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Release Notes

Select a link below to review MD Adams 2010 Release Notes for a specific product. For known issues
and updated release notes, go to http://www.mscsoftware.com/products/mdadams_support.cfm
• Adams/Car Release Notes
• Adams/Car Ride Release Notes
• Adams/Chassis Release Notes
• Adams/Controls Release Notes
• Adams/Driveline Release Notes
• Adams/Durability Release Notes
• Adams/Flex Release Notes
• Adams/Insight Release Notes
• Adams/Mechatronics Release Notes
• Adams/SmartDriver Release Notes
• Adams/Solver (C++ and FORTRAN) Release Notes
• Adams/Tire Release Notes
• Adams/Vibration Release Notes
• Adams/View Release Notes
2 MD Adams 2010 Release Notes
Adams/Car Release Notes

Adams/Car Release Notes


• What's New
• Changes
• Issues Resolved
• Known Issues

What's New
• Post-processing improvements for Adams/Car
• Truck Plugin and Database (1-76631912)
• XSL Stylesheet Examples
• SimManager Integration
• Damper Gas Preload (1-77853901)
• MNF & MDDB Transform Tool (1-76618801, 1-252827191)

Post-processing improvements for Adams/Car


Several improvements to Adams/Car post-processing have been implemented, including:
• Multiple plots on single page:
• Header/footer text & bitmaps
• Mathematical Expressions
• Table View
• Legend placement and location
• Analysis stamp
• Date stamp
• Axis attributes
• Spec Lines
• Notes

See Technical Article KB8018465 for further details.


http://simcompanion.mscsoftware.com/infocenter/index?page=content&id=KB8018465

Truck Plugin and Database (1-76631912)


The plugin manager in Adams/Car now has an Adams/Truck option which allows you to analyze truck
assemblies in Adams/Car. A truck database is provided in the
install_dir\atruck\shared_truck_database.cdb subdirectory. The following example assembly models
are accessible from <atruck_shared>/assemblies.tbl:
Adams/Car Release Notes 3
What's New

msc_truck.asy
msc_truck_w_semitrailer.asy
msc_truck_drive_axle_rigid.asy
msc_truck_front_trailer_axle.asy
msc_truck_front_suspension.asy
msc_truck_front_susp_3link.asy
See Technical Article KB8018538 for further details.
http://simcompanion.mscsoftware.com/infocenter/index?page=content&id=KB8018538

XSL Stylesheet Examples


The XML files used in Adams contain structured data. Style sheets provide an alternate way of viewing
the XML data inside a web browser, they describe how documents are to be presented on the screen. We
have provided a handful of eXtensible Style Language (XSL) style sheet examples in the
\install_dir\acar\examples\stylesheets subdirectory. Styling an .xml file requires a style sheet file (.xsl)
which describes how to display a document of a given type, and then the source .xml needs to reference
the .xsl file. For example, if you open the MDI_antiroll_bar_bus.xml example file with your browser you
will see it has a different look, if you inspect it with a text editor you will notice its style sheet declaration
on line #2 in the header section:
<?xml-stylesheet type="text/xsl" href="Bushing_Properties.xsl"?>
At this time we are not standardizing on any particular styles. These example files are simply being
provided for your awareness and to give you some ideas on how XML data could be viewed in a different
format.

SimManager Integration
Support for connecting SimManager with Adams/View and Adams/Car in this release allows users to
establish connection properties to their SimManager server, Log on and Log off from the server, publish
an Adams model (.cmd or .adm) and all of its associated files (for example geometry) along with
simulation results to the server, and to retrieve published models and results from the server.
SimManager access is available through the File - SimManager menu entry or from the command line.

Note: • SimManager access is interactive only, no batch mode access is provided.


• Integration with SimManager requires Java Runtime Environment 1.5.0_06 or
later, please visit http://java.sun.com/products/archive/j2se/5.0_06/index.html to
install.

Damper Gas Preload (1-77853901)


Adams/Car now includes support for damper gas preload. When using an XML damper property file,
you may adjust the gas preload by selecting the Curve Manager tool from the Modify Damper dialog
4 MD Adams 2010 Release Notes
Adams/Car Release Notes

box. In the Curve Manager, select the Properties tab. In the Gas Preload section, select None,
Constant, or Nonlinear gas preload force. If Nonlinear is selected, the curve of preload force vs. damper
length may be edited by selecting the Plot/Edit Data button.

MNF & MDDB Transform Tool (1-76618801, 1-252827191)


A graphical user interface for the Adams/Flex Toolkit MNFXFORM command line utility is now
available from Adams/Car and can be used to translate, rotate and/or mirror MNF (or MD DB) as well
as renumber interface node IDs. A new menu button, "MNF & MDDB Transform...", has been added
to standard interface (under Tools) and template builder (under Build -> Parts -> Flexible Body). Refer
to Adams/View Release Notes and Technical Article KB8018708 for further details regarding this
functionality (also known as MNF Xform tool).

Changes
• Generic Assembly dialog box for GAA (1-69841069)
• Macro Entry Point for Customization (1-78901991)
• Insertion of Solver ACF Commands (1-79196144)
• Parasolids geometry now properly saved and restored with ASCII templates (1-81147960, 1-
64447941, 1-206091513)
• Units Handling for Reduction Ratio in Subsystem(s) (1-219870206)
• Discontinued Support for HMAX set via XML Driver Control Files (1-69485397, 1-80102124, 1-
193560494, 1-221448811)
• Support for MD DB (1-61977911) (MD-Only feature)
• MD DB Support

Generic Assembly dialog box for GAA (1-69841069)


In previous versions, the dialog box for generation of arbitrary assemblies was included but not exposed
in the menu interface. To better support the General Actuation Analysis (GAA) capabilities, we now
expose this dialog box under File - New - Generic Assembly, and added provisions to the dialog box to
enter custom assembly class descriptors for assemblies not containing a testrig.

Macro Entry Point for Customization (1-78901991)


A macro entry point for customization has been added to the assembly update macro
mac_fil_ass_upd.
Adams/Car Release Notes 5
Changes

Insertion of Solver ACF Commands (1-79196144)


The acar.acf mechanism to insert arbitrary solver acf commands during an interactive analysis
submission has been enhanced. Instead of just referencing an acar.acf (via FILE/COMMAND=..., its
commands are now inserted into the analysis acf directly.

Parasolids geometry now properly saved and restored with ASCII templates (1-
81147960, 1-64447941, 1-206091513)
When a command file is written by Adams/View, the corresponding Parasolids file is saved to the same
target directory using the same file prefix. In Adams/Car, the ASCII template save is a multi-step
process, that also executes a command file write operation, which caused the associated Parasolids file
to be saved to a temporary directory using a non-descriptive unique name.
Subsequent template read operations were then unable to find the matching Parasolids file, and the
geometry was not imported at all (the work around was to use binary templates, which store the geometry
information in-file). We have now changed the behavior to store the Parasolids file in the template
database table using the template's file name prefix (and the extension xmt_txt). Upon template open, the
Parasolids geometry is now properly imported.

Units Handling for Reduction Ratio in Subsystem(s) (1-219870206)


In MD R3 (and 2008 r1) we added a composite unit to the reduction_ratio design variable in the
_rack_pinion_steering template as a workaround to improve support changing the modeling units (CR
1-FDB45878). Unfortunately, an unanticipated consequence of this change was that a different
subsystem value was being ignored because the value of the design variable value had now became an
expression, which (typically) was not being updated.
For MD Adams 2010 we have undone the MD R3 change so that subsystem values now (properly) take
precedence over the default value defined in the template. However, the _rack_pinion_steering will
again be unable to automatically convert the units for the reduction ratio (and therefore the design
variable will require some manual adjustment until we inherit support for the unit types 'length/angle'
and 'angle/length' that would be needed for a proper implementation.

Discontinued Support for HMAX set via XML Driver Control Files (1-69485397, 1-
80102124, 1-193560494, 1-221448811)
In the previous release Adams/SmartDriver accuracy relied mainly on the maximum integration step
size, HMAX. To ensure event-specific requirements for this setting, the definition in the XML event file
took precedence over HMAX definitions in the assembled model, regardless whether those were set
interactively during the session or defined as solver settings in the assembly file.
Although the TeimOrbit formatted Driver Control File (DCF) also supported HMAX settings in its
MINI_MANEUVERS block, it was typically necessary to change the XML event file for standard
events, especially if the assembled model had stricter HMAX requirements than the event.
With this release, we effectively removed HMAX support from the XML driver control file. If you had
HMAX defined in the TeimOrbit DCF file like this for example:
6 MD Adams 2010 Release Notes
Adams/Car Release Notes

(MINI_MANEUVERS)
{mini_maneuver abort_time step_size hmax}
'INITIAL_SET' 2.0 2.0E-02 2.0E-03
...
the resulting XML event file will now use the value of "2.0E-03" to define 'samplePeriod' in the
<DcfMachine> and <DcfSmartDriver> tags, and set 'hMax' in the <DcfMini> tag to zero (the header
"hmax" in the example above is just a comment for readability, it does not actually define how the 3rd
number in the following lines is interpreted).
If HMAX is not defined in the DCF file, the smaller of the values for output step size and 0.01 seconds
will be used for 'samplePeriod'.
When using existing XML event files with hMax set to a non-zero value, HMAX will be ignored, and
you will see the following info in the .msg file:
Note: Support for HMAX settings in the xml driver control file
has been discontinued!. Please specify the maximum integrator
step size in the assembled model.
To maintain Adams/SmartDriver behavior, you can either set samplePeriod to the same value in XML
event file (via external editor or event builder), or switch to the model based mechanism to define
HMAX, as suggested.
Please also note that the integration step is tied to the sample interval of a discrete GSE (like
Adams/SmartDriver). It cannot exceed the smallest sample interval defined in the model, even if HMAX
is specified to be a bigger size. However, the sample period does not affect the minimum integration step
size, which is derived from the actual HMAX setting (1.0E-06*HMAX). For example, if HMAX is set
to 0.01, and the smallest sample interval of a discrete GSE in your model is 0.002, the effective maximum
integration step size will be 0.002, but the minimum step size will be 1.0E-08.

Support for MD DB (1-61977911) (MD-Only feature)


Dialog boxes in Adams/Car that support flexible bodies defined by Modal Neutral File (MNF) have now
been updated to also support flexible bodies defined by MD DB.

Note: The MD DB format for storing several flexible bodies in a single .MASTER file was
first introduced in the MD Adams R3 release. For an introductory example, please
refer to Knowledge Base Article KB8018149.

MD DB Support
Flexible bodies defined by MD DB are now supported in Adams/Car.

Note: MD DB is not supported on IBM-AIX, and HP-UX platforms. Please see Known
Issue (KI8008008) for more details.
Adams/Car Release Notes 7
Issues Resolved

Issues Resolved

1-FDB37208, 1-FDB48450, 1-77199653


Updated treatment of velocity ICs so that closed loop cornering events work properly when full vehicle
models contain flexible bodies.

1-FDB50585
Fixed problems in mac_tem_com_out_smo.cmd affecting template conversions of old (2003) templates.

1-FDB51189
The flexible body invariants were not being set properly for the rigid body condition while opening the
subsystem containing flex body, this issue has been addressed so that invariants are now being set
correctly.

1-FDB53288
Corrected force/torque requests by updating REQ909 so it will report the force/torque from the active
actuator element and not the sum of the forces/torques acting on the markers the actuator acts between.

1-24339352
In previous releases, bump stops using XML format property files allowed the damping component to
cause the total force to be negative (attractive). Similarly for rebound stops using XML format property
files, the damping force may have caused the total force to be positive (repelling). Both bump and
rebound stop force functions have now been fixed so they can no longer cross zero.

1-25953932, 1-31117963
Improved the handling of mini-maneuver transition(s) when using GSTIFF,I3 integrator with
Adams/Solver (C++).

1-37329041
Occasionally, when working with binary assemblies, the assembly wasn't properly restored to the same
state as before the save, producing an assembly with some arbitrary parts to be de-active inadvertently.
As a work around, you could add improperly active mount parts to the inactive_mount_objects group,
remove the wrongly de-active regular parts from the same, and refresh their visibility via Edit
Appearance.
This issue has now been fixed in code, also significantly improving performance of assembly save and
open operations (> 5x improvements for open, > 50x for save). If you experience issues with the new
implementation, you can use the newly introduced environment variable
MSC_ACAR_SAVE_DISASSEMBLED to revert back to the old behavior.
8 MD Adams 2010 Release Notes
Adams/Car Release Notes

1-43036461
Fixed database lookup problem where a crash would occur during plotting when the database already
contained another object named page_2.

1-45339501
Fixed the Read Analysis Files dialog box (dbox_pos_ana_rea.cmd) so that the Assembly field is grayed-
out when there is no active assembly present.

1-50400161
The Remote Job Submission tool now supports a file browser widget making it easier to provide the path
to the Adams/Car database.

1-50236361
Updated special handling of steering controller to support HHT and HASTIFF integrators when using
Adams/Solver (C++).

1-50380661
Improved logic in the writing of temporary .dcf files to prevent file name collisions.

1-52148281
Fixed Adams/Car output for Translational Deformation object measure so that flexible body marker
results are stored, instead of zero values that were being written previously.

1-53934988, 1-196110881
Improved underlying methods used for simulating a tractor-trailer model with flexible chassis and
closed-loop control.

1-60980377
Corrected dialog boxes so that the modification of joint force actuators in Template Builder mode will
no longer cause unexpected error messages (sample below) to appear.
ERROR: ---------------------------------------------------------------------
ERROR: "attr" is neither a field in nor a child of "._powertrain.jfl_output_torque"
ERROR: (eval(._powertrain.jfl_output_torque.<>.active == 1 ? "on" : "off"))
ERROR: The command was not executed.
ERROR: +1&> value=(eval(._powertrain.jfl_output_torque.attr.active == 1 ? "on" : "off"))
ERROR: --------------------------------------------------------------------

1-63752131
Improved logic for FEMDATA writing to prevent a situation that was leading to a crash when using
RELOAD with FEMDATA in an Adams/Car simulation.
Adams/Car Release Notes 9
Issues Resolved

1-67271401
In previous versions, a wheel subsystem referencing an Ftire property file was not properly (re)generated
during subsystem open, that is the solver interface gse908 was used instead of gse912. On the other hand,
an interactive exchange of the property file in-session (via wheel modify) worked properly. The
subsystem reader code has been corrected to address this issue.

1-69113701
Fixed license check-in problem affecting event builder and road builder when the X icon was used to
close these dialog boxes.

1-69873612
Fixed source of testrig errors being thrown when the Apply button on the Path Optimization dialog box
was being clicked multiple times.

1-69987897
In previous releases, the shared templates _rigid_chassis.tpl and _rigid_chassis_lt.tpl contained a
sprung_mass_displacement request that returned questionable angular results. For MD Adams 2010/
MSC Adams 2010 these yaw, pitch, and roll components have been removed from the request. The
chassis_displacement request still reports the correct angular results for yaw, pitch, and roll.

1-70237304
The event builder Run It push_button did not save the event definition file before opening the Full-
Vehicle Analysis: File Driven Events dialog box. The button behavior has been changed to now
properly save the file first and the button label text modified to Save & Run to emphasize this.

1-71802761
Fixed memory allocation problem on Linux64 that was causing Adams/Car to freeze when opening up
old full vehicle assemblies.

1-73049001
Corrected handling of step input by Adams/Solver (FORTRAN) for RAMPSTEER mini-maneuver.

1-73316951
Corrected naming errors in GAA actuator (aci) file writing. Also fixed minor role mismatches for GAA
read operations involving two subsystems of an assembly reference the same template.

1-73588741
Improved robustness of road data information storage for auto-generated roads.
10 MD Adams 2010 Release Notes
Adams/Car Release Notes

1-74767721
On Windows platforms, if you set the MSC_ACAR_LEGACY_PTRAIN environment variable with any
trailing spaces, the variable was not read correctly. Adams/Car now correctly handles the possibility of
extra white space in this environment variable. However, it is best to avoid white space in environment
variables if you are using Windows platforms, as a rule of thumb.

1-74993883
Updated dbox_sta_par_gen.cmd to not use the cal_mass_inertia container for flexible bodies and to
correct the following macro error:
ERROR: --------------------------------------------------------------------
ERROR: This expression was expected to produce an entity of type "Part", but
one of type "Flexible_Body" was found.
ERROR: The command was not executed.
ERROR: +1&> part_name =
(.mdi_front_vehicle.MDI_FRONT_SUSPENSION.ger_lower_control_arm_flex) &
ERROR: ---------------------------------------------------------------------

1-75287731
Corrected problem in end condition time checking that was leading to early termination of mini-
maneuvers.

1-76174517
Improved robustness of DCF to XML conversion by increasing allowable length for: SmartDriver input
filename characters and for CONTROL_EXPR.

1-76480613
Corrected interface problems involving window title and ISO icons in Adams/Car dialog boxes.

1-76385462
In previous releases, the loading of the Adams/Car Ride plugin would cause an overloading of the
'mac_sta_ude_rep_ins' macro in Adams/Car. This was found to have a detrimental effect in other areas,
such as in asymmetric UDE instance replacements in Adams/Car, therefore the macro overload has been
eliminated.

1-77454871
Updated runtime scripts to unset MDI_ACAR_SITE and MDI_ACAR_PRIVATE_DIR when standard
Adams/Car (ru-st) should be executed.

1-77697501
The throttle ramp field in the Drift Open-Loop Steering event dialog box has been corrected so that a
value of zero cannot be entered. The tip text has also been changed to emphasize this non-zero
requirement.
Adams/Car Release Notes 11
Issues Resolved

1-77740061
Under rare circumstances, when piece wise nonlinear stiffness was specified and at least 2 bushing
directions had more than 5 break points, memory got overwritten which could lead to an application
crash. The memory allocation logic was corrected to prevent this from happening, there is no limitation
on the number of breakpoints.

1-78245716
For nonlinear beams with rectangular shape, the width and height parameters were used in an unexpected
way. Even though they were physically consistent (geometry, part inertias and beam moments were
correct), the orientation of the nrod as a whole was counter-intuitive. This has now been improved.

1-78881293
Updated Relative option for static load case so it works with Adams/Solver (C++).

