Solution sensitivity and accuracy study of NASTRAN for large dynamic problems involving structural damping

Large dynamic problems involving NASTRAN SOLUTION 8 (i.e., the steady state dynamic response option wherein all response quantities vary as e sub i omega t, where omega is the driving frequency and t is time) are considered. Using a submerged steel plate with a viscoelastic layer layer as the bench mark sample, the solution sensitivity and solution accuracy are checked. The solution sensitivity is examined by running the same finite element model on different computers, different versions of NASTRAN, and different precision levels. The solution accuracy is evaluated for these same runs by comparing the NASTRAN results with the exact solution of the same problem.