. Log in using your Autodesk User ID account. If you do not have an account, you can create one.



Note: your login is not the same one used to access the Autodesk Feedback Community site.




When creating a deployment image of Autodesk Simulation Mechanical 2015 R1:

1. Include only English characters in the deployment image path.
2. Enter your Autodesk Simulation Mechanical 2015 R1 serial number when creating a deployment.



To verify the installation is successful, start Autodesk Simulation Mechanical 2015 R1. On the top-right of the window, select About in the Help menu. If the About box displays: Build 2015.20.00.nnnn, the installation is successful. The actual software build number will be shown in place of nnnn.

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Analysis

• You may not be able to run a simulation or check a model after using the Save As command.
• Running a simulation fails when the model is located in a network folder. Copy the model to your local hard drive and run from there.
• When you activate the Invoke Flow Line Generator option in an Electrostatic Field Strength and Voltage analysis, the analysis fails. You can review the voltage results after checking the model, but the electrical field results are missing.
• Thermal loads fail to be applied to a linear static stress analysis when using the "Loads from file" command. The results do not show stresses due to thermal effects. As a workaround, apply the temperatures using the Thermal tab of the Analysis Parameters dialog box.
• An error occurs when running Local Mesh Refinement on a model with a Pin Constraint. A convergence plot is not created. However, you can access the results by performing a Check Model operation.
• Transient heat transfer analyses that contain rod elements fail to analyze.
• Applying electrostatic current results to a heat transfer analysis (to determine the Joule heating effect) does not work. The results show no thermal effects from the electrical current.
• Electrostatic forces applied to a stress analysis have no effect on the results. The loads fail to be applied.
• Modal restart analyses [Response Spectrum, Random Vibration, Frequency Response, Transient Stress (Modal Superposition), and DDAM] fail to run when the prerequisite Modal analysis has been run using the Nastran solver. As a workaround, run the Natural Frequency (Modal) analysis using the SimMech solver. Make sure that the analysis parametersfor each restart analysis point to the design scenario with the SimMech modal results.

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CAD/FEA Interoperability

• You cannot push a model from 64-bit Rhinoceros 5.0 (or newer) to Simulation Mechanical. However, you can pull these Rhino models into Simulation Mechanical using the Open dialog box.
• RFI files exported to Recurdyn do not support rigid elements.
• You cannot pull Solidworks models into Simulation Mechanical (using the Open dialog box) when the filename contains Japanese, Chinese, or Korean characters. However, you can push the models from SolidWorks into Simulation Mechanical.

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Simulation CFD Interoperability

• When applying fluid reaction forces from Simulation CFD to a Simulation Mechanical linear static stress analysis, the fluid reaction forces are only applied to Load Case 1.
• When applying fluid reaction forces from Simulation CFD to a Simulation Mechanical nonlinear analysis, the fluid reaction forces can only be controlled by Load Curve 1.
• The units of Simulation CFD static pressure results are not converted to the Simulation Mechanical unit system when the pressures are applied to a structural analysis. To prevent incorrect results, ensure that both models (Mechanical and CFD) use the same unit system.

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General / User Interface

• Simulations will fail if there is a period (".") in the file name, other than the period before the extension.
• When setting up Local Mesh Refinement, you specify a center point and effective radius, after which an orange sphere appears on the model. At this point, you cannot click on a new vertex inside the orange sphere to select a new center point. Instead, you must enter the coordinates of the new center point within the dialog box. Alternatively, you can either—cancel out of the dialog box and restart the Local Mesh Refinement setup; or temporarily select a point elsewhere on the model and then select the desired center point.
• When creating a new design scenario, the Run Simulation command may not follow the Default Processors setting in the application options.

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Meshing

• When performing Local Mesh Refinement on a CAD-based model with a midplane mesh, surface loads applied to the initial design scenario may be lost for subsequent design scenarios.

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Nastran Processors

• The following inputs and elements are not supported when solving with the Nastran processor:
1. 2-D elements, Rigid elements
2. Surface Frictionless constraints, Cyclic Symmetry constraints
3. Surface contact, Separation/No Sliding, Sliding/No Separation, Shrink Fit/Sliding, Shrink Fit/No Sliding, or when an Enable smart bonded/welded contact option is active
4. 1D Spring Supports, 3D Spring Supports
5. Surface Hydrostatic Pressure loads.
6. Body-to-body Radiation


• Heat Rate Through Face results are not available for analyses run with the Nastran processor or when Nastran *.op2 results are merged into the Simulation Mechanical model.

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Report Environment

• While typing, the Spell Checker will always display a red line under a word until you press the Space bar or a punctuation mark.
• You have to left-click on a misspelled word and then right-click to display the spelling suggestion.
• When you right-click on a misspelled word and choose to access the Spelling dialog box from the context menu, the selected word may change. When this happens, the spelling suggestions and actions are not applicable to the originally selected word.
• The Spell Checker doesn't work in the Captions field when adding images or videos.
• You cannot edit the red word in the "Not in dictionary" field within the Spelling dialog box.
• Currently, you cannot turn off spell checking. Since only an English dictionary is provided, most words will be marked as misspelled for customers using non-English languages.
• You can only access the Spelling dialog box from the context menu option of a misspelled word. To change global spell-checking options, you must have a misspelled word in the report.

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Results Environment

• The "Include data labels" option is missing from the context menu for Local Mesh Refinement convergence plots.
• You cannot change to another design scenario in the Results environment while running an MES solution. As a workaround, deactivate the “Results Contours > Load Case Options > Analysis in Progress” option. Then you can switch to another design scenario.

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Simulation Mechanical Flex

• Email Notifications do not follow the user settings. Emails will always be sent (at start, when meshing is complete, and when solving finishes), whether or not these options are enabled in the Solver Notifications dialog box.
• The Autodesk Application Manager installed with Simulation Mechanical will only update the desktop product. Currently, customers must update Simulation Mechanical 360 by downloading patches provided by Autodesk as they become available.

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Autodesk Simulation Mechanical/Multiphysics, Autodesk Algor Simulation, Autodesk Inventor, Autodesk Fusion, Autodesk Vault, Autodesk Simulation CFD, Autodesk Simulation Moldflow Insight, Autodesk Simulation Moldflow Advisor, AutoCAD, and Mechanical Desktop are trademarks or registered trademarks of Autodesk, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries.




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All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.




Third-party software providers own the copyright of the software that is original to them.

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We thank all our customers who help us to identify and report issues. These reports will give us the opportunity to improve the product and provide you with the best solution in mechanical simulation. We also thank you for your continued business and for the feedback regarding the content of this release.




Respectfully,




Autodesk Simulation Mechanical Team

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Copyright ^© 2014 Autodesk, Inc.