1-79394191
Switching off aero_drag force effects (by setting the aero_drag parameter variable to zero) caused
the discrete GSE Smartdriver input array to reference an inactive data element variable, which in turn
caused solver to reject the solver input file. This issue has been corrected through body templates
modifications.

1-79428891
In previous versions, the tire_section_width and tire_aspect_ratio keywords of the Ftire
property files were ignored when modifying a tire property file in the user interface. Although it was
already possible to add the MSC Tire equivalent keywords WIDTH and ASPECT_RATIO to the
[DIMENSION] block manually as a work around, native support for the Ftire keywords has been added,
so that those property files now show more realistic graphics without modification.

1-79773361
During results file reading, Adams/View truncates the name of analysis objects to 75 characters. Since
Adams/Car requires file name and analysis name to be identical, we now use the following expression
to determine the desired analysis name from the user input (prefix + suffix, with suffix being hard coded
for standard events, and dcf/xml name base for file driven ones):
new_analysis_name=(unique_local_name($assembly,str_substr(analysis_name,1,72))
This leaves 3 characters for unique_local_name to support up to _99 analysis objects of the same prefix.
Also, the simulation_script name has been changed to $'analysis_name'_acf; previously the more
lengthy suffix _simulation_script was appended.
12 MD Adams 2010 Release Notes
Adams/Car Release Notes

1-80217831
When using an airspring, if the Trim load option was used, and a trim load value was specified, and then
the trim method is switched to Auto Trim Load, the user specified value gets changed to zero, thus
losing the user specified value. The airspring has been modified to retain the last value of trim load.

1-81125662
Using the template builder macro to set actuator functions in a subsystem or assembly (for example, via
the actuator wizard in the standard_interface) would reset the component_names of the actuator requests
to no longer include the minor_role (for example displacement_rear was changed back to
displacement). This could lead to problems upon results file read when the missing minor_role suffix
caused non-unique result set components. The macro has been corrected to re-apply the minor_roles
properly.

1-190611341
Updated parameterization of spring graphics to correct units-dependency issue; a ratio of 0.3 is now used
whenever a Teim Orbit spring file (or an xml equivalent with diameter=+/-1) is imported.

1-190614334
Fixed mac_ana_sus_dyn_sub so that dynamic suspension analysis will work when using the
background simulation mode.

1-193560573
Improved robustness of using steering with a "relative" value in full-vehicle analysis applications.

1-194433721
Fixed adams_id generation problem where zero IDs (adams_id=0) was being set in the
req2rpc_array when requests were added to an assembly in standard interface mode, and to the request
map for General Actuation Analyses (GAA).

1-199013231
Corrected nonlinear rectangular rod orientation problem.

1-200360291
Corrected missing 'scale_factor' in the update_spring_function method for the ac_spring UDE.

1-204688100
Modified mac_ana_ful_sub so that it can properly handle those parts that should not have their
initial velocities set by the usual Adams/Car event consub(s).
Adams/Car Release Notes 13
Issues Resolved

1-211656471
Corrected problem where reading in a request map file (.rrm) with more than one of the requests
incorrectly defined (such as name does not match those in model, wrong minor role or wrong role)
resulted in a macro error message when starting a GAA simulation, for example:
ERROR: -------------------------------------------------------
ERROR: Error detected on line number 70, character 131 of the
macro '.ACAR.macros.mac_fil_rmp_ope'.
ERROR: The command was not executed.
ERROR: +1>> if cond =
(ROWS(.ACAR.macros.mac_fil_rmp_ope.false_requests) &&
!(.ACAR.macros.mac_fil_rmp_ope.false_requests.string_value ==
"") )
ERROR: -------------------------------------------------------

1-211679976
Corrected units conversion error affecting the rack travel steering actuator for vehicle events run with
non-SI modeling units and using SI2 integrator formulations.

1-221053711
Adams/SmartDriver did not properly construct the function expression of a swept sine full vehicle event
for SI2 integrator in Adams/Solver, when the initial frequency was set to zero. This has now been
corrected.

1-225689601
When publishing a subsystem or assembly containing a flexible body, the subsystem references to the
.mnf or .MASTER files were not updated, as a result they were still pointing to the original files (even
though the files themselves were properly copied to the target directory); this has now been corrected.

1-226789610
A new composed unit, Force/Volume, has been implemented in Adams/View and Adams/Car variables
with those units (such as in cubic polynomial expressions) will now be evaluated correctly.

1-228000291
Updated plot configuration file (.plt) processing to better support curve color specifications when the
cross-plotting option is checked.

1-231578505
Added ".xml" as an allowable file extension for the road path file field in the steering machine control
section of the event builder.
14 MD Adams 2010 Release Notes
Adams/Car Release Notes

1-250771631
Corrected '.ACAR.macros.mac_tem_com' so that errors are not thrown when including comments during
marker creation.

1-251908199
Fixed problem where quasi-static setup results were missing from the beginning of the simulation results
when running Adams/Car full-vehicle events with Adams/Controls or Mechatronics in co-simulation.

Known Issues
Please go to the Knowledge Base to read all of the Adams/Car Known Issues.
Adams/Car Ride Release Notes 15
What's New

Adams/Car Ride Release Notes


• What's New
• Changes
• Issues Resolved
• Known Issues

What's New
• FD Element and Hydromount Improvements

FD Element and Hydromount Improvements


• Bouc-Wen Bushing
• Isolator-Parameter Identification Tool (IPIT)

Bouc-Wen Bushing:
With this release, we are providing a new frequency and amplitude dependent bushing (definition:
ac_general_bushing). The frequency dependence is achieved by TFSISO elements while the
amplitude dependence is achieved by Bouc-Wen hysteresis model. This bushing UDE can be used in the
Ride Component Test-Rig to calculate the dynamic stiffness and phase for given bushing properties in
property file (*.gbu). This UDE supports the use of Replace feature when replacing a general bushing
with a frequency dependent bushing.
Isolator-Parameter Identification Tool (IPIT):
With this release, we are providing a tool to identify bushing and/or hydromount model parameters. This
generic identification tool can be used to identify parameters for any bushing (including user-defined)
and/or hydromount models available in Adams/Car Ride. This tool can be accessed from the Ride menu
under Tools -> Isolator-Parameter Identification.
See Technical Article KB8018514 for further details.
http://simcompanion.mscsoftware.com/infocenter/index?page=content&id=KB8018514

Changes
• Adams2Nastran Multi-release Migration (C++ Solver Only) (MD Only)

Adams2Nastran Multi-release Migration (C++ Solver Only) (MD Only)


Our Adams2Nastran capabilities, like those in MKB Matrices Export, are being migrated to
Adams/Solver in order to better facilitate the creation of white box models. With a white box model the
individual Adams modeling elements can be more easily identified so that, if you choose, you can
replace them with more detailed representations in MD Nastran.
16 MD Adams 2010 Release Notes
Adams/Car Ride Release Notes

This migration of Adams2Nastran technology will occur over the course of several releases. For this
release we have extended the base functionality of the LINEAR/EXPORT command in Adams/Solver
(C++) to support dynamic operating points, model graphics for WHITEBOX export, and more -- see
Adams2Nastran Enhancements in the Adams/Solver Release Notes for details. A modest user interface
has also been developed in Adams/View for straightforward model exports. For greater control over how
the model is to be exported and prepared for Nastran solution(s) we also support a versatile flat text
config file so you may tailor the export process to your specific needs.
See Adams/Solver (C++ and FORTRAN) Release Notes and Adams/View Release Notes for further
details.

Notes: • In future releases we anticipate updating the interfaces in the Adams/Vibration and
Adams/Car Ride plugins to utilize the new solver functionality and to improve the
usability of the config file feature.
• For continuity and transitional purposes we have decided to leave existing Ride ->
Full-Vehicle Vibration Analysis -> MKB matrices export interface(s)
untouched in Adams/Car Ride. This will allow you to more easily compare results
between the old and new methods as you make the transition.

Issues Resolved

1-40618721
Fixed source of GSESUB errors that was leading to a Fatal Program Fault of Adams/Solver (FORTRAN)
in Module Name: FJOTJ0 when using FD Elements.

1-76385462
In previous releases, the loading of the Adams/Car Ride plugin would cause an overloading of the
'mac_sta_ude_rep_ins' macro in Adams/Car. This was found to have a detrimental effect in other areas,
such as in asymmetric UDE instance replacements in Adams/Car, therefore the macro overload has been
eliminated.

1-77732011
Fixed label sizing issue in Road Profile Generation dialog box.

Known Issues
Please go to the Knowledge Base to read all of the Adams/Car Ride Known Issues.
Adams/Chassis Release Notes 17
What's New

Adams/Chassis Release Notes


• What's New
• Changes
• Issues Resolved
• Known Issues

What's New
• VDB Reorganization of Subsystems
• SMP Support added to Preferences panel (C++ Solver only)

VDB Reorganization of Subsystems


The Adams/Chassis VDB structure has been reorganized such that subsystem files are organized into
sub-directories depending on the subsystem type. In the past, the Adams/Chassis, subsystem.tbl directory
included all types of subsystem files (front, rear, steering, and so on), which sometimes caused confusion
when there were many *.xml files. In order to avoid this ambiguity, the subsystem.tbl directory was
further sub-divided into multiple sub folders with the following convention:
• Body.tbl
• Brakes.tbl
• Controls.tbl
• Front.tbl
• Instrumentation.tbl
• Loading.tbl
• Powertrain.tbl
• Rear.tbl (including optional rear suspensions)
• SteeringColumn.tbl
• SteeringGear.tbl
• Wheels.tbl (including optional rear wheel subsystems)

The implementation of this enhancement will be completely transparent to the user and will happen
automatically during the VDB upgrade process. In addition, changes were made to the Adams/Chassis
System Editor to facilitate the change. When the user chooses to replace a subsystem, the interface will
automatically open to the respective subdirectory for the subsystem type of interest.
18 MD Adams 2010 Release Notes
Adams/Chassis Release Notes

SMP Support added to Preferences panel (C++ Solver only)


Adams/Solver (C++) supports parallel processing by way of the PREFERENCES/NTHREADS
Statement. To expose this functionality to Adams/Chassis users a new "Thread Count" field has been
added to the preferences panel, allowing you to specify the number of parallel threads to be used for the
simulation. Please note that the field will be grayed out for cases where the Solver selection is either
FORTRAN or None.

Changes
No entries in this section.

Issues Resolved

1-FDB51089
Added transparency option to Adams/Chassis exported *.cmd files.

1-21348808
Resolved issue dealing with missing end conditions in Adams/Chassis implementation of
Adams/SmartDriver.

1-21401321
Restored ability to include multiple dampers in a single subsystem; it had been reported as broken in
earlier releases (2005).

1-21806951
Updated Adams/Chassis example models for throttle/braking factors for use with SDI controllers; fixed
Adams/SmartDriver interface to better support SDI simulations.

1-22741431
Fixed problems with building flexible spindle/trailing arm combination for r_sla_trail type
suspension.

1-26057046
Resolved build and run-time errors when building models containing multiple rear suspensions in
Adams/Chassis.

1-35246561
Moved the trailing arm rotational spring rate parameter under the Revolute joint construction option;
added check for non-symmetric parameters.
Adams/Chassis Release Notes 19
Issues Resolved

1-46653251
Fixed spline editor save operation where z values of 3D spline data were not being saved properly.

1-47151061
Resolved problem with loading session files at startup which contained custom post-processing.

1-47876192
Fixed spherical joint property file such that Effect has the Sliding option. In certain cases, the
use_friction toggle was not turning off the friction in the model, additionally the connector editor was
not reflecting the sliding friction option; these issues have been corrected.

1-48262433
Fixed bug in simple steering column code that caused build errors when used with rear beam element
leaf springs.

1-49707473
Resolved problem with inputs for steady state drift event not showing up in Adams/Insight factor
candidate list.

1-49728840
Corrected PART IDs for body-on-frame rear differential with rear subframe off. Powertrain now
correctly connects to the frame or subframe depending on construction options selected.

1-50189166
During initialization, REQ1117 set variables used by REQ1103. Fixed and removed dependencies
between the two REQSUBs such that they can now be used without any requirement that the other exist
in the model.

1-50900000
Fixed the problem with adding negative Z values to curve editor, including read/write functionality.

1-51064348
Fixed PART IDs for velocity sensors when Front/Rear Body construction option is on. Sensors now
correctly refer to PARTs 552 and 553 respectively.

1-51098537
Fixed error in Cargo Editor GUI that did not allow the tab to be displayed in the absence of customer-
specific license keys.
20 MD Adams 2010 Release Notes
Adams/Chassis Release Notes

1-51601595
Updated modeling of Dual Path Strut Mount by removing unneeded rotational spring_damper from the
spring side of the model.

1-52922460
Corrected gyro marker location problem for models that include flexible bodies and are being run using
Adams/SmartDriver.

1-54153022
Corrected problem in stabilizer bar points editor where modifications to the points were not being
reflected in the xml file.

1-54179289
Fixed multiple issues with the display of the property file GUI in MD R2; added scroll bars to windows
such that all areas of the interface are available for editing.

1-57914367
Updated con1151 such that *_veh.dat is created with a correct format.

1-65056383
Fixed build errors when writing out hub compliance parts for rear 3-link suspensions with rear steering
off.

1-66014591
Updated advanced column compliance code so that friction statement is not being repeated (doubled) in
steering joint.

1-68421325
For events with motions defined as functions of variables, Adams/Chassis will now stop the build process
if the SI2 integrator is selected in the settings.

1-69152061
Fixed bug in moment of inertia calculations for beam element trailing arm.

1-69152149
Fixed error with hub compliance offset for rear twist beam suspension where only the spherical joint
associated with the hub compliance was being offset. Also corrected run-time errors for the rear twist
beam with spindle compliance off.
Adams/Chassis Release Notes 21
Issues Resolved

1-69749407
Fixed problem with braking controller that automatically generated the brake proportioning spline
instead of getting the spline from the subsystem data. Spline data will now come from subsystem unless
brake proportioning is an event parameter.

1-69877085
Removed check for 'ainsight/etc' subdirectory from Adams/Insight startup script, eliminating benign
error message that was being thrown in prior releases.

1-71717364
Fixed build mode problems in ainsight_adapter.py. Also changed the batch mode such that the
actionsAppend and execute options behave as expected. The actionsAppend option will now
set the actions to be executed to only those specified by the user.

1-72682841
SVC code was modified such that F77 and C++ Solvers produce consistent results.

1-72696582
Added error message indicating to the user the requirements for the 2-piece driveshaft option.

1-74935942
Fixed problem when no stabilizer bar existed in the property file; Adams/Chassis will now generate a
default property as a starting point.

1-75724671
Corrected example format to link user-created roads into Adams/Chassis solver, as follows:
[MODEL]
METHOD = 'USER'
FUNCTION_NAME = 'ARC502'
ROAD_TYPE = 'flat'

1-78023666
Fixed bug in Adams/Insight code for obtaining user responses of type time_value.

1-78542691
Fixed various build errors relating to the EPAS steering subsystem (rack assist option).
22 MD Adams 2010 Release Notes
Adams/Chassis Release Notes

1-79169031
Changed quasi-static code for Moderate braking event such that it runs an IC analysis when longacc=0.
This is consistent with what the FORTRAN Solver was doing previously and provides for consistent
results between FORTRAN and C++ Solvers for this event.

1-79746321
Corrected problem in custom tire code that was causing divide by zero errors (in ATAN2 function) in
simulations where wheel lift off occurs.

1-80054751
Fixed problems with the parameters and comments tabs in several GUI layouts, now have access to these
tabs in all available Adams/Chassis layouts.

1-80419145
Fixed problems in the connector editor damping table when the damping was selected as anything but
linear.

1-80650697
Fixed problem in the stabilizer points editor that wasn't updating the object when a point was modified.

1-81070791
Damper and Stabilizer Bar GUIs were resized to prevent the layout not showing buttons located near the
bottom of the screen.

1-107437291
Fixed problem in system editor that was not allowing the user to select optional subsystems from the
GUI.

1-189654110
Corrected issue in makeflex utility that wasn't properly dealing with double precision data in the *.mtx
file, causing the flex coordinate values to be reported incorrectly.

1-189783189
Fixed problem in Adams/Chassis translation code that wasn't properly translating bushing-in-series data
from older versions.

1-189845751
Fixed problem in model auditor utilities that was skipping components such as bushings, splines, and so
on.
Adams/Chassis Release Notes 23
Issues Resolved

1-190314040
Corrected problem with the translation of SLA coil rear suspension subsystem. Also corrected issue with
axial requests for new rear SLA suspension alignment options.

1-190325791
Resolved issue with Adams/SmartDriver event in Adams/Chassis that prevented .drd example models
from running properly.

1-191664738
Fixed several issues that caused build errors when attempting to build a full vehicle model with a flexible
unibody.

1-192416631
Corrected issue with damping rate field not being displayed properly in bumpstop GUI. Also moved
damping rate field into damping method box.

1-194317306
Corrected problem with SVCI event that improperly dealt with subsystem offset when used with J-Turn
cargo part option.

1-195004887, 1-250490371, 1-232586191


Fixed a problem with the display of the twist beam editor GUI for rear twist beam suspensions.

1-197552447
Corrected error in simple braking system that wasn't writing out correct variable IDs when used with
controls subsystem.

1-199571351
Corrected problem with dynamic K&C event where the toggle values for auto force generation were
flipped.

1-200056671
Fixed issues with loading default stabilizer bars (sometimes the name was getting overridden by
'default'). Also modified simple bar code to account for attachment to flexible bodies.

1-212465155
Added default bushing property check to Adams/Chassis connector editor.
24 MD Adams 2010 Release Notes
Adams/Chassis Release Notes

1-214239751
Corrected issue in coil spring editor that did not allow one to select any installed length option except use
hardpoints. Added default property for bumpstop editor to better address databases lacking a bumpstop
in the property file.

1-214349341
Corrected problem with special caster angle calculation for double ball joint front suspensions.

1-215464001
Fixed problem in stabilizer bar points editor that didn't allow the plotting of the bar profile for asymmetric
stabilizer bars.

1-220921103
Resolved problems with copied bushing properties and symmetry. Previously when one modified a
copied bushing property the symmetry could sometimes be lost.

1-225805693
Corrected neck_compliance option such that the spindle_top (PART/194) connects to the upper control
arm at the upper ball joint.

1-248648417
Corrected issue affecting Road/Testrig editor in Adams/Chassis that sometimes resulted in save
operations that did not save the user-specified file as expected.

1-250140744
Corrected incorrect marker locations when generating swing link stabilizer bar in Adams/Chassis.

1-250158984
Removed swing link option from Construction Options tab.

1-250345182
Fixed error in SVC Iterate code that affect half vehicle models.

1-250345252
Resolved problem in Adams/Chassis database translation code that caused errors in models with non-
symmetry bushing-in-series connector properties.
Adams/Chassis Release Notes 25
Issues Resolved

1-251033661
Resolved problem with publish database utility that caused databases published by the Improve mode of
Adams/Chassis to have different directory structure than the original database structure.

1-251090661
Fixed problem in Adams/Chassis spring editor that prevented the display of models that included torsion
springs.

1-251492398
Fixed problem in bump stop editor where clearance field was showing up for jounce bumpers.

1-251837501
Corrected problem in Adams/Chassis GUI that caused errors when attempting to display editor for beam
element trailing arms.

1-252186670
Corrected error in view_name of right-hand flex parts; also turned off writing out of graphics for flex
parts.

1-253366731
Corrected post processing issues in Adams/Chassis Turn Diameter event. Modified such that requests for
inner and outer diameter are written for both event cases to match existing plot and report templates.

1-253366781
Changed support for control inputs in instrumentation code. Previously, when longitudinal and lateral
accelerometer channels were active in the controls subsystem, VARIABLEs (10420 and 10421) were
written for all active accelerometers. Now the variables are only written out if the accelerometer name
corresponds to the control input name from the controls subsytem. If the accelerometer does not exist, a
warning will be issued.

1-253548784
Made modifications to Adams/Chassis to better support Adams/SmartDriver analyses. The changes
included fixes to the SmartDriver testrig within Adams/Chassis to full include all powertrain data
required by SmartDriver. Changes were also made to SmartDriver for improved acceleration
performance when using Adams/Chassis powertrain models. Adams/Chassis example (braking) models
were updated and tuned for use with SmartDriver.

1-254054342
For rear integral link suspension, added integral link parts to SVC arrays to correct incorrect mass
calculations in SVC report.
26 MD Adams 2010 Release Notes
Adams/Chassis Release Notes

Known Issues
Please go to the Knowledge Base to read all of the Adams/Chassis Known Issues.
Adams/Controls Release Notes 27
What's New

Adams/Controls Release Notes


• What's New
• Changes
• Issues Resolved
• Known Issues

What's New
• Dynamic Parameter update in Adams Plant Mask (1-69730910)
• Support for Extrapolation Order in Co-simulation (1-78555558)
• Detection of old Adams S-Functions (1-78555846)
• Algebraic Loop avoidance for MATLAB/Simulink co-simulation (1-79088181)
• Simpler TCP/IP Start-up for Matlab Co-simulation (1-79292718)
• S-Function Support for External System Libraries (1-FDB50544, 1-FDB44708, 1-FDB51228, 1-
43368251)
• Variable-step Integrator Setting Support for External System Libraries (1-195040021)
• Default Solver is Adams/Solver (C++)

Dynamic Parameter update in Adams Plant Mask (1-69730910)


The mask (dialog box) for the Adams Plant S-Function in MATLAB/Simulink has been changed so that
some parameters dynamically change the dialog box. For example, the parameter Adams Executable -
- if ADAMS_exec = acar_solver (which is required to run Adams/Controls with a Full-Vehicle
Adams/Car model), sets the Simulation Mode to discrete, the Animation Mode to batch, and the Direct
Feedthrough flag to yes (disabled). In addition, if the Simulation Mode is set to discrete, use of
Interpolation/Extrapolation options will be enabled. The mask also offers a More Parameters option
to show the most common parameters by default, and show more advanced parameters, if desired.

Support for Extrapolation Order in Co-simulation (1-78555558)


An extrapolation order parameter has been added to the Adams S-Function block for co-simulation
(discrete mode). When this parameter is set to zero (0), this feature applies a zero-order hold to the signal,
while setting the value to one (1) will linearly extrapolate the signal based on the past two values. This
feature may help improve accuracy of the solution, but results will depend on the communication interval
(for instance, a large communication interval may provide poor results due to poor extrapolation).

Detection of old Adams S-Functions (1-78555846)


Adams/Controls will now warn the user if it detects an old Adams S-Function at runtime and suggest
recreating the Adams block with the new features.
28 MD Adams 2010 Release Notes
Adams/Controls Release Notes

Algebraic Loop avoidance for MATLAB/Simulink co-simulation (1-79088181)


Adams/Controls has a new feature for co-simulation (discrete mode) with MATLAB/Simulink, which
allows you to select a different type of co-simulation. In the past, all co-simulations had Simulink leading
the integration and Adams following, which meant that the Adams S-Function was direct feedthrough
(meaning the inputs to the S-Function are used to compute the outputs). However, for certain modes
which feedback the output of Adams into itself again with no delay or dynamics, this situation can cause
an algebraic loop for Simulink, which requires an iterative solver and prevents the use of Accelerated
mode. The new feature allows you to choose Adams to lead the co-simulation -- the update of the
Simulink inputs occurs after Adams has integrated one time step forward (for example, compared to
Simulink leading, this means that the input to Adams is delayed by one communication interval.) This
new mode may be attractive to you in order to remove an algebraic loop in your model caused by the S-
Function. Note that the two different co-simulation modes solve the problem differently, so will not
provide the exact same results. Reducing the communication interval should help the answers converge.

Simpler TCP/IP Start-up for Matlab Co-simulation (1-79292718)


In order to make starting adams_daemon.py easier, the Matlab script start_adams_daemon.m has been
added to I. This will allow the user to simply enter:
>>start_adams_daemon
at a MATLAB prompt to start the daemon required for TCP/IP communication.

S-Function Support for External System Libraries (1-FDB50544, 1-FDB44708, 1-


FDB51228, 1-43368251)
Adams/Controls will now support MATLAB S-Functions for generating External System Libraries
(ESL’s) for Control System Import, subject to limitations by MATLAB/Real-Time Workshop and
Adams/Controls (for example, S-Functions must be written in C language). We provide steps to generate
an ESL using (compiled) object files (that is no source code). Parameters from the S-Functions can also
be exposed to Adams.
See Technical Article KB8018536 for further details.
http://simcompanion.mscsoftware.com/infocenter/index?page=content&id=KB8018536

Variable-step Integrator Setting Support for External System Libraries (1-195040021)


Adams/Controls will now support the variable-step integrator setting for generating External System
Libraries (ESL's) for Control System Import, subject to limitations by MATLAB/Real-Time Workshop
and Adams/Controls. This is the recommended setting for generating ESL's to Adams/Controls. Fixed-
step integrator setting is also supported, but not recommended for all models since this setting may
introduce an unnecessary sample time for the fixed-step integrator size. Zero-crossing support is
experimental and thus not yet fully supported.

Default Solver is Adams/Solver (C++)


In this release Adams/Solver (C++) has become the default solver for Adams/Solver, Adams/View, and
Adams/View plugins (such as, Adams/Controls, Adams/Durability, Adams/Mechatronics,
Adams/Controls Release Notes 29
Changes

Adams/Vibration). It is anticipated that a comprehensive transition of the entire user base may take
several releases; therefore Adams/Solver (FORTRAN) continues to be available and can be used for
comparison purposes and to bridge the gap, if necessary. Please contact us if you encounter any models
that no longer run due to this change, or if you find unexpected differences in the converged solutions.

Changes
• Corrections in Help Text for Co-simulation Interpolation (1-22424821)
• adams_server.py Removed (1-43295701, 1-45306198)
• Initialization Changes (1-43034931)
• Plant Export Dialog Update (1-110483211, 1-110483260)
• Old Plant Export dialog boxes removed (1-64266765)
• Improved robustness of system files (1-FDB50277, 1-70595140, 1-71523431)
• Improved Perturbation Size for ESL (1-76242608)
• Improved handling of ESL at time=0 (1-77557269)
• Support for localhost in TCP/IP communication (1-216173825)
• Compiler and Version Support for Easy5 and MATLAB
• Documented Environment Variables (1-80273837)

Corrections in Help Text for Co-simulation Interpolation (1-22424821)


The comments for ADAMS_Interpolation_Order (renamed to ADAMS_Interpolated_EASY5) have
been updated to remove the 2=extrapolation option, which was incorrect. The
ADAMS_Interpolate_EASY5 provides these options:
a. 0 - apply a zero-order hold to the Plant Input values of Easy5 coming into Adams. For
example, if the last solved time was time = 1, then at Easy5 time = 2, the inputs are
sampled at time = 2, and held constant while Adams integrates from the last time (= 1)
up to time = 2 to provide the outputs to Easy5.
b. 1 - apply linear interpolation. For example, if the last solved time was time = 1, then at
Easy5 time = 2, the inputs are sampled at time = 2, and linearly interpolated (as shown
below**) while Adams integrates from the last time (= 1) up to time = 2 to provide the
outputs to Easy5.
**interpolation: input,
u = u1 + (u2-u1)/communication_interval*(current_simulation_time -
time1)

An error is thrown in the Easy5 code if a value of 0 or 1 is not entered for this parameter.
30 MD Adams 2010 Release Notes
Adams/Controls Release Notes

adams_server.py Removed (1-43295701, 1-45306198)


For TCP/IP communication with Adams/Controls for Co-simulation and Function Evaluation,
adams_server.py has been removed. Adams_daemon.py supersedes this utility and can either be run with
a user-selected number of runs with the -n flag, or run continuously. Note that the process can be closed
by entering either Ctrl+Break on Windows or Ctrl+C on Unix/Linux.

Initialization Changes (1-43034931)


Initialization for Adams/Controls has changed. Please refer to the help system: Co-Simulation and
Function Evaluation > Initialization > Initialization Commands

Plant Export Dialog Update (1-110483211, 1-110483260)


The Plant Export dialog box has been updated so that the Dynamic State Output option will now be
affected by Solver choice and error handling, and overall robustness has been improved. The initial
conditions or static solution required by Dynamic State Output option will now be performed in
Adams/View by the chosen Solver during Plant Export. Previously, this option had no affect on the solver
choice. If the plant_pio.mac is called directly without a solver_type parameter, it will use the current
solver setting (per MDI_SOLVER_SELECT). On error, the .inf file is now closed so that it can be written
to again for a subsequent (new) plant export. Additionally, a comment indicating the error will be written
to the .inf file and also echoed to the Information Window in Adams/View.

Old Plant Export dialog boxes removed (1-64266765)


The old hidden dialog boxes for Plant Export (a_controls_plant) and Control System Import
(gse_import05) as well as the command menubutton_swap to swap them with the new (default) dialog
boxes have been removed.

Improved robustness of system files (1-FDB50277, 1-70595140, 1-71523431)


In order to prevent overwriting files in the Adams installation, the adams_sys.m and setio.m scripts have
been changed so that they save a customized version to the current directory (adams_sys_.mdl, io.mdl,
respectively). In addition, error logic has also been added to ensure that the Controls Plant Export .m file
is read in before issuing these commands.
In the last release, MATLAB would issue the following benign warning when importing the .m file from
Adams/Controls Plant Export:
Warning: Function C:\MSC~1.SOF\MD_Adams\R3\win32\amd.dll has the
same name as a MATLAB built-in.
We suggest you rename the function to avoid a potential name
conflict.
> In path at 110
In addpath at 89
In Controls_Plant_1 at 36
In run at 56
The Adams/Controls installation has moved the adams_plant S-Function, and the Plant Export macro
has been changed so that this message will no longer appear.
Adams/Controls Release Notes 31
Changes

Improved Perturbation Size for ESL (1-76242608)


When solving the External System Library (ESL) imported via Controls System Import,
Adams/Solver requires partial derivatives for the ESL derivatives and outputs with respect to states and
inputs. These are computed by numeric differentiation, and the perturbation size to do this has been
changed from 1e-9 for all partials to the following function:
if value to be perturbed > 1
perturbation = 1e-6*value
else
perturbation = 1e-6.
This change has been done to prevent large numbers from being divided by a very small number (1e-9).
This has been added to adams7.tlc for MATLAB/RTW, which uses GSI_GetPartials, as well as to
the backup functions that compute this, in case this function does not exist.

Improved handling of ESL at time=0 (1-77557269)


Certain External System Libraries generated from MATLAB/RTW require special logic for the first
output time (such as avoiding division by zero). For models generated by Matlab R2006b and earlier,
this requires repeated calls to the MdlStart function. This has been fixed by process.py. Note that
Mathworks has changed the logic for this in R2007a+, and these calls are not required, which is also
reflected in process.py.

Support for localhost in TCP/IP communication (1-216173825)


The Adams/Controls daemon used for TCP/IP communication in Co-simulation and Function
Evaluation modes has been modified to support localhost (that is., the name of the loopback IP address,
127.0.0.1). This can be used when the Adams server and the MATLAB or Easy5 client are run on the
same machine. To use this, follow these two steps:
On the Adams server side:
1. Launch adams_daemon.py with a "-L" flag. This indicates to the script that localhost should be
used to setup the TCP/IP communication on the Adams server.
On the Easy5 or MATLAB side:
2. Set the hostname to localhost (e.g., in MATLAB set ADAMS_host = 'localhost'). Note that when
using the MATLAB script start_adams_daemon.m, if ADAMS_host is unset, then it will
assume that ADAMS_host = 'localhost'.
As a reminder, the host name is usually set by the Plant Export dialog box, which populates the name of
the machine performing the plant export in the MATLAB .m file or Easy5 .inf file. The Adams server
and Easy5 or MATLAB client may still use the old method (that is external IP address) to perform Co-
simulation or Function Evaluation on the same machine.
32 MD Adams 2010 Release Notes
Adams/Controls Release Notes

Compiler and Version Support for Easy5 and MATLAB


For the latest information on supported versions of Easy5 and MATLAB/Simulink with MD Adams, see
http://www.mscsoftware.com/products/mdadams_support.cfm under "Supported Versions of Integration
Products". For compiler support, see "Hardware & Software Requirements".

Documented Environment Variables (1-80273837)


The environment variables MSC_ACONTROLS_DISCRETE_STATES and DEBUG_CONTROLS
have been documented in the Adams Help system, Configuring MD Adams -> Setting Environment
Variables -> Adams/Controls Environment Variables.
MSC_ACONTROLS_DISCRETE_STATES: Any value (for example, "1" = on) or unset. Default =
unset.
• When unset, only a single dummy discrete state is displayed for the GSE. When set, this will
report all discrete states found in the External System Library.
DEBUG_CONTROLS: An integer number (1,0) for on/off, respectively.
• During a co-simulation or function evaluation run, this will create two files (one for the Adams
server side, and one for the client) in the working directory with information about the data
passed between client and server.

Issues Resolved

1-FDB48757
Corrected issues dealing with importing Control Systems:
1. Systems either without a Plant Input or Plant Output can now be imported into Adams.
Previously, this only worked for both included or both missing.
2. There is no longer a continuous state array ("X" array) created for a GSE without continuous
states. If the X array is not included, a -1 flag is sent to the GSE subroutines.
3. Comments have been added to the GSE and SENSOR(s) to describe the subroutine parameters to
help modeling and debugging.

1-22602342
Fixed problem that was causing a 'stray signal 11' error to be thrown during Control System Import when
the Easy5 .ezanl file was not in the same directory as the Easy5 External System Library.

1-23000271, 1-52171531
Previously, during co-simulation with Adams/Car, if during a multi-mini-maneuver event the model was
changed between the mini-maneuvers, a DATOUT error was thrown for Adams/Solver (FORTRAN),
and the output files would miss the results step at that time; this issue has been eliminated by adjusting
how the mini-maneuver setup was performed in the call to EventRunFor() by Adams/Controls.
Adams/Controls Release Notes 33
Issues Resolved

1-23938631
Fixed problems that were preventing Adams/Driveline from running with Adams/Controls in co-
simulation mode.

1-24091041
The Adams Plant (S-Function block) has been fixed such that if an error occurs during the co-simulation
(that is "discrete") or Function Evaluation (that is "continuous") run, MATLAB no longer needs to be
restarted. As part of this, clear mex has been added to the InitFcn callback, so this MATLAB command
will be issued automatically.
Some examples of error modes include:
1. missing model
2. corrupted/incorrectly defined model
3. missing data in Matlab/Simulink (for example variable referenced in Simulink model is not
defined)
4. missing Adams/Controls license

1-47653741
There are certain cases where output from a co-simulation or function evaluation missed a
communication interval, due to a tolerance difference between Adams/Controls and Adams/Solver. This
has now been fixed, which has a couple of implications:
1. For Function Evaluation (that is, continuous mode in MATLAB/Simulink), the Adams block (S-
Function) now has a sample time specified by the block parameter that will call Adams/Controls
to write output at this interval. This means that you may get more output steps now than you
would in the past and therefore may wish to adjust the output step size for the Adams block (S-
Function).
2. Easy5 users will need to update their AD extension block to realize this new behavior (otherwise,
the simulation will fail since INITC parameters changed). This should be automatically updated
using the Auto-extension update feature available in Easy5 2008 r1 (or newer).

1-53172044
Improved error messaging so if an error is encountered because MATLAB or Easy5 cannot connect to
the Adams server using pipe-based simulation some recommended actions are now given in the message.

1-59287103
Some error messages were not captured properly when an External System Library failed to load (if the
Easy5 .ezanl file was missing, for example). This has been fixed and the error message from
Adams/Solver has been made consistent with Adams/View.
34 MD Adams 2010 Release Notes
Adams/Controls Release Notes

1-63373441
Updated Plant Export macro to handle cases where inactive Plant Inputs or Plant Outputs have been
specified or where variables=(none) have been specified. Note that Adams/Controls still requires the
specification of at least one Plant Input and Output variable to be able to run in any simulation mode.

1-65065247
Fixed the adams.tlc (used by MATLAB/Real-Time Workshop as part of the Control System Import
process) so that sampled blocks in the Simulink model are triggered/evaluated at time=0.

1-68959733
Fixed problem on HP-UX platform where using Control System Import to load more than one External
System Library (ESL) was causing the ESL data to become corrupted.

1-70832931
Improved error trapping of DLL load operation for Control System Import when an Easy5 hydraulics
library license is missing.

1-74948231
Fixed the adams.tlc (used by MATLAB/Real-Time Workshop (RTW) to generate the Adams/Controls
glue code) so that the Adams GSE will sample the RTW model properly for cases where no discrete states
exist, but discrete outputs do exist in the model.

1-75133592
The order of evaluation for the Adams subroutines GSE_UPDATE and GSE_SAMP has been made
consistent for both the Adams/Solver (FORTRAN) and Adams/Solver (C++): GSE_UPDATE is always
called prior to calling GSE_SAMP, which was only true of C++ in the past releases. This change affects
Adams/Controls External System Libraries from MATLAB/RTW that have two (2) or more distinct, non-
zero sample times which used the Adams/Solver (FORTRAN). In the past, GSE_UPDATE was evaluated
one step too early by the smallest sample time for Adams/Solver (FORTRAN)-only, but this has been
fixed with this change.

1-76031071
When first creating an AD block (Adams Mechanism Extension), there was an underlying problem with
the Easy5 automatic update, even if the AD block had been configured with an .inf file. This issue has
been fixed whereby the main extension file adams_ext.py will now write an update file (.upd) whenever
the model (.DAT) file is successfully written for this component.

1-77932321
Corrected problem in Assist box for Delay function where it was entering a value of 0 for the 4th
argument when it actually should have been omitted from the expression.
Adams/Controls Release Notes 35
Issues Resolved

1-78363330, 1-238894610
The extrapolation computation affecting Easy5 co-simulation has been updated to correct a
programming error. In addition, to avoid implicit loops, the results in Easy5 do not display the actual
Adams output at the communication interval. Only the extrapolated outputs are displayed. The actual
Adams values passed at communication intervals can still be found in the Adams results file (.res).
Finally, the names of the interpolation/extrapolation variables in the dialog box have been updated to
help clarify their purpose:

Old name: New name:


ADAMS_Interpolation_Order PINPUT_Interpolation_Order
EASY5_Interpolation_Order POUTPUT_Extrapolation_Order

The corrected equations now use the most up-to-date outputs from Adams instead of delayed values.
For example, at time = 2, assume:
extrapolated_output = Y
Then Y(2) represents the output at time = 2 (Y(time =2)) and so on. Previously, the Adams (AD)
block was computing Y(2) to be:
Y(2) = Y(0) + (Y(1) - Y(0))/comm_time * (time(2) - time(1))
The above computation is now corrected to be:
Y(2) = Y(1) + (Y(1) - Y(0))/comm_time * (time(2) - time(1))
Similarly, for no extrapolation, the previous computation is modified from:
Y(2) = Y(0)
To:
Y(2) = Y(1)

1-79659861
There are a series of ADAMS_* variables from Plant Export that set up the MATLAB S-Function for
Adams/Controls. ADAMS_solver_type is set to either FORTRAN or C++. This is utilized by
adams_sys.m to set the solver type in the mask, but was only working for creation. Any change or reset
of ADAMS_solver_type in an existing model was not working, and thus could become out-of-sync.
The mask now dynamically sets the solver type using ADAMS_solver_type when loading the model
(via LoadFcn callback), and sets ADAMS_solver_type based on what is chosen in the mask's pop
up menu.
36 MD Adams 2010 Release Notes
Adams/Controls Release Notes

1-80171607
The Plant Export dialog box performs an equilibrium or initial conditions analysis before computing
states for Dynamic State Output (for Easy5). It aborts the Plant Export if an error condition is detected
for these analyses, however the macro did not clear this error condition in case of failure. This has been
fixed and error messaging improved.

1-95056869
Two issues affecting SET_GSE_IC have been corrected here:
1. External System Libraries: In past releases, Controls assumed that the GSE and SENSOR had
the same Adams ID, but this is not always the case. If the Adams ID's are not the same for the
GSE and SENSOR, you may get an error message similar to the following:

---- ERROR ----


GSE/51 has not been defined in the data set. (<-- SENSOR/51 is
trying to use GSE/51 mistakenly)

---- FATAL PROGRAM FAULT ----


Fatal programming error encountered. Contact MSC support
personnel for more information.

Module Name : GGSNS0 .


Module Section : Invalid INDEX..

Adams/Solver execution terminated by subprogram GGSNS0

The sensor needs to know which GSE is to be updated with (SET_GSE_IC) when the sensor
detects that the states change and there is an integrator restart. So, when importing the ESL to
create the GSE and SENSOR with the Control System Import dialog box, the SENSOR now adds
a seventh argument to the evaluate function which provides the Adams ID of the GSE. The
subroutine will also detect if only 6 parameters are given for legacy models and will assume that
in these cases the SENSOR and GSE IDs are the same. This is not always the case, and so to be
sure this is not a problem, either verify the SENSOR and GSE IDs match in your .adm files, or
use Controls System Delete to remove the ESL and Control System Import to reload it into your
model. A warning message for the missing GSE ID will be given with these same instructions to
the user.
2. External System Libraries: A minor/benign bug in Adams/Controls with C++ Solver
(FORTRAN excluded) was fixed -- at the end of the simulation (after it was done solving), C++
solver will destruct entities in the Adams model. It is destructing the GSE first before its
associated SENSOR is destructed, and this causes the SENSOR to try to set the Initial Conditions
of a GSE that doesn't exist with SET_GSE_IC. Thus, you get this error:

---- START: ERROR ----


Invalid INDEX 0 passed to SET_GSE_IC
Adams/Controls Release Notes 37
Known Issues

---- END: ERROR ----


R6025
- pure virtual function call
This has been fixed so that the function SET_GSE_IC is not called for this destructing process.

1-133791173, 1-244396833
Fixed problem in the VARIABLE code related to initial conditions (ICs) in Adams/Solver (C++). Now,
when static equilibrium is done, a flag is set to make variables NOT use their IC values, and use their
values computed from the static solution instead.

1-190050512
For External System Libraries (ESL), if no continuous states are detected in the model, then the
SENSOR that monitors continuous state changes is not created, since it is unnecessary.

1-190050523
For External System Libraries (ESL), the dummy parameter that was created by adams.tlc for
MATLAB/RTW models has been removed, and for all ESLs, superfluous calls to set parameters in the
ESL have been removed.

1-202517980
Adams/Solver (FORTRAN) and Adams/Solver (C++) now call GSE subroutines in the same general
order: GSE_DERIV and GSE_OUTPUT until convergence; then GSE_UPDATE followed by
GSE_SAMP. This has eliminated output and derivative errors in some Adams/Controls External System
Libraries at time=0.

1-251908199
Fixed problem where quasi-static setup results were missing from the beginning of the simulation results
when running Adams/Car full-vehicle events with Adams/Controls or Mechatronics in co-simulation.

1-251929270
Fixed an issue with results writing logic in Adams/Solver (FORTRAN) where discrete GSE states were
not being written to the results file at the expected output times during co-simulation with Adams/Car.

Known Issues
Please go to the Knowledge Base to read all of the Adams/Controls Known Issues.
38 MD Adams 2010 Release Notes
Adams/Driveline Release Notes

Adams/Driveline Release Notes


• What's New
• Changes
• Issues Resolved
• Known Issues

What's New

Maintenance release
Several bug fixes have been implemented. See Issues Resolved section for more details.

Changes
• Dyno J-Part Specification (1-46593661)
• Updated JEEP_RWD_SDI example assembly (1-201175268)

Dyno J-Part Specification (1-46593661)


When creating or modifying the Dyno in the Template Builder, it is now possible to specify a J-Part to
be something other than the ground part.

Updated JEEP_RWD_SDI example assembly (1-201175268)


The JEEP_RWD_SDI example assembly is now able to:
• Run any SDI event
• Use the cruise controller
• Use a Quasi-Static Straight Setup

Subject to these limitations:


a. Does not support gear shifting.
b. Does not work in Quasi-Static Skidpad Setup. (Work-around: use straight setup together with
an entry distance.)
c. Does not support Quasi-Static Maneuvers like Quasi-Static Constant Radius Cornering.
Adams/Driveline Release Notes 39
Issues Resolved

Issues Resolved

1-FDB38906
Updated length units handling so geometry of differential is not scaled incorrectly when changing the
units from mm to meters.

1-23938631
Fixed problems that were preventing Adams/Driveline from running with Adams/Controls in co-
simulation mode.

1-43604451, 1-46524541, 1-48165441


Fixed problem(s) in dialog box where Dyno direction was confusing and different than the user expected.
Changed Dyno direction in Crankshaft template (rotated 180 degrees) and subsystem (Direction=1) so a
positive input will make the vehicle go forward.

1-44280241
Fixed problem with specifying of road slope where setting a side angle caused the resultant value of the
gravity vector to be more than 1G.

1-45631971, 1-53235144, 1-53246532, 1-199493814


Corrected several problems in the translation backlash component:
1. In the Template Builder, the units for backlash were angular; the Create/Modify dialog box now
uses the current length units.
2. Lock switch didn't work; an IC motion and lock motion have been added.
3. The associated displacement request had an origin of 200 mm; it is now zero.

1-53235068
Updated subsystem saving behavior for Dyno element in Adams/Driveline so that all Dyno parameters
are now saved, whereas only its 'DYNO_TYPE' and 'FUNCTION_TYPE' were being saved to the
subsystem file in previous releases.

1-52525017
Fixed road height calculation problem where errors about tireRadius were being thrown when
submitting analyses using the JEEP_RWD assembly.

1-53246504
Updated Activity Wizard to fix the torsional spring and backlash logic. Added translational backlashes
to the Backlash list (previously it only listed rotational backlashes).
40 MD Adams 2010 Release Notes
Adams/Driveline Release Notes

1-53246718, 1-21846476
Corrected function expression in Step-Torque analysis so the step function now begins at the initial
torque value.

1-59199601
Corrected a discrepancy between starting Adams/Driveline as a standalone product, and loading it as an
Adams/Car plugin.

1-63695131
In past versions, attempts to open Adams/Driveline's differential property files in the Adams/Car curve
manager resulted in macro errors about missing database objects, due to missing support for this general
spline file format; this has now been corrected.

1-69201930
Fixed error in the definition of limited slip differentials that prevented them from being written to
subsystem files.

1-69644874
A typographical error in the standard interface limited slip differential macro prevented the type
clutch_pack from being processed properly; this has been corrected.

1-73666031
When a torsion spring was set to non-linear stiffness, the data read from the property file was being
written to the .adm file incorrectly; this angular units error in the ac_torsion_spring UDE has been
corrected.

1-74755808
Fixed units error in the ac_torque_converter element, that led to incorrect torque converter results in
previous versions of Adams/Driveline; documentation and example property file have also been
corrected.

1-77362210, 1-25840277
Updated Hypoid Gear Force dialog box, fixed error in hypoid gear ratio, and removed references to
r_symmetric that did not apply.

1-78898021
Corrected problems with disabled initial velocity fields in driveline test dialog boxes for assemblies
containing a roller rig subsystem.
Adams/Driveline Release Notes 41
Known Issues

1-79845271, 1-78761641, 1-57554561


Corrected problem in initial velocity that would occur in Adams/Car full vehicle (SDI) analyses with
models containing IC motion of type inherit_vel_from_wheels (front/rear/any).

1-80225819
Updated driveline analysis submission macros to correct problems in background simulation mode on
Linux64 platform.

1-96582211
Updated diff_location in the hypoid gear force UDE that was causing the beta_2 function to become
undefined.

1-251275561
In previous releases of Adams/Car and Adams/Insight, when modifying nonlinear springs and dampers,
if you selected an XML property file that specified the linear method, only the scale_factor parameter
would be exported to Adams/Insight. This scale_factor was not used in the force calculation, so the
spring/damper was not affected by the DOE. Starting in MD Adams 2010, if you select an XML property
file that specifies the linear method, the spring's stiffness parameter will also be exported to
Adams/Insight. Similarly, the damper's damping parameter will also be exported. The scale_factor will
still be exported as well, but it is not used in the force calculation, so it should not be included as a factor
in the experiment.

Known Issues
Please go to the Knowledge Base to read all of the Adams/Driveline Known Issues.
42 MD Adams 2010 Release Notes
Adams/Durability Release Notes

Adams/Durability Release Notes


• What’s New
• Changes
• Issues Resolved
• Known Issues

What’s New
• Maintenance release
• Default Solver is Adams/Solver (C++)

Maintenance release
This release of Adams/Durability is primarily a maintenance release; see the Issues Resolved section for
some of the key issues resolved.

Default Solver is Adams/Solver (C++)


In this release Adams/Solver (C++) has become the default solver for Adams/Solver, Adams/View, and
Adams/View plugins (such as, Adams/Controls, Adams/Durability, Adams/Mechatronics,
Adams/Vibration). It is anticipated that a comprehensive transition of the entire user base may take
several releases; therefore Adams/Solver (FORTRAN) continues to be available and can be used for
comparison purposes and to bridge the gap, if necessary. Please contact us if you encounter any models
that no longer run due to this change, or if you find unexpected differences in the converged solutions.

Changes
• RPC-III Repeats specification (1-189713825)

RPC-III Repeats specification (1-189713825)


Added environment variable, MSC_DUR_NUM_REPEATS, so one can specify the required repeats to
RPC III file. MSC_DUR_NUM_REPEATS=n, where n is the number of repeats desired. By default,
number of repeats is 0.

Issues Resolved

1-56226841, 1-81053701
Increased the number of significant digits written for FEA Load export in Nastran format so there are
twice as many now than previously.
Adams/Durability Release Notes 43
Known Issues

1-63752131
Improved logic for FEMDATA writing to prevent a situation that was leading to a crash when using
RELOAD with FEMDATA in an Adams/Car simulation.

1-65604148, 1-189646281
Updated FEA loads export code so that moments of zero value are not written out.

1-72963550
Updated FEA Load Export to use Nastran Long format, which corrects reported formatting errors and
provides more digits of precision in exported FEMDATA.

1-76640159
Added support for DEST.CHAN_n keyword in RPC file and fixed reported channel initialization
problem.

1-107978513
Corrected problems in the generation of RPC-III (.rsp) files when using REQUESTs with the
RESULTS_NAME argument and OUTPUT/RPCSAVE.

1-190933091
OUTPUT/DACSAVE and OUTPUT/RPCSAVE was not working properly for REQUESTs having more
than 8 components (for example defining VARIABLE requests or grouping requests together using
REQUEST/RESULT_NAME); this issue has been fixed. Additionally we have shortened DAC and RPC
channel naming to make them more readable and understandable.

1-251631301
Corrected formatting problem in FE-Fatigue Export dialog box that was causing the Select Nodes field
to be hidden.

Known Issues
Please go to the Knowledge Base to read all of the Adams/Durability Known Issues.
44 MD Adams 2010 Release Notes
Adams/Flex Release Notes

Adams/Flex Release Notes


• What’s New
• Changes
• Issues Resolved
• Known Issues

What’s New
• Support for Shell Elements in Flexible Body Contact
• Flexible Body Dynamic Limit (Adams/Solver (C++) Only)
• MNF Xform tool for Mirroring Flexible Body MNF (1-76618801)
• Strain Energy Table via MNFRES utility (1-201236760, 1-77184934)

Support for Shell Elements in Flexible Body Contact


Flexible body contact has been extended to support shell elements in MNF (or MD DB). You can define
3D contacts that act on the shell face(s) or you can define 2D contacts that act on the shell (closed) free
edge(s). A list of node ids representing a closed free edge is automatically identified by the MNF toolkit
and presented as a object that can be selected. The free edge is treated like contact curve geometry,
allowing the direction of the curve normal to be flipped so that the contact force may be prescribed to act
on either the interior or exterior of the closed edge. The Contact Create dialog box in Adams/View has
been updated with the new contact options for creating these contacts:
• Flex Edge to Curve
• Flex Edge to Flex Edge
• Flex Edge to Plane

Sample Adams/View Command Language:


contact create &
contact_name = .model_1.CONTACT_1 &
adams_id = 1 &
i_flex = .model_1.FLEX_BODY_1 &
i_edge = .model_1.CNT_FLEX_BODY_1_EDGE_0_MATRIX_31 &
i_edge_index = 0 &
j_flex = .model_1.FLEX_BODY_2 &
j_edge = .model_1.CNT_FLEX_BODY_2_EDGE_0_MATRIX_32 &
j_edge_index = 0 &
i_flip_normal = yes &
j_flip_normal = yes &
stiffness = 1.0E+005 &
damping = 10.0 &
exponent = 2.2 &
dmax = 0.1
Adams/Flex Release Notes 45
What’s New

Sample Adams/Solver Statement:


CONTACT/1
, IFLEX = 1
, IEDGE = 31
, JFLEX = 2
, JEDGE = 32
, INORMAL_FLIP = T
, JNORMAL_FLIP = T
, IMPACT
, STIFFNESS = 1.0E+005
, DAMPING = 10
, DMAX = 0.1
, EXPONENT = 2.2
! adams_view_name='CNT_FLEX_BODY_1_EDGE_0_MATRIX_31'
! adams_view_units='no_units'
MATRIX/31
, FULL = CORDER
, ROWS = 1
, COLUMNS = 5
, VALUES = 1, 2, 3, 4, 1
!
! adams_view_name='CNT_FLEX_BODY_2_EDGE_0_MATRIX_32'
! adams_view_units='no_units'
MATRIX/32
, FULL = CORDER
, ROWS = 1
, COLUMNS = 5
, VALUES = 1, 2, 3, 4, 1

When a shell edge is used in contact, the flexible body matrix file (automatically generated by
Adams/View) is augmented with an entry for the edge. For example:
MATRIX/58
, FILE = test_new_FLEX_BODY_2.mtx
, NAME = EDGE_0
46 MD Adams 2010 Release Notes
Adams/Flex Release Notes

Notes: • Lists of flexible bodies, edges, curves, and/or planes are not supported. However,
you can make as many individual contacts as you like, referencing a given flexible
body for each individual contact.
• The flexible body is required to be the I-body (IFLEX) for contact between a
flexible body and 3D solid geometry or between a flexible body edge and a rigid
2D curve or rigid 2D plane geometry.
• The restitution (POISSON) method is not supported when using CONTACT with
flexible bodies, use the IMPACT method instead.
• Flexible body contact is only supported with the default
CONTACT_GEOMETRY_LIBRARY. Specifying
PREFERENCES/CONTACT_GEOMETRY_LIBRARY = PARASOLIDS will
cause an error message:
---- START: ERROR ----
Contact Error: CONTACT_GEOMETRY_LIBRARY cannot be
Parasolid for flex/flex or flex/rigid contact,
CONTACT=4, it must be set to Default_library instead.
---- END: ERROR ----
• CONTACT involving flexible bodies is only supported with Adams/Solver (C++).
Any attempt to submit said models to Adams/Solver (FORTRAN) will result in an
error being issued, for instance:
---- ERROR ----
Solver could not run because one or more model elements
are only supported by the Adams/Solver (C++).
Unsupported element names:
CONTACT_3
CONTACT_6
• The flexible body edges participating in contact must be planar (2d). The Solver
will report an error message when the IEDGE and/or the JEDGE in a flex contact
is not planar. For example:
---- START: ERROR ----
IEDGE selected for 2D Flex Body contact is not planar.
Model element CONTACT/1
---- END: ERROR ----
Adams/Flex Release Notes 47
What’s New

• When using Flexible Body to Flexible Body contact and it is detected that both the
I and J geometries are planar, the following ERROR message will be issued:
---- START: ERROR ----
3D Flex Contact detection cannot be used with 2D
geometry.
Please select an edge rather than the entire Flex Body.
Model element CONTACT/1
---- END: ERROR ----
Similarly, when either the I or J geometry is planar (not both), the following
WARNING message will be issued, and the simulation will continue:
---- START: WARNING ----
3D Flex Contact detection is being used with 2D
geometry.
The simulation may not complete successfully.
Model element CONTACT/1
---- END: WARNING ----
• Contact between planar (2D shell element) flexible bodies should be defined using
the free edges of the shells. The Flex-Body to Flex-Body contact pair (using both
IFLEX and JFLEX arguments) is intended for 3D contacts and cannot be used
with planar (2D shell element) flexible bodies. If you try to use a pair of 2D shells
where it is not allowed an error message will be issued:
---- START: ERROR ----
3D Flex Contact detection cannot be used with 2D
geometry.
Please select an edge rather than the entire Flex Body.
Model element CONTACT/1
---- END: ERROR ----

See Technical Article KB8018471 for further details.


http://simcompanion.mscsoftware.com/infocenter/index?page=content&id=KB8018471

Flexible Body Dynamic Limit (Adams/Solver (C++) Only)


Modal content of flexible bodies often have high-frequency modes that may be prone to excitation and
cause the integrator to chop its step size to very small values during a simulation. Often users are not
really interested in this high frequency content and would prefer if it were simply damped out so that
48 MD Adams 2010 Release Notes
Adams/Flex Release Notes

only the so-called quasi-static modes are considered, allowing the integrator to take larger steps and to
potentially improve the run-time performance.
With this release we have introduced a new feature that, when enabled, allows for a dynamic limit to be
prescribed whereby the flexible body is considered with a quasi-static modes representation. You can
specify the DYNAMIC_LIMIT and STABILITY_FACTOR parameters for a given flexible body
allowing the higher frequency mode content to be diminished. In some of our test cases the flexible-body
simulations would run up to 2X faster in cases where DYNAMIC_LIMIT=1000, and
STABILITY_FACTOR=10 were set.
The Dynamic Limit settings are accessible from the Dynamic Limit and Stability Factor fields
available on the Modify Body dialog box (Category: Name and Position) which is accessed from the
Location button on the Flexible Body Modify dialog box.

Sample Adams/Solver Statement:


! adams_view_name='FLEX_BODY_3'
FLEX_BODY/3
, MATRICES = 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12
, DYNAMIC_LIMIT = 1000
, STABILITY_FACTOR = 10.0
, CRATIO = step(FXFREQ,150,0.03,1000,1)\
, MNF_FILE = my_LCA.mnf
, INVARIANTS = T:T:F:F:F:T:T:T:F

Note: The Adams/Car subsystem file now supports DYNAMIC_LIMIT and


STABILITY_FACTOR for a flexible body general part.

See Technical Article KB8018493 for further details.


http://simcompanion.mscsoftware.com/infocenter/index?page=content&id=KB8018493

MNF Xform tool for Mirroring Flexible Body MNF (1-76618801)


A graphical user interface for the Adams/Flex Toolkit MNFXFORM command line utility is now
available from Adams/View. It can be accessed from the Build menu under Flexible Bodies -> MNF
Xform… and can be used to translate, rotate and/or mirror MNF (or MD DB) as well as renumber
interface node IDs. The output of this tool is an MNF (or MD DB) which gets written to your working
directory, which you can then import using Build -> Flexible Body -> New… .
Some of the benefits that this tool provides include:
1. It typically requires extra time and/or steps to generate a mirrored copy of an MNF (of MD DB)
from FEA code. With the MNF Xform tool this task becomes trivial. Adams/Car users whose
vehicle assemblies often involve symmetrical parts will find this tool is very handy for creating
the right and left pairs of flexible components.
Adams/Flex Release Notes 49
What’s New

2. In high-speed rotation simulation, the simulation performance can often be improved


significantly if the axis-of-rotation is aligned with the Z axis of the FE origin. With MNF Xform,
you can easily create an MNF (or MD DB) that has been rotated to the desired configuration.

Note: For your convenience an MNF XForm button is also available from the Create a Flexible
Body dialog box in Adams/View.

For more information, see Knowledge Base Article KB8018708.


http://simcompanion.mscsoftware.com/infocenter/index?page=content&id=KB8018708

Strain Energy Table via MNFRES utility (1-201236760, 1-77184934)


The Adams/Flex Toolkit MNFRES command line utility for recovering the nodal displacement, velocity,
and acceleration of a flexible body after a time-domain simulation has now been enhanced to allow the
export of flexible body strain energy (%) on a mode-by-mode basis in tabular format. The list of key
values for the mnfres command line utility now includes the “s” option:
-i <key> : report specific results. <key> values are:
d : Nodal displacements
v : Nodal velocities
a : Nodal accelerations
s : Strain energy percentage by modes
For example:
mdadams2010_x64 flextk mnfres -t 0.1 -i s -L MM -n FLEX_BODY_LEFT
triple_test.res simple.mnf > strain_E_time_pt01.dat
Produces the following:
Begin execution of Adams/Flex Toolkit (mnfres)...

% Results File: triple_test.res


% Modal Neutral File: simple.mnf
% Flexible Body Name: FLEX_BODY_LEFT
% Info Type: strain energy
percentage
% Mass Unit: KILOGRAM
% Force Unit: NEWTON
% Time Unit: SECOND
% Length Unit: MILLIMETER
% Number of active modes: 10
%
% At time 0.100000
%
Mode 7: 33.48
Mode 8: 20.09
Mode 10: 0.00
Mode 11: 11.02
Mode 12: 6.96
50 MD Adams 2010 Release Notes
Adams/Flex Release Notes

Mode 15: 4.80


Mode 18: 5.58
Mode 21: 4.65
Mode 25: 7.25
Mode 27: 6.16

Step Total Strain Energy: 0.083118

************ Total Strain Energy (All time steps) ***************


Mode 7: 33.48
Mode 8: 20.09
Mode 10: 0.00
Mode 11: 11.02
Mode 12: 6.96
Mode 15: 4.80
Mode 18: 5.58
Mode 21: 4.65
Mode 25: 7.25
Mode 27: 6.16

Total Strain Energy: 0.083118

Changes
• Partial Coupling Redefined (1-80359681)
• DEFORM measure support in C++ Solver (1-FDB46212)
• Improved MD DB Performance (1-80125071)
• Support for Flexible Body Marker without NODE_ID (1-46524557)
• View -> Part Only shows Flex-Body name in View Title (1-FDB41430)
• Increased Default Value for MNF_MAX_MODE_MEMORY (1-226939538)
• FLEX_BODY/MEXACT specification (1-254700781)

Partial Coupling Redefined (1-80359681)


We have changed the definition of Partial Coupling so that INVAR3 and INVAR4 are now turned off (in
addition to the disabled INVAR5 and INVAR9 terms as per previous releases). This can potentially bring
performance improvements for some models. If you should wish to revert back to past behavior, you can
use the Custom option and re-enable the I3 and I4 terms.
See Technical Article KB8018513 for further details.
http://simcompanion.mscsoftware.com/infocenter/index?page=content&id=KB8018513
Adams/Flex Release Notes 51
Issues Resolved

DEFORM measure support in C++ Solver (1-FDB46212)


Support for the flexible body marker Translational Deformation (DEFORM) point measure
characteristic has been added to Adams/Solver (C++).

Improved MD DB Performance (1-80125071)


We have updated the efficiency of locating data blocks contained in the MD DB file for flexible bodies.
With this improvement the data access performance of the MD DB format should now meet or exceed
that of the MNF format.

Support for Flexible Body Marker without NODE_ID (1-46524557)


Markers can now be created in Adams/View on a flexible body without specifying a Node ID. This may
be done interactively or with command language.

View -> Part Only shows Flex-Body name in View Title (1-FDB41430)
Made changes to the view title to display the flexible body name when using View -> Part Only... rather
displaying No Model which was being shown previously and for displaying flexible body mode
information when using the Flexible Body Modify dialog box.

Increased Default Value for MNF_MAX_MODE_MEMORY (1-226939538)


The default value of MNF_MAX_MODE_MEMORY has been increased to 200 Mbytes to improve
performance for flexible-body contact models. Previously the default value was 20 Mb. If desired, you
may set the MNF_MAX_MODE_MEMORY environment variable manually. Please note that this
environment variable may be removed in future releases upon further refinement of flexible body contact
technology.
For more information and a rule-of-thumb for selecting a value of MNF_MAX_MODE_MEMORY,
refer to Technical Article KB8018430.
http://simcompanion.mscsoftware.com/infocenter/index?page=content&id=KB8018430

FLEX_BODY/MEXACT specification (1-254700781)


When using MEXACT on the FLEX_BODY statement the values you provide are now interpreted as
the corresponding to the mode numbers of the modes of interest. Previously they were interpreted as a
mode index which was leading to some confusion especially in models where flexible bodies had a
mixture of enabled and disabled modes.

Issues Resolved

1-FDB50931
Updated Adams/Flex Toolkit interface for MNF->MTX Translator so an alert is displayed allowing you
to prevent overwriting the Matrix Output File (.mtx) if it already exists.
52 MD Adams 2010 Release Notes
Adams/Flex Release Notes

1-73920673
Fixed out-of-memory problem affecting MNF Optimization on AIX 5.3 platform for very large (25 Gb)
.mnf files.

1-74658887
Fixed problem that would cause the following error when handling MD DB in flextk utilities on Linux
and Unix, even though a valid MD License (MDA_Flex) was present:
ERROR: MD Flex license is required to use the MD DB feature.

1-74660001
Added single precision support for MD DB format and corrected MNFXFORM to handle the following
MNF and MD DB transformations:
1. Rotating or mirroring about Z-axis.
2. Rotating about an axis that does not pass through the origin.

1-74711048
Updated MNFXFORM handle the transforming of INVAR4 when translating an MNF that does not
contain nodal mass information.

1-76133217
Corrected error in VX and ACCX functions involving flexible body markers when using Adams/Solver
(FORTRAN).

1-78709251
Updated handling of paths and separator characters (;) specified by MDI_USER_PLUGIN_DIR. If a
separator is not specified, the specified path will be put before sys_path instead of replacing it. A new
format is created for replacement. If you specify both the leading and trailing separators, the specified
path will be used to replace sys_path.

1-80478391, 1-211656480
Fixed MNFRES so it can output the displacement data contained in results files written for an Adams/Car
assembly.

1-200001431, 1-200216321
Removed bottleneck in the model input processing and improved run-time performance of Adams/Solver
(C++) for flexible body models containing a very large number of active (enabled) modes.
Adams/Flex Release Notes 53
Known Issues

1-233957161
Fixed the source of small memory leak that exhibited itself when running flexible body simulations
repeatedly, with Adams/Solver (C++).

1-244396811
Added support for user-written FLEX_BODY damping by way of CRATIO= USER(...)
specification, this now works with internal and external solvers in Adams/View.

Known Issues
Please go to the Knowledge Base to read all of the Adams/Flex Known Issues.
54 MD Adams 2010 Release Notes
Adams/Insight Release Notes

Adams/Insight Release Notes


• Changes
• Issues Resolved

Changes
• Adams/View Strip Charts Turned Off by Default (1-192405741)

Adams/View Strip Charts Turned Off by Default (1-192405741)


The default strip chart display behavior has been changed so that strip charts for Objective vs. Trial no
longer appear when issuing the "mdi insight load" command in Adams/View. This change improves
performance when loading simulation results for lots of trials (100 or more) where strip chart updates
were previously getting bogged down as more and more datapoints were being added.

Issues Resolved

1-69877085
Removed check for 'ainsight/etc' subdirectory from Adams/Insight startup script, eliminating benign
error message that was being thrown in prior releases.

1-69903291
Saving an experiment on 64-bit Linux would cause Adams/Insight to crash; this has been fixed.

1-80278341
Fixed problem where the memory footprint in Adams/View was growing much more than it should have
when reading in Adams/Insight DOE simulation results files (xml format).

1-242568359
Fixed problems in connections between Easy5 and Adams/Insight.

1-253411748
Updated libraries to address code crash that was reported when using Adams/Insight with Patran on
Win64 platform.
Adams/Mechatronics Release Notes 55
What's New

Adams/Mechatronics Release Notes


• What's New
• Changes
• Issues Resolved
• Known Issues

What's New
• Maintenance release
• Default Solver is Adams/Solver (C++)

Maintenance release
This release of Adams/Mechatronics is primarily a maintenance release; see the Issues Resolved section
for some of the key issues resolved.

Default Solver is Adams/Solver (C++)


In this release Adams/Solver (C++) has become the default solver for Adams/Solver, Adams/View, and
Adams/View plugins (such as, Adams/Controls, Adams/Durability, Adams/Mechatronics,
Adams/Vibration). It is anticipated that a comprehensive transition of the entire user base may take
several releases; therefore Adams/Solver (FORTRAN) continues to be available and can be used for
comparison purposes and to bridge the gap, if necessary. Please contact us if you encounter any models
that no longer run due to this change, or if you find unexpected differences in the converged solutions.

Changes
No entries in this section.

Issues Resolved

1-77932321
Corrected problem in Assist box for Delay function where it was entering a value of 0 for the 4th
argument when it actually should have been omitted from the expression.

1-78682961
In the template conversion to 14.0, for models with External System Libraries (ESL) that need updating,
the database name has been corrected to external_system_libraries.tbl from amech_esl_libraries.tbl in
macro mac_fil_ct14_0_upd_custom.cmd.
56 MD Adams 2010 Release Notes
Adams/Mechatronics Release Notes

1-191419114
The SENSOR that a part of the Control System UDE for simulating External System Libraries (ESL's)
is used to detect changes in continuous states in the middle of an integration step (for example, for switch
states in Easy5, blocks that reset a state in MATLAB). If the model does not have continuous states, this
sensor has no use, and is now deactivated.

1-250278293
When loading a binary in Adams/View with the Mechatronics plugin already loaded/saved, the wrong
mode was set ('acar') and this disrupted some of the Mechatronics macros and dialog boxes. This has been
fixed so that the correct mode ('aview') is now set.

Note: A work-around for previous releases is to execute ACAR_SET_MODE("aview") in


Function Builder. To confirm this, execute ACAR_GET_MODE().

1-251908199
Fixed problem where quasi-static setup results were missing from the beginning of the simulation results
when running Adams/Car full-vehicle events with Adams/Controls or Mechatronics in co-simulation.

1-256680953
When creating an External System Library (ESL) property file, if the ESL is from Easy5, you're on a
Windows machine, and you haven't setup your PATH environment variable or launched Adams from an
Easy5 shell, you will now get a warning message telling you how to fix this. This also prevent Adams
from crashing due to missing access to ez5_lmgr.dll.

1-256705203
The macro that sets the activity of a Control System and its dependents (mac_too_con_sys_set_act.cmd)
has been changed so that the PLANT_INPUT and PLANT_OUTPUT for a Control System are always
active as long as the Control System is active and for all types, not just for the type "co-simulation". This
allows Plant Export to be performed for any type to get the proper inputs and outputs to Matlab or Easy5.

Known Issues
Please go to the Knowledge Base to read all of the Adams/Mechatronics Known Issues.
Adams/SmartDriver Release Notes 57
What's New

Adams/SmartDriver Release Notes


• What's New
• Changes
• Issues Resolved
• Known Issues

What's New
• Maintenance release
• Longitudinal and Lateral PID Controller Parameters (1-196194201, 1-24921681)
• Maximum values for Steering Force, Steering Torque and Steering Displacement (1-23442956)

Maintenance release
Several bug fixes have been implemented. See Issues Resolved section for more details.

Longitudinal and Lateral PID Controller Parameters (1-196194201, 1-24921681)


All user adjustable longitudinal and lateral PID (Proportional, Integral, Derivative) Controller gains are
now exposed to the Event Builder and .xml event file to improve Machine Control tracking performance.
This will allow you to change Machine Control PID controller settings for:
• following a longitudinal velocity (VxP, VxI, VxD) or longitudinal acceleration profile (AxP,
AxI, AxD)
• steering when following a path (LatPthP, LatPthI, LatPthD)
• following a lateral acceleration profile (LatAyI, LatAyD, LatAyCP, LatAyCI, LatAyCD)

In addition, you can also change PID Controller Settings for steering output if:
• the steering actuator type is set to Force (SteFrcP, SteFrcI, SteFrcD)
• the steering actuator type is set to Torque (SteTrqP, SteTrqI, SteTrqD)

Environment variables can be set to overwrite default values for the longitudinal and lateral PID
Controller gains, see F1 Help > Event Builder.

Maximum values for Steering Force, Steering Torque and Steering Displacement (1-
23442956)
Following environment variables can be used to overwrite default maximum values (minimum = -
maximum) for:
Steering Force: MSC_SD_STFRC_MAX (Default 1.0E4 N)
58 MD Adams 2010 Release Notes
Adams/SmartDriver Release Notes

Steering Torque: MSC_SD_STTRQ_MAX (Default 1.0E2 Nm)


Steering Displacement: MSC_SD_STDSP_MAX (Default 1.0 m)

Note: The maximum Steering Wheel Angle can be set in the smart_driver_vehicle_parameters
array as defined in the Adams dataset.

Changes
• Backwards Driving Improvements (1-79653705, 1-249202671, 1-79322901)
• Added Rolling Resistance to the Controller to Improve Support for Trucks and Trailers (1-
196199231)
• Updated Default Settings for PID Controller (1-216219271)
• Warning message if Engine Speed < Idle Speed (1-79653691)

Backwards Driving Improvements (1-79653705, 1-249202671, 1-79322901)


We made improvements to Adams/SmartDriver to support closed loop steering events (for example,
pathmap, skidpad) while driving backwards. Closed loop speed control is supported for low velocities.
Furthermore, with MD Adams R3 our xml event files supported a negative gear setting (-1) for
backwards driving. However in R3 release there was an issue with respect to using a negative gear setting
in the event builder. This has been resolved for the 2010 release; it is now possible to set the gear to -1 in
the event builder for backwards driving events.

Added Rolling Resistance to the Controller to Improve Support for Trucks and Trailers
(1-196199231)
Rolling resistance is now added to the feed-forward term of the longitudinal controller to improve
tracking behavior. Especially heavy vehicles have a noticeable rolling resistance force which may cause
a drop in throttle signal at the beginning of a dynamic simulation after a quasi-static straight up setup.
The STI-Tire interface provides Machine Control with the total rolling resistance of all tires which is
added to the required engine torque as used by Machine Control.

Updated Default Settings for PID Controller (1-216219271)


The default values for Adams/SmartDriver PID controller settings have been changed for steering output:
- For the steering actuator = Force:
StFrcP from 3 (MD R3) -> 10
StFrcI from 2.5 (MD R3) -> 20

- For steering actuator type = Torque:


Adams/SmartDriver Release Notes 59
Issues Resolved

StTrqP from 3 (MD R3) -> 10


StTrqI from 2.5 (MD R3) -> 20
This change resolves for a transient response between mini-maneuvers going from steering
actuator=Rotation to steering actuator=Force/Torque. It should be noted that all PID Controller gains
(longitudinal and lateral controllers) are now exposed to the Event Builder and .xml event file.

Warning message if Engine Speed < Idle Speed (1-79653691)


Especially while driving at very low velocities, the engine speed may become less than the Machine
Control specified idle speed. As a result of this, Machine Control will disengage the clutch. In order to
warn the user about this condition, following warning is sent to the Adams/Solver message file:
Machine Control: Engine Speed below specified engine idle speed.
The engine idle speed can be adjusted in the Adams/Car model to prevent this condition.

Issues Resolved

1-24075401
If Lateral Acceleration is selected for 'Speed Control with Steer Control' is set to Skidpad, the forward
velocity of the vehicle now matches the specified lateral acceleration on the prescribed Skidpad. The
vehicle starts with the specified initial velocity, but the speed is now adjusted to get the desired lateral
acceleration and not kept at its initial velocity.

1-68532419
Updated event builder with changes required for support of backwards driving.

1-65583751
Fixed broken mini-maneuver time condition sensor.

1-79405631
Corrected problem in the updating of variables in Adams/Chassis models when the only output is a
request file.

1-79653879
It is now possible to set the initial gear to -1 in the Event Builder.

1-79653923
Driving at very low velocity (for example, 1.3 m/s) and with very large inputs from the road, closed-loop
machine controlled steering oscillations have occurred for some reported cases. In such cases, reducing
60 MD Adams 2010 Release Notes
Adams/SmartDriver Release Notes

the proportional gain controlling the difference between vehicle and road path LatPthP (for example,
from 0.5 to 0.1) in the .xml event file or Event Builder (under PID's Speed & Path) may improve Machine
Control behavior.

1-193719081
When support for driving backwards was added in the previous release (MD R3 / 2008 r1), the minimum
gear setting within the Adams/SmartDriver vehicle parameters array was adjusted to be +/- 1.
Unfortunately this change was preventing events with a zero gear from working properly (in other words,
coasting with clutch disengaged); support for this use case scenario has now been restored.

1-221053711
Adams/SmartDriver did not properly construct the function expression of a swept sine full vehicle event
for SI2 integrator in Adams/Solver, when the initial frequency was set to zero. This has now been
corrected.

1-231578505
Added ".xml" as an allowable file extension for the road path file field in the steering machine control
section of the event builder.

1-233264321
When following up a skidpad static setup with closed loop torque control, a transient in the steering could
be observed; this transition behavior has been improved to avoid the transient.

1-250973341
Fixed USE_MODE issue so that simulating a PAC89 or PAC94 tire with USE_MODE=2 or 12 now
works properly with Adams/SmartDriver.

Known Issues
Please go to the Knowledge Base to read all of the Adams/SmartDriver Known Issues.
Adams/Solver (C++ and FORTRAN) Release Notes 61
What’s New

Adams/Solver (C++ and FORTRAN) Release Notes


• What’s New
• Adams/Solver (C++) Product Compatibility
• Changes
• Issues Resolved
• Known Issues

What’s New
• Default Solver is Adams/Solver (C++)
• Adams2Nastran Enhancements (1-79210916, 1-250050131)
• Native Contact Detection for Cylinder, Ellipsoid, and Box (1-FDB40713, 1-49159724, 1-
55753953)
• Dataset Language Support for Revolution, Extrusion, and Torus Geometry
• UMF Linear System Solver (Adams/Solver (C++) Only)
• New Static Equilibrium Solver Methods (C++ Solver Only) (Experimental Feature)
• Serialization Subroutines (and IFLAG definition change)
• Example User-Subroutines written in C (1-228909247)
• CBKSUB - Callback User Subroutine (1-143058652) (C++ Solver Only)
• SAVE and RELOAD Support for User Subroutines

Default Solver is Adams/Solver (C++)


In this release Adams/Solver (C++) has become the default solver for Adams/Solver, Adams/View, and
Adams/View plugins (including Adams/Controls, Adams/Durability, and Adams/Vibration). It is
anticipated that a comprehensive transition of the entire user base may take several releases; therefore
Adams/Solver (FORTRAN) continues to be available and can be used for comparison purposes and to
bridge the gap, if necessary. Please contact us if you encounter any models that no longer run due to this
change in default solver, or if you find unexpected differences in the converged solutions.

Notes: • Adams/Solver (FORTRAN) remains as the default solver for Adams/Car,


Adams/Chassis, Adams/Driveline and plugins to Adams/Car. Transitioning the
default solver to Adams/Solver (C++) for vertical products is expected to occur in
a future release. To date, the product development team continues to work on
improving run-time efficiencies for vehicle-specific analyses.
62 MD Adams 2010 Release Notes
Adams/Solver (C++ and FORTRAN) Release Notes

• Adams/Solver (C++) has been outfitted with numerous updates over the course of several
releases thus far. As new functionality is added and more is learned about how it is used,
it is sometimes necessary to phase out old solver functionality that may cause conflicts
with new functionality or can no longer be supported. The tables below inform you of
functionality that is unsupported in Adams/Solver (C++), as well as those features that are
being discontinued (will not be transitioned). Proceed in your modeling efforts with these
changes in mind.

Not Currently Supported Comments


ORIENT angular measures Some support available; Rodriguez parameters
unsupported, for workaround see Known Issue KI8007525
http://simcompanion.mscsoftware.com/infocenter/index?pa
ge=content&id=KI8007525.
OUTPUT Statement Partial support already in place.
SI1 formulation of GSTIFF integrator SI1 formulation of HASTIFF is a superior alternative.

Discontinued Features Comments


DSTIFF, ABAM, CONSTANT_BDF, Use other available integrators.
RKF45 integrators
EQUILIBRIUM/DYNAMIC May use experimental feature instead, see New Static
Equilibrium Solver Methods.
EXECUTION graphics and related Obsolete feature; has been replaced by interactive
display commands simulation using Adams/View for several releases (internal
solver only) .
UCON, UCOSUB Can use GCON instead.

Adams2Nastran Enhancements (1-79210916, 1-250050131)


Early adopters of this technology have requested several Adams2Nastran enhancements; we are
addressing their suggestions with this release, including:
• Support for Dynamic operating point, you are no longer limited to static operating point(s). (1-
79210916)
• Export graphics using a wireframe approach for WHITEBOX export. All graphical information
is exported using wires, for example Nastran PLOTL cards. (1-69930371, 1-75552231)
Adams/Solver (C++ and FORTRAN) Release Notes 63
What’s New

• Exporting equivalent CBUSH cards for WHITEBOX to represent Adams force objects (1-
80411429)
• Ability to single out friction forces for WHITEBOX (1-69460131)
• An assortment of new CONFIG file directives: new formatting options dealing with styles,
numbering, adams_ids, naming conventions, and so on. (1-81097741, 1-75560319)
• Improved error trapping/debugging and support for dummy parts (1-69848940, 1-80652801)

Note: In some flexible body models involving contact forces you may be required to set an
environment variable prior to the Adams2Nastran export operation. You will be notified of
this as per the following error message:

---- START: ERROR ----


Adams2Nastran job cannot be performed.
Internally constructed performance accelerators that benefit
FLEX_BODY time-domain simulations are preventing Adams2Nastran
export for this model. Please set the environment variable
MSC_ADAMS_SOLVER_NO_FLEXBODY_BOOST prior to using LINEAR/EXPORT for
this model.
---- END: ERROR ----

See Technical Article KB8018502 for further details:


http://simcompanion.mscsoftware.com/infocenter/index?page=content&id=KB8018502

Native Contact Detection for Cylinder, Ellipsoid, and Box (1-FDB40713, 1-49159724, 1-
55753953)
Cylinders in contact with 3D complex solids will no longer be facetized when using the RAPID contact
engine. This enhancement will help to speed up the contact detection for some classes of models. If you
have a cylinder-to-solid contact, the CYLINDER will be treated analytically (not faceted) and the
complex solid will be faceted. This often improves the solver performance for models that contain a large
number of cylinders in persistent contact with complex solid geometry shapes, such as one might find in
a tracked vehicle, for example.
Similarly, the ELLIPSOID and BOX contact geometry GRAPHICS types are also treated analytically.
See Technical Article KB8018169 for details:
http://simcompanion.mscsoftware.com/infocenter/index?page=content&id=KB8018169

Dataset Language Support for Revolution, Extrusion, and Torus Geometry


Revolution, Extrusion, and Torus geometry types in Adams/View will now be written to the
Adams/Solver dataset (.adm) file with a GRAPHICS statement. The REVOLUTION and EXTRUSION
each make reference to a closed GRAPHICS CURVE (GID) that defines the geometry profile, the
EXTRUSION also references a CURVE (PID) defining the extrusion path. It is anticipated that in a
future release these geometry types will be treated analytically in 3D contact, making use of the profile
64 MD Adams 2010 Release Notes
Adams/Solver (C++ and FORTRAN) Release Notes

to improve contact detection performance. However, for now only the Solver Dataset Language has been
extended to support these types of geometry and they will continue to be facetized when using the default
(RAPID) geometry library (that is
PREFERENCES/CONTACT_GEOMETRY_LIBRARY=Default_library).
Sample Adams/Solver Statement:
! adams_view_name='REVOLUTION_1'
GRAPHICS/1, REVOLUTION, CRM = 1, SIDES = 20, GID = 3
!
! adams_view_name='REVOLUTION_1_GCURVE_3'
GRAPHICS/3, CURVE, CID = 1, CRM = 6, SEG = 500
!
! adams_view_name='EXTRUSION_2'
GRAPHICS/2, EXTRUSION, CRM = 9, GID = 4, PID = 5
!
! adams_view_name='EXTRUSION_2_GCURVE_3'
GRAPHICS/4, CURVE, CID = 2, CRM = 7, SEG = 500
!
! adams_view_name='EXTRUSION_2_GCURVE_4'
GRAPHICS/5, CURVE, CID = 3, CRM = 8, SEG = 500
!
! adams_view_name='TORUS_6'
GRAPHICS/6, TORUS, CM=2, MINOR_RADIUS=8, MAJOR_RADIUS=24, RANGLE=20d

UMF Linear System Solver (Adams/Solver (C++) Only)


This alternative to the default Calahan solver is beneficial to use when the number of equations in your
model is in excess of 200,000.
The standard linear system solver used by Adams is the Calahan solver. The Calahan solver is a
proprietary solver which symbolically factorizes the system before using the symbolic factorization to
perform the numeric solution. The symbolic factorization is resource intensive relative to the subsequent
numerical solve, however, if multiple solves are to be performed and the structure of the matrix does not
change, the symbolic factorization can be re-used such that subsequent numerical solves are very fast.
For small to medium sized matrices (that is < 4000 DOF) where the structure of the matrix seldom
changes (typical of the vast majority of Adams problems), this has proven to be a very effective solution
technique.
The greatest drawback to the Calahan technique is that the symbolic factorization scales as the cube of
the number of unknowns. As the matrices become large ( > 20,000) the time required for this symbolic
factorization becomes unacceptably large. Matrices of this size can occur with very large Adams models.
While the characteristics of the Calahan solver make it ideal for use with the vast majority of Adams
models, it is particularly poorly suited for the solution of extremely large systems. Consequently, the
UMF solver component from MD Nastran has been made available in MD Adams 2010 so it can
optionally be used for the solution of large models.
The UMF solver is an Unsymmetrical Multi-Frontal direct sparse solver. This solver was selected for
inclusion in Adams due to its known ability to solve non-linear finite element (NLFE) models effectively
Adams/Solver (C++ and FORTRAN) Release Notes 65
What’s New

in MD Nastran. It has also been benchmarked competitively with the BCS solver on such NLFE systems.
The UMF solver has been shown to provide a significant performance improvement over the Calahan
solver when simulating combined MBS+NLFE models. The performance improvement is very
dependent on model size and structure. However, for a simple model with a 40k-90k DOF, the total
solution time speedup is approximately 1.5X.
Sample Adams/Solver Statement:
LSOLVER/
, UMF

Note: LSOLVER/Auto specifies that Adams/Solver (C++) is to automatically choose the most
appropriate solver based on the model being solved. This is the default setting.

See Technical Article KB8018305 for further details.


http://simcompanion.mscsoftware.com/infocenter/index?page=content&id=KB8018305

New Static Equilibrium Solver Methods (C++ Solver Only) (Experimental Feature)
New methods for statics equilibrium solution with Adams/Solver (C++) are available. Several types of
alternative static solvers are being introduced which are designed to work in conjunction with the
existing (original) statics solver, taking the results of the last (unsuccessful) static iteration as a starting
point for subsequent iterations with the new methods. Refer to the METHOD argument on the
EQUILIBRIUM Statement in the Adams/Solver (C++) Help for documentation.
Sample Adams/Solver Statement:

EQUILIBRIUM/ EQUILIBRIUM/
, METHOD = ADVANCED , METHOD = AGGRESSIVE
, ATOL = 1.0E-006 , ATOL = 1.0E-006
, RTOL = 0 , RTOL = 0
, MAXITL = 40 , MAXITL = 40
, ETAMAX = 0.9 , ETAMAX = 0.9
, ETA = 1.0E-004

Serialization Subroutines (and IFLAG definition change)


The serialization subroutines are used as an alternative to the SAVSUB and RELSUB user subroutines
to save and restore static data, stored in user subroutines, when issuing SAVE/RELOAD commands.
During execution of Save and Reload commands, Adams/Solver calls all user subroutines with IFAG=7,
and IFLAG=9 respectively. Through branching on the IFLAG values your user subroutines can save and
restore data. These subroutines are useful and typically required for GSE subroutine programming
applications.
• SERIALIZE_DOUBLES
66 MD Adams 2010 Release Notes
Adams/Solver (C++ and FORTRAN) Release Notes

• SERIALIZE_INTEGERS
• SERIALIZE_CHARACTERS
• UNSERIALIZE_DOUBLES
• UNSERIALIZE_INTEGERS
• UNSERIALIZE_CHARACTERS

Example User-Subroutines written in C (1-228909247)


Examples of user-subroutines written in the C programming language are now provided in the
installation subdirectory, install_dir/solver/c_usersubs. These examples complement the FORTRAN-
based examples that are provided in the install_dir/solver/usersubs directory.

CBKSUB - Callback User Subroutine (1-143058652) (C++ Solver Only)


The CBKSUB callback user-written subroutine can now be called by Adams/Solver (C++) at predefined
events. This new functionality is designed for "power users", providing programmers with more run-time
awareness of events, including: MODEL_INPUT_BEG, TERMINATE, SAVE_BEG,
TIME_STEP_BEG, ITERATION_BEG, and so on.
See Technical Article KB8018709 for further details:
http://simcompanion.mscsoftware.com/infocenter/index?page=content&id=KB8018709

SAVE and RELOAD Support for User Subroutines


Occasionally a user subroutine will have local data that needs to be saved and reloaded along with
Adams/Solver's data when running simulations that have the SAVE and RELOAD commands.
Enhancements to the IFLAG input variable allows writers of user subroutines to branch off IFLAG's
value and call new Serialize utility subroutines when the Save or Reload command is issued.
See Technical Article KB8018693 for further details.
http://simcompanion.mscsoftware.com/infocenter/index?page=content&id=KB8018693

Adams/Solver (C++) Product Compatibility


The table below highlights the compatibility of Adams/Solver (C++) with other MSC.Software products.

Product Status Comment


Adams/Controls Full support All operational modes supported.
Adams/Durability Full support Many simulations run significantly faster.
Adams/Flex Full support Many simulations run significantly faster.
Adams/Insight Full support All operational modes supported.
Adams/Solver (C++ and FORTRAN) Release Notes 67
Changes

Product Status Comment


Adams/Linear Full support All operational modes supported, including capabilities
exclusive to Adams/Solver (C++).
Adams/PostProcessor Full support Results can be postprocessed.
Adams/Vibration Full support All operational modes supported, including capabilities
exclusive to Adams/Solver (C++).
Adams/View Full support Default solver. All operational modes supported, including
new capabilities exclusive to Adams/Solver (C++).
Adams/Car Supported Available for use, but is not the default solver.
Adams/Car Ride Supported Available for use, but is not the default solver.
Adams/Chassis Supported Available for use, but is not the default solver.
Adams/Driveline Supported Available for use, but is not the default solver.
Adams/Mechatronics Supported Available for use, works with Adams/Car and Adams/View.
Adams/SmartDriver Supported Available for use, but is not the default solver.
Adams/Tire Supported Available for use, but is not the default solver.

Changes
• More precision in Units conversions for UCF (1-77452193)
• Additional Notification for Unsupported Features (1-97134611, 1-79195971)
• No Storage of ground_XFORM Results (1-79746698)
• Slinch Mass Unit Type (1-79194241)
• FLEX_BODY support in run-time aggregate mass user-subs (1-189805691)
• Environment variable for BEAM formulation (1-75510813)
• Improved Memory Overflow Messaging for Adams/Solver (FORTRAN) (1-199796150)
• SENSUB uses Secant Method by Default (1-250813911)
• DELAY Function Improvements (1-71941091)
• Discontinuation of AUGMENTED_LAGRANGIAN_FORMULATION (1-251413572)
(Adams/Solver (C++) Only)

More precision in Units conversions for UCF (1-77452193)


Units conversions have been made more precise for UCF on UNITS statement.
68 MD Adams 2010 Release Notes
Adams/Solver (C++ and FORTRAN) Release Notes

Additional Notification for Unsupported Features (1-97134611, 1-79195971)


Warning messages have been added to provide additional notification in cases where a flexible body
model would continue to run even though an unsupported feature has been detected.
---- WARNING ----
PREFERENCES/Flex_Limit_Check is only supported in the C++ Solver.

---- WARNING ----


PREFERENCES/Flex_Limit_Check_Action is only supported in the C++ Solver.

---- WARNING ----


FLEX_BODY/1 (model.FLX1) CHAR_LEN is only supported by the C++ Solver.

---- WARNING ----


FLEX_BODY/1 (model.FLX1) DYNAMIC_LIMIT is only supported by the C++ Solver.

---- WARNING ----


FLEX_BODY/1 (model.FLX1) STABILITY_FACTOR is only supported by the C++
Solver.

---- WARNING ----


INTEGRATOR/HHT is only supported by the C++ Solver, the command is ignored.

No Storage of ground_XFORM Results (1-79746698)


We have removed Result Set creation for the ground part (ground_XFORM) when using Adams/Solver
(C++); this is now consistent with the Adams/Solver (FORTRAN) behavior. In previous releases the
ground_XFORM data simply contained zeroes and as such consumed memory unnecessarily.

Slinch Mass Unit Type (1-79194241)


The Slinch (slug inch) unit type has been added to the set of allowable mass units.
1 Slinch = 12 Slugs = 175.12683524647638 KG

FLEX_BODY support in run-time aggregate mass user-subs (1-189805691)


Adams/Solver (FORTRAN) has now been updated to support flexible bodies in run-time aggregate mass
calculations through the ADD_MASS_PROPERTY and BODY_MASS_PROPERTY utility user-
subroutines. Adams/Solver (C++) has supported this since the introduction of these subroutines in 2007
r1.

Environment variable for BEAM formulation (1-75510813)


The name of the optional environment variable used for controlling the BEAM formulation in
Adams/Solver (C++) has been changed to MSC_ADAMS_SOLVER_BEAM_MODEL, as follows:

Past (MD R3/2008 r1): set MSC_ADAMS_SOLVER_USE_LINEAR_BEAM=1


Adams/Solver (C++ and FORTRAN) Release Notes 69
Changes

Current (MD Adams 2010/MSC Adams 2010): set


MSC_ADAMS_SOLVER_BEAM_MODEL=LINEAR

The options for MSC_ADAMS_SOLVER_BEAM_MODEL are LINEAR, STRING, NONLINEAR.


Informative messaging has also been added as notification when the obsolete environment variable name
has been specified, and is visible in the Adams/Solver message file (.msg) for example:
---- START: WARNING ----
OS-environment variable
MSC_ADAMS_SOLVER_USE_LINEAR_BEAM=1
This environment variable has been deprecated.
Please use MSC_ADAMS_SOLVER_BEAM_MODEL=LINEAR

---- END: WARNING ----

Improved Memory Overflow Messaging for Adams/Solver (FORTRAN) (1-199796150)


New informational messaging has been implemented to address usability issues dealing with memory
models in Adams/Solver (FORTRAN).
1. The SHOW STATUS=ALL command now writes this Memory Model summary

Solver Memory Models Summary


====== ====== ====== =======
Current Model ---- Standard
Main numerical data array (MDSIZ) ---- 1100000
Overflow space Main array (OSSIZ) ---- 100000
Character word data array (CDSIZ) ---- 4000
Main Character array (LDSIZ) ---- 2000
Max length an expression (LCEXPR) --- 100
Max number of constants (FPSIZE) --- 250
Max levels of func nesting(MXSTAK) ---- 50
Max RPN instructions (NINSIZ) --- 1000

2. When Adams/Solver (FORTRAN) issues Memory Overflow errors it also writes the above table.

SENSUB uses Secant Method by Default (1-250813911)


Adams/Solver (C++) has been changed such that, when a SENSUB is used with a SENSOR, it will use
the secant method, by default, for determining if the sensor should trigger. In the past, if BISECTION
was not chosen, it was assumed that the SENSUB was a function of time only (no state dependence) and
a time interpolation method was used, not the secant method.
70 MD Adams 2010 Release Notes
Adams/Solver (C++ and FORTRAN) Release Notes

DELAY Function Improvements (1-71941091)


Improved the DELAY() function to handle a broader range of cases with less noise and/or numerical
artifacts in the results through code changes, including:
1. Using a smaller default value for Refinement (R=200) for a smoother history.
2. Modified interpolation algorithm that works much better.
3. Algorithmic improvements for issues, such as extrapolations below the range of the interpolator
object caused by growing delays.
4. Modified the documentation with one additional example and a note in the "Cautions" section.

Discontinuation of AUGMENTED_LAGRANGIAN_FORMULATION (1-251413572)


(Adams/Solver (C++) Only)
The AUGMENTED_LAGRANGIAN_FORMULATION argument for rigid-body CONTACT defined using
the coefficient of restitution method (POISSON) has been discontinued in Adams/Solver (C++). The
argument will be ignored and a warning message will be issued, for example:
WARNING: Contact (ID=1): Augmented Lagrangian is no longer supported.
Disabling augmented Lagrangian for this contact element

Issues Resolved

1-FDB35797
Changed output separator behavior for Adams/Solver (C++) to be more consistent with Adams/Solver
(FORTRAN) behavior.

1-FDB52532, 1-FDB52564, 1-36876031, 1-68934576


Corrected problem that was preventing the internal solver from being switched to Adams/Solver (C++)
if the previous simulation failed in Adams/Solver (FORTRAN) due to an insufficiently sized memory
model.

1-21135143
Improved performance of default static equilibrium solver in Adams/Solver (C++) for models with many
contacts, such as tracked vehicle applications.

1-22438154, 1-49936563
Improved bounding box algorithm for curve-to-curve contact so that unexpected force dropouts have
been corrected for reported model when using Adams/Solver (C++).
Adams/Solver (C++ and FORTRAN) Release Notes 71
Issues Resolved

1-22455126,1-71295013, 1-211984558
Corrected contact force incidents results reporting problem in Adams/Solver (FORTRAN); this resolved
a reported discrepancy found when comparing results to Adams/Solver (C++). Also corrected a source
of discrepancy between Contact Track results and FY component results for Contact forces when using
Adams/Solver (FORTRAN).

1-24652331
Corrected problem in reporting for GETMOD, Adams/Solver (FORTRAN) now returns the correct
simulation mode and is consistent with Adams/Solver (C++).

1-42108426
Updated messaging behavior for out-of-range spline warnings to minimize the number of messages
issued for Adams/Solver (C++).

1-50400161
The Remote Job Submission tool now supports a file browser widget making it easier to provide the path
to the Adams/Car database.

1-50834551
Updated product launch script to allow two Adams/Solver processes to be initiated at the same time in
the same working directory on Windows platform.

1-59709664, 1-80019141
Fixed the INACTIVE_DURING=STATIC option for Adams/Solver (FORTRAN) so that it works during
quasi-statics.

1-61923280
Fixed sources of reported memory leaks that were discovered when running a DOE for a 3D contact
model when using the Default_library (RAPID) with Adams/Solver (C++).

1-65218132
Improved performance of HASTIFF integrator for models containing algebraic DIFFs by corrections in
the handling of partial derivatives.

1-65668542
Updated flexible body contact algorithm to improve performance in reported application where the mesh
density was fine and excessive spikes were being seen in contact force magnitude results.
72 MD Adams 2010 Release Notes
Adams/Solver (C++ and FORTRAN) Release Notes

1-66458081
Fixed problem in 3D solid contact for box geometry which had the symptom of being unsuccessful
during static equilibrium analysis when using Adams/Solver (FORTRAN).

1-66820852
Updated Adams/Solver (C++) so that when Adams/View performs model verify it will report the
number of DOF for bodies, matching the behavior of Adams/Solver (FORTRAN). In other words, DIFFs,
LSEs and TFSISOs, and GSEs that may have been counted up in previous releases are no longer being
reported for model verification.

1-67676744
Adams/Solver (C++) has been updated so that the reload file name can have a length up to 132 characters,
and the output prefix names can now be up to 128 characters (output file names will then be up to 132).

1-67744131
Corrected problem in redundant constraint analysis which caused an exception 11 during model assembly
in a reported curve marker model.

1-67835188
Updated the experimental Python utility (RunAdamsSolver.py) to support FILE= argument on
LINEAR/EXPORT for Adams2Nastran.

1-68175017
Fixed reporting problem where HHT integrator was reporting that the modified corrector was being used
instead of the original corrector (which is the only one available for HHT and Newmark).

1-68175115
Removed an unexpected dependency of HHT on prior INTEGRATOR/GSTIFF settings. A new
environment variable, MSC_HHT_DISCONTINUITY_EXPECTED, has been added which, when set,
can potentially help to improve integrator performance for some classes of models with discontinuities.

1-68250081
Updated contact code for sphere primitive to improve static solution by allowing multiple points of
contact.

1-68282851
Restored 3D contact support for cylinder geometry with negative length, which was being ignored in the
MD R3 / 2008 r1 release.
Adams/Solver (C++ and FORTRAN) Release Notes 73
Issues Resolved

1-68327828
Improved static robustness reported box-to-solid contact model.

1-68512502, 1-63281196
Corrected problems where GSE states were being held at their IC values when using the HASTIFF
integrator on a reported model containing an imported External System Library from Easy5.

1-68720021
Improved error messaging for divide by zero condition so that the affected modeling element is now
reported by Adams/Solver (C++), for example
---- START: ERROR ----
When evaluating the element "model.SFORCE_13" at TIME = 0.000000, the
following error was encountered:
Divide by Zero
---- END: ERROR ----

1-69038381
Corrected LINEAR/EXPORT problem that was causing #INF values for Adams2Nastran WHITEBOX
export of models containing dummy parts.

1-69460131
Updated Adams2Nastran so one can single out the force for the FRICTION modeling element. The
CONFIG file now supports this through the force_editable_by_id directive:
$ Export FRICTION/78
force_editable_by_id = friction, 78, F78
Here the FRICTION element will be exported with DMIGs. If the friction force has a Force and a
Moment, two sets of DMIGs are exported. The names will be FF78 and TF78. Notice the preceding F
and the T used to compose the name of the DMIGs with the name given by the user. We have noticed
that the exported friction DMIG is usually zero when the model is at a static operating point because the
force is almost a constant, hence its variation is zero.

1-69848940
Improved error trapping for cases where the operating point is invalid.

1-70597200, 1-73190412
Updated flexible body contact to support open surface (2D) meshes instead of terminating ungracefully.
74 MD Adams 2010 Release Notes
Adams/Solver (C++ and FORTRAN) Release Notes

1-71188641
Corrected problems dealing with the processing of the
PREFERENCES/CONTACT_GEOMETRY_LIBRARY=Parasolid command(s) in the .acf file when the
equivalent Statement was also used in the .adm file.

1-71335421
Updated Adams/Solver (C++) so that the user-written subroutine utility functions SYSFNC and
SYSARY can now be called from the usersubs CNFSUB and CFFSUB.

1-71944509
Fixed problem where a flexible body contact node incident was being incorrectly interpreted as a contact
incident and as a result the force graphics were being drawn in the wrong locations.

1-72402073
Corrected a linearization problem involving the handling of algebraic DIFFs in Adams/Solver (C++), the
symptom of which was the following error message:
---- START: ERROR ----
Wrong object passed to function get_body_displacement_for_mode.
---- END: ERROR ----

1-73278851
Reduced the level of spikes in flexible body contact force output for reported model with sliding contact.

1-73553681
Unstable behavior seen during persistent Flex Body Contact with large loads has been corrected.

1-73656092
Fixed performance issue affecting reported 3D contact model and involving CYLINDER and
EXTERNAL geometry pairs.

1-73742351
Fixed crash that could occur when more than one CONTACT was being defined between the same two
geometry pairs.

1-74030630
Updated face normal checking in flexible body contact to fix a reported problem where node incidents
were showing up on the wrong face when contact was happening near the edge of a solid.
Adams/Solver (C++ and FORTRAN) Release Notes 75
Issues Resolved

1-74081097
The environment variable ADAMS_STATIC_LOADVEC_SCALE was found to be active for
dynamic simulations when it should not have been. This issue has been fixed so that the load vector
scaling is only active during statics, as originally intended.

1-74456164
Friction (boring) torques were being reported when they should not have been for some combinations of
Flex Body contacts. Now the boring torque will only be reported for contacts between a rigid body and
rigidized flexible body.

1-74623151, 1-46732971
Updated Adams/Solver (C++) to be consistent with Adams/Solver (FORTRAN) for velocity IC (initial
conditions) in cases where WM is used.

1-74678191
Corrected friction force vector data reporting problem that manifested itself as misdirected force
graphics for node incidents in flex-body contact models.

1-74817282
Resolved problem with models having multiple FRICTION statements where some of the dependent
joints are being deactivated. Corrected errors in the friction results writing after DEACTIVATE
commands which was affecting internal solver as well as external solver results (.res) when using XRF
file format.

1-75133592
The order of evaluation for the Adams subroutines GSE_UPDATE and GSE_SAMP has been made
consistent for both the Adams/Solver (FORTRAN) and Adams/Solver (C++): GSE_UPDATE is always
called prior to calling GSE_SAMP, which was only true of C++ in the past releases. This change affects
Adams/Controls External System Libraries from MATLAB/RTW that have two (2) or more distinct,
non-zero sample times which used the Adams/Solver (FORTRAN). In the past, GSE_UPDATE was
evaluated one step too early by the smallest sample time for Adams/Solver (FORTRAN)-only, but this
has been fixed with this change.

1-75187451
Updated Adams2Nastran to support the exporting of GFORCE torque expressions used in differential
elements (for example TFSISO, DIFF).

1-75667980
Improved contact detection for reported case of flexible body contact between box-shaped geometries of
equal size.
76 MD Adams 2010 Release Notes
Adams/Solver (C++ and FORTRAN) Release Notes

1-75912082
Updated FRICTION in Adams/Solver (C++) so that modeling element will become inactive if its
associated JOINT is DEACTIVATEd.

1-76034521
Corrected problem where penetration results were not being zeroed out for CONTACTs that had been
DEACTIVATEd.

1-76070492
Fixed problem where the internal solver remained stuck in a state of using one solver (for example C++)
even when the solver choice had been toggled to use the other solver (for example FORTRAN).

1-76119451
Fixed reported problem in MFOSUB for Function form (MFORCE2) where the case is 0.

1-76133217
Corrected error in VX and ACCX functions involving flexible body markers when using Adams/Solver
(FORTRAN), answers now match Adams/Solver (C++).

1-76339441
Updated symbolic partial derivatives for HAVSIN function in Adams/Solver (C++) so the H1 argument
can be a variable or explicit function of time, instead of being treated as if it were a constant.

1-76385431
Updated Adams registry service to handle multiple runs of Adams/Solver (FORTRAN) and to address
reported locked registry file errors about ASIZE.TXT and SSIZE.TXT.

1-77412621
Fixed performance problem affecting use of GFORCE() function in a reported case where the force on
the floating marker was returned by setting the second argument of the function to 1.

1-77802968
Updated Adams/Solver (C++) SENSOR handler to be more consistent with Adams/Solver (FORTRAN)
behavior.

1-77803061
Fixed Adams/Solver (C++) so that output separators are now written in results when using external
solver. Separator writing behavior is now consistent with Adams/Solver (FORTRAN) and
OUTPUT/NOSEPARATOR can be used to prevent the writing of separators when there has been a
DEACTIVATE command or other topology change.
Adams/Solver (C++ and FORTRAN) Release Notes 77
Issues Resolved

1-77803178
Fixed problem in redundant constraints handling which was detrimental to convergence of initial
conditions (IC) solution.

1-77811372
Units for eigenvalue reporting are now put into cycles/sec for Adams/Solver (C++) to be consistent with
Adams/Solver (FORTRAN).

1-77832921
Fixed divide by zero problem that surfaced when running with Adams/Solver (C++) in a reported model.

1-77852176, 1-195745732
Improved error trapping to better catch divide by zero conditions.

1-78256011
Corrected error in kinematic model detection seen in a model containing a DELAY function inside a
GCON.

1-78524002
Removed results file flushing bottleneck that was affecting the run-time solver performance in a reported
case on Win64 platform that appeared as unexpectedly slower run times relative to Win32 platform when
using Adams/Solver (C++).

1-78616876
Fixed sign error in the torque expression for BEAM in cases when using string stiffness was being used
(set MSC_ADAMS_SOLVER_USE_STRING_STIFFNESS=1).

1-78691561
Corrected problems with SPLINE_READ subroutine on 64-bit platforms that was causing a crash in
Adams/Solver (FORTRAN).

1-78797712
Fixed dimensional scaling problem for ELLIPSOIDs that manifested itself as geometry detection
failures (ellipsoids falling through each other) in CONTACT.

1-78868673
Updated internal solver so that it stops on statics failure when using PREF/SIMFAIL=STOPCF, and
continues when using the default of PREF/SIMFAIL=NOSTOPCF.
78 MD Adams 2010 Release Notes
Adams/Solver (C++ and FORTRAN) Release Notes

1-78921571
Fixed problem in the handling of very long nested function expressions which was causing an application
crash of internal Adams/Solver (C++).

1-78927919
Updated internal BEAM rotational angle measures to properly handle multi-turn angles.

1-78964201
Removed out-of-plane error checking for initial velocities on PLANAR Parts. Now only the component
of the IC velocity that is in the direction of the axis of rotation is used, and the others are just ignored.
This is consistent with how other joints behave.

1-79437551
Updated contact algorithm to better handle cases where identical shapes (for example boxes) were failing
to detect contact between each other.

1-79518291
Fixed SAVE/RELOAD issue affecting Adams/Chassis which was producing the following error
message:
---- START: ERROR ----
Encountered error "No factory registered for class" while
processing RELOAD command
---- END: ERROR ----

1-79533789
The SPLINE/LIST command has been updated to report the FILE= argument for Durability splines
when using Adams/Solver (C++).

1-79626863
Fixed problem in c_getcpu() that had caused it to return the same results as c_getstm() when using
Adams/Solver (C++).

1-79826545
Updated the experimental Python utility (RunAdamsSolver.py) to support CONFIG= argument on
LINEAR/EXPORT command for Adams2Nastran.

1-79852461
When running with the internal solver, the checking for model compatibility was erroneously including
inactive elements in its checking. This error could result in models being flagged incompatible or that the
Adams/Solver (C++ and FORTRAN) Release Notes 79
Issues Resolved

Adams/Solver (FORTRAN) tried to make an inactive flexible body compatible by creating dummy parts
at attachment points.

1-80233781
Fixed reported problem of HHT Integrator hanging when PATT=F.

1-80666572
Improved robustness of SENSOR logic in Adams/Solver (C++) so it terminates the simulation when a
HALT is trigger is encountered.

1-100355746
Fixed Adams2Nastran output channel grid numbering problem; in MD R3 the work around was a two
step process:
1. Open .nas file, search for Output channel and note GRID* number(s) for output channels
2. Edit .dat file and update SET 900 to match .nas (as found in step 1).

1-107060871
Corrected LINEAR/EXPORT problem that would result in a fatal error in Nastran if the Adams model
did not have at least one marker on ground.

1-107869044
Corrected LINEAR/EXPORT problem that was causing the following error for Adams2Nastran export
of models containing PARTS with mass but zeroed INERTIA.
---- START: ERROR ----
Linearization of the system can not be performed.
Number of equations is 96, number of variables is 96, rank is 90.
Possible causes could be:
1. An input variable appears in a level 1 constraint or motion.
2. A PSTATE variable defines a variable that can not be used to
linearize the system.
---- END: ERROR ----

1-110903943
Updated ACF processing to remove stray whites pace characters from FILE argument for the
LINEAR/EXPORT command.

1-122410211
Implemented a fix to handle cases where the exponentiation function (**) or its partial derivatives are
undefined, such as raising a value of 0.0 to the power of a rational number (for example 0.5). The
symptoms of the problem would appear as an error during acceleration IC solution. In the prior releases
80 MD Adams 2010 Release Notes
Adams/Solver (C++ and FORTRAN) Release Notes

the work-around for this was to use the MAX() function instead or the SQRT function which had
safeguarding provisions.

1-133791173, 1-244396833
Fixed problem in the VARIABLE code related to initial conditions (ICs) in Adams/Solver (C++). Now,
when static equilibrium is done, a flag is set to make variables NOT use their IC values, and use their
values computed from the static solution instead.

1-191380489
Fixed reported problem where contact force would drop out unexpectedly in curve-to-curve contact and
a large penetration would occur.

1-192416196
Improved robustness of contact detection for very small sized geometry when using RAPID contact
geometry library.

1-192469370
Fixed problem where SHOW command was not working after a RELOAD in Adams/Solver
(FORTRAN).

1-193574190
Updated error messaging for Adams/Solver (C++) to be more consistent with Adams/Solver
(FORTRAN) messaging behavior for reported case where contact geometry could not be found.

1-202517980
Adams/Solver (FORTRAN) and Adams/Solver (C++) now call GSE subroutines in the same general
order: GSE_DERIV and GSE_OUTPUT until convergence; then GSE_UPDATE followed by
GSE_SAMP. This has eliminated output and derivative errors in some Adams/Controls External System
Libraries at time=0.

1-206152521
Improved eigenvalue correlation for Adams2Nastran (LINEAR/EXPORT) by using full matrix
implementation of CBUSH acting on a grid attached to ground.

1-207470081
Improved behavior of flexible body-to-solid contact to help prevent bodies from jumping away from each
other unexpectedly when undergoing persistent contact.
Adams/Solver (C++ and FORTRAN) Release Notes 81
Issues Resolved

1-207470105
Improved bounding box checking algorithm to better handle thin cross sections for reported 3D solid-to-
solid contact model.

1-216847890
Updated Adams/Solver (FORTRAN) prevent flexible body markers from automatically snapping to
nodes when no NODE_ID had been specified.

1-211085366
Updated error checking of SPLINE data to throw an error message if the X argument values are not
supplied in an increasing order, for example in Adams/Solver (FORTRAN):

---- ERROR ----


SPLINE/1 (test.SPLINE_1)
The values of the X argument are not in increasing value order.
X(4) = 3.0 is not greater than X(3) = 4.0.

---- ERROR ----


SPLINE/2 (test.SPLINE_2)
The values of the X argument are not in increasing value order.
X(6) = 6.0 is not greater than X(5) = 9.0.

1-228613621
Updated redundant constraint handling for cases where an IF() function was being used in the
expression for a GCON so as to make the constraint “inactive” after a period of time.

1-239671121
Updated the handling of INTERP() function during statics for Adams/Solver (C++) so that the first
point of the spline will be returned until time is greater than 0, instead of returning negative values of
time.

1-244396811
Added support for user-written FLEX_BODY damping by way of CRATIO= USER(...)
specification, this now works with internal and external solvers in Adams/View.

1-250243491
Fixed problem in AMD syntax checker that was preventing the legal use of CORRECTOR argument with
HASTIFF integrator.

1-250726481
Updated Adams/Solver (C++) so that the specification of DMODE and VMODE for a flexible body is
treated consistently with that of Adams/Solver (FORTRAN).
82 MD Adams 2010 Release Notes
Adams/Solver (C++ and FORTRAN) Release Notes

1-250812536
Fixed reported problem where FEMDATA loads was not being properly exported for Adams/Car load case
simulations that utilized SAVE and RELOAD functionality.

1-251929270
Fixed an issue with results writing logic in Adams/Solver (FORTRAN) where discrete GSE states were
not being written to the results file at the expected output times during co-simulation with Adams/Car.

1-252458501
Fixed contact detection issue where cylinders with negative length were not being properly detected for
3D Contact when using Adams/Solver (C++).

1-252578230
Improved Adams/Linear generalized stiffness calculation in Adams/Solver (FORTRAN) to better handle
overdamped modes and to be consistent with Adams/Solver (C++).

1-254712151
Updated INTEGRATOR command processing so errors are not thrown when HASTIFF is specified
without also specifying a formulation (SI1 or SI2).

Known Issues
Please go to the Knowledge Base to read all of the Adams/Solver Known Issues.
Adams/Tire Release Notes 83
What's New

Adams/Tire Release Notes


• What's New
• Changes
• Issues Resolved
• Known Issues

What's New
• Support for Inflation Pressure Changes in PAC2002 (1-74939325)
• Tire Data and Fitting Tool
• Deformable Road for Soft Soil Tire Modeling (Experimental Feature)
• Curved Regular Grid (CRG) Road (Experimental Feature)
• Aircraft Tire Models (1-77211891)

Support for Inflation Pressure Changes in PAC2002 (1-74939325)


Extensions were added to the PAC2002 tire model equations to model the effect of inflation pressure
variations on the steady-state tire force and moment characteristics. Tire properties like cornering
stiffness, longitudinal slip stiffness, longitudinal and lateral friction, pneumatic trail and vertical stiffness
are now functions of the normalized change in inflation pressure. The tire inflation pressure, related
scaling factor and new parameters are defined in the tire property file. An example tire property file
(pac2002_235_60R16_ip.tir) is provided in the installation directory.
See Technical Article KB8018462 for further details.
http://simcompanion.mscsoftware.com/infocenter/index?page=content&id=KB8018462

Tire Data and Fitting Tool


With MD Adams 2010 we are providing a tool that calculates PAC2002 tire model parameters out of tire
measurement data or virtual test data for steady-state pure and combined slip conditions including the
option to visualize/modify tire characteristics. Using virtual test data generated using the Adams/Car Tire
Testrig, the tool allows you to switch to the PAC2002 tire model from another tire model.
This tool can be accessed from the Standard User Interface in Adams/Car:
Simulate -> Component Analysis -> Tire Data Tool...
See Technical Article KB8018515 for further details.
http://simcompanion.mscsoftware.com/infocenter/index?page=content&id=KB8018515
84 MD Adams 2010 Release Notes
Adams/Tire Release Notes

Deformable Road for Soft Soil Tire Modeling (Experimental Feature)


Adams/Tire offers a new tire model that predicts the interaction forces between a tire and a soft soil
ground. The tire model uses state-of-the-art knowledge about terra-mechanical tire-soil interaction as
published by Bekker, Wong, Janosi, Ishigami and Schmid. The application range covers the basic driving
maneuvers, as usual, with ‘one-point’ of contact tire-road methods in which no excessive camber occurs.
Existing Adams/Tire road formats can be used, with a few soil property parameters added: either an
elastic-plastic approach or an elastic-viscous approach can be chosen for the soil modeling. Also the
effect of changing soil properties by previous passed tires (multi-pass) is taken into account by storing
the traveled path of each tire during the simulation.
See Technical Article KB8018590 for further details.
http://simcompanion.mscsoftware.com/infocenter/index?page=content&id=KB8018590

Curved Regular Grid (CRG) Road (Experimental Feature)


With this release we are providing Curved Regular Grid (CRG) Road to efficiently work with high
resolution 3D road surface data. Compared to triangulations, CRG Road provides reductions in file size,
in memory demand, file loading time and CPU time for evaluation.
All CRG Road code is contained in a separate library called OpenCRG.dll on Windows platforms and
libOpenCRG.so on Linux/Unix platforms, allowing the OpenCRG road to be conveniently updated by
simply replacing the library.
Additionally, support for visualization of CRG roads has been implemented in Adams/Car. The CRG
roads (.crg files, ascii and binary) can be visualized after a Full Vehicle simulation or using the 'Path
Optimization' tool. You can specify your visualization preferences in the .crg file, otherwise default
visualization settings will be chosen.

Notes: • The Adams/Tire STI Interface now supports .crg road format in combination with
FTire. There is no need to use an .rdf file as a wrapper.
• The CRG Road still has the experimental feature label which will be removed after
adding visualization and extensive testing.
• For more information about OpenCRG see: http://www.opencrg.org

For an example, see Knowledge Base Article KB8018628.

http://simcompanion.mscsoftware.com/infocenter/index?page=content&id=KB8018628

Aircraft Tire Models (1-77211891)


Adams/Tire contains a number of tire models developed for aircraft simulations which may be very
useful for non-aircraft-specific applications as well.
Adams/Tire Release Notes 85
Changes

• Aircraft Basic Tire: based on Fiala, allows wheel bottoming, and supports various friction
models.
• Aircraft Enhanced Tire: based on UA Tire, allows wheel bottoming, cornering stiffness
dependent on load, and supports various friction models.
• Aircraft TRR64 Tire: based on NASA TR-R-64 tire model and allows wheel bottoming.

The Aircraft Enhanced Tire model, for instance, requires only few tire model parameters which may be
estimated if only limited tire test data is available and features important tire model aspects, like corning
stiffness dependency on vertical tire load. The following example property files have been provided
within the Adams/Car shared database:
AA_small_basic_relax.tir
AA_small_enha_relax.tir
AA_small_trr64_rim.tir
More information about the Aircraft tire models is provided in the Adams/Tire documentation.

Changes
• FTire Upgraded to FTire 2.10
• Default Number of Tire States in Adams/View (1-213116141)

FTire Upgraded to FTire 2.10


The version of FTire has been upgraded to FTire 2.10. Please refer to the Version History at
http://www.ftire.com/versions_history.htm for a list of changes since FTire 2.4 (the version included in
Adams MD R3 and 2008 r1). The FTire documentation, including the description of modeling approach
and model parameters can be found at http://www.ftire.com/docu/ftire_model.pdf.
For more information about FTire Versions, please refer to the FTire web site:
http://www.ftire.com/versions_history.htm.

Default Number of Tire States in Adams/View (1-213116141)


The default number of tire states for PAC89, PAC94, 5.2.1, FIALA has been changed from 0 to 2 tire
states in Adams/View. Using the transient tire behavior feature requires 2 tire states for these tire models.

Note: The number of tire states can also be specified in the tire property file by adding
N_TIRE_STATES in the [MODEL] section of the tire property file.

Issues Resolved
86 MD Adams 2010 Release Notes
Adams/Tire Release Notes

1-25872091
Quasi-static simulation issues for PAC2002 tires can be remedied by using the Fx linearization option for
statics in the tire property file:
[MODEL]
STARTUP_STAT_LINEAR = 1

1-55325331
Resolved issues affecting the Tire Testrig:
• It is now possible to use white spaces in the mdi script path.
• Tire characteristics are now produced as intended on the Linux platforms.

1-58860177
Fixed problems with road normal computation and tire friction coefficient (left-side/right-side) issues
affecting 3D roads.

1-69251631
This fixes a memory allocation problem in Adams/Tire 3D Shell Road that occurred when part of a road
element was shadowed by another element.

1-70078560
Adams/Tire 3D Shell Road did not detect and report errors in road property files that had zero area road
elements. Zero area road elements usually occur when there are duplicate nodes in the file. This fix
detects, reports, and ignores the problematic element.

1-70534981
Fixed problem in Road Builder where road geometry was not being displayed due to duplicate points;
now duplicates that are found are deleted.

1-70543433
Corrected the algorithm for removing segments of the road that lie in the shadow of other elements.

1-70745907
When Adams/Solver (C++) encountered a condition triggering an integration restart, the length of a
character string containing the name of the road property file was mishandled, and an error condition was
output indicating the file could not be found. This has been corrected.

1-74105340
Fixed conversion of force units for Tire Testrig.
Adams/Tire Release Notes 87
Known Issues

1-76980214, 1-78490221
The new environment variable MSC_3DSHELL_SKIP_SHADOW can now be used to disable the
checking and removal of shadowed road segments for the 3D shell road, which has been a problematic
area of the road algorithm. Disabling the removal of shadow elements usually does not effect the quality
of the results, but may result in robustness and/or performance improvements.

1-77451681
The 2D Polyline road unintentionally applied the left vertical road input to both left and right wheels in
Versions MD R3 / 2008r1, MD R2 / 2007r1 (with APN-2007r1-458) and 2005r2 (with APN-2005r2-
434). This has now been corrected.

1-79803021
Fixed data caching problem in Road Builder so that .xml file changes made on the Obstacle tab will be
saved as expected.

1-212520771
Fixed source of problem that would cause Adams/View to crash when visualizing a 3d spline road
property file containing an obstacle located on the edge of the road.

1-239174816
Corrected memory management problem that was causing a crash when repeatedly re-running an
Adams/Tire model on a 2D road.

1-251397941
Static wheel loads are now reported correctly in the tire forces request (902) for FTire.

1-253021361
Improved robustness of reading road files so that data validity is checked more thoroughly; polyline
obstacles with zero height (XZ_DATA block with empty lines) do not cause a code crash anymore.

1-253765778
Corrected 3d Shell Road re-initialization problems that would appear as the road graphics not matching
behavior.

Known Issues
Please go to the Knowledge Base to read all of the Adams/Tire Known Issues.
88 MD Adams 2010 Release Notes
Adams/Vibration Release Notes

Adams/Vibration Release Notes


• What's New
• Changes
• Issues Resolved
• Known Issues

What's New
• Default Solver is Adams/Solver (C++)

Default Solver is Adams/Solver (C++)


In this release Adams/Solver (C++) has become the default solver for Adams/Solver, Adams/View, and
Adams/View plugins (such as, Adams/Controls, Adams/Durability, Adams/Vibration). It is anticipated
that a comprehensive transition of the entire user base may take several releases; therefore Adams/Solver
(FORTRAN) continues to be available and can be used for comparison purposes and to bridge the gap,
if necessary. Please contact us if you encounter any models that no longer run due to this change, or if
you find unexpected differences in the converged solutions.

Changes
• Adams2Nastran Multi-release Migration (C++ Solver Only)

Adams2Nastran Multi-release Migration (C++ Solver Only)


The Adams2Nastran capabilities are being migrated to Adams/Solver in order to better facilitate the
creation of white box models. With a white box model the individual Adams modeling elements can be
more easily identified so that, if you choose, you can replace them with more detailed representations in
MD Nastran.
This migration of Adams2Nastran technology will occur over the course of several releases. For this
release we have extended the base functionality of the LINEAR/EXPORT command in Adams/Solver
(C++) to support dynamic operating points, model graphics for WHITEBOX export, and more -- see
Adams2Nastran Enhancements in the Adams/Solver Release Notes for details. A modest user interface
has also been developed in Adams/View for straightforward model exports. For greater control over how
the model is to be exported and prepared for Nastran solution(s) we also support a versatile flat text
config file so you may tailor the export process to your specific needs.
See Adams/Solver (C++ and FORTRAN) Release Notes and Adams/View Release Notes for further
details.
Adams/Vibration Release Notes 89
Issues