NASTRAN cyclic symmetry capability

A development for NASTRAN which facilitates the analysis of structures made up of identical segments symmetrically arranged with respect to an axis is described. The key operation in the method is the transformation of the degrees of freedom for the structure into uncoupled symmetrical components, thereby greatly reducing the number of equations which are solved simultaneously. A further reduction occurs if each segment has a plane of reflective symmetry. The only required assumption is that the problem be linear. The capability, as developed, will be available in level 16 of NASTRAN for static stress analysis, steady state heat transfer analysis, and vibration analysis. The paper includes a discussion of the theory, a brief description of the data supplied by the user, and the results obtained for two example problems. The first problem concerns the acoustic modes of a long prismatic cavity imbedded in the propellant grain of a solid rocket motor. The second problem involves the deformations of a large space antenna. The latter example is the first application of the NASTRAN Cyclic Symmetry capability to a really large problem.