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there is a source code for Natran-95 on Github. I need to install it on Window 10

but searching on the web there is no clear tutorial on installation. while I click on the nastran.exe on this package in the hyperlink to GitHub, I get windows error the file not found in directory.

the specific reason to use nastran is to generate a superelement from a PSHELL model. it seems that MYSTRAN 12.0 has added sparse solver that some of its subroutines do the reduction of sparse matrix, but I am not sure if it also saves it or only uses for solving, but uses the same craig bampton method

could anyone tell me if there is a compiling step missing ? just if you know how to install it, and also use it, please write an answer? it will be a great source for internet

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  • $\begingroup$ The original NASA versions of Nastran (like the Github link you mentioned) are completely obsolete. Note that the user manual in that link is dated 1986. Don't waste your time trying to install and run a 35-year-old version of the software, unless you want to do it as a retrocomputing project (and in that case, ask the question again on retrocomputing.SE) $\endgroup$
    – alephzero
    Commented Feb 1, 2021 at 14:04
  • $\begingroup$ @alephzero According to Wikipedia the last stable release was in 2014. $\endgroup$
    – Eric S
    Commented Feb 1, 2021 at 14:22
  • $\begingroup$ @EricS I think you are confusing the closed-source commercial version (begun by MSC in about 1970 and still being developed) with the original NASA version. The NASA version only ever ran on IBM, Univac, and CDC mainframes, and was originally supplied on magnetic tape which included the installers and machine-dependent code. It was never structured as an open-source project which users could build completely for themselves. The original version was put into the public domain as a legal requirement of NASA's US government funding. It is software archeology, not a useful modern FEA application. $\endgroup$
    – alephzero
    Commented Feb 1, 2021 at 15:27
  • $\begingroup$ Actually, the Wikipedia page on Nastran might be the clue to answering the OP's question: "OCF Nastran: Both source and binary copies of Nastran are available from the Open Channel Foundation for an annual license fee. This was part of the NASA COSMIC Collection distribution from the National Technology Transfer Center. It was published in June 2015 on GitHub.[citation needed]" The 2015 date is consistent with the OP's GitHub link. $\endgroup$
    – alephzero
    Commented Feb 1, 2021 at 17:15
  • $\begingroup$ @alephzero I really think it is open source and doesn't require a license based on the open source agreement document on Github. Doesn't mean it is easy to use or even that there is a Windows installer, but it does mean that the software is there and assuming you have a FORTRAN compiler useable. $\endgroup$
    – Eric S
    Commented Feb 1, 2021 at 17:26

3 Answers 3

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Use this fork: https://github.com/AeroDME/NASTRAN-95

Use gFortan and cmake to build it on windows 10.

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  • $\begingroup$ Why isn't the built files uploaded there ? why should every user use gFortran and cmake ? I remember I tried it once and got lost in the middle $\endgroup$
    – FabioSpaghetti
    Commented Mar 8, 2021 at 21:47
  • $\begingroup$ Are you sure this fork uses CMake? I don't see any CMakeLists.txt file! 🤔 $\endgroup$
    – Foad
    Commented Apr 26 at 5:36
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I hesitate to answer this as I have no personal experience with the software, but you should investigate MYSTRAN which is a free NASTRAN clone. It is available already compiled for Windows. From the about section of its home page:

MYSTRAN is a general purpose finite element analysis computer program for structures that can be modeled as linear (i.e. displacements, forces and stresses proportional to applied load). MYSTRAN is an acronym for "My Structural Analysis", to indicate it's usefulness in solving a wide variety of finite element analysis problems. For anyone familiar with the popular NASTRAN computer program developed by NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) in the 1970's and popularized in several commercial versions since, the input to MYSTRAN will look quite familiar. Indeed, many structural analyses modeled for execution in NASTRAN will execute in MYSTRAN with little, or no, modification. MYSTRAN, however, is not NASTRAN. All of the finite element processing to obtain the global stiffness matrix (including the finite element matrix generation routines themselves), the reduction of the stiffness matrix to the solution set, as well as all of the input/output routines are written in independent, modern, Fortran 90/95 code.

The author was a member of the original NASTRAN development team and the software is free and open source released under the NASA Open Source Software Agreement. If you want to use the actual NASTRAN95 code, I'm pretty sure you'll need to have a FORTRAN compiler and compile from source.

I do recommend you consider alephzero's suggestion to pursue more modern options.

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  • $\begingroup$ seems nastran 95 is the most developed one between them mystran.com/forums/showthread.php?tid=4 $\endgroup$
    – FabioSpaghetti
    Commented Feb 1, 2021 at 18:09
  • $\begingroup$ @FabioSpaghetti Well, do you need the more advanced features? If you are unable to compile from source you might not be able to use NASTRAN95. Is there a specific reason you are required to NASTRAN95? $\endgroup$
    – Eric S
    Commented Feb 1, 2021 at 19:09
  • $\begingroup$ yes the specific reason is to generate a superelement from a PSHELL model. it seems that MYSTRAN 12.0 has added sparse solver that some of its subroutines do the reduction of sparse matrix, but I am not sure if it also saves it or only uses for solving, but uses the same craig bampton method $\endgroup$
    – FabioSpaghetti
    Commented Feb 1, 2021 at 19:15
  • $\begingroup$ @FabioSpaghetti Okay, you really should have added that info to your question. $\endgroup$
    – Eric S
    Commented Feb 1, 2021 at 20:33
  • $\begingroup$ @FabioSpaghetti You seem to be missing the point that compared with any modern FEA software (including modern commercial versions of Nastran) you are quibbling about whether Brand X or Brand Y is "better" when one of them is 30 years out of date and the other is 31. (FWIW, I was actually doing FE analysis, developing FE codes, and networking with the guys who founded companies like MSC-Nastran, Abaqus, LS-Dyna, etc, more than 30 years ago, so I might know what I'm talking about from first hand experience here.) $\endgroup$
    – alephzero
    Commented Feb 1, 2021 at 23:07
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I just forked the repository, and after a bit of cleanup, I developed the CMakeLists.txt file to compile with CMake. you should be able to compile the code base on Windows using Intel's ifort.exe now:

  1. install CMake, you may use Chocolateyrun choco install cmake in an elevated PowerShell terminal
  2. install Intel's Fortran compiler
  3. clone the repository git clone https://github.com/Foadsf/NASTRAN-95.git
  4. go to the commit git checkout 83469ca0548e6456f7c6db39a308248ed56642be
  5. compile with build.bat and the executables should be in the build\bin folder

It is still experimental, so I have not merged the dev branch. If it works out, I will initiate the pull request. Please try it, and if you have questions or problems, open a new issue here. If you need a place for further discussions, please use this Discord channel.

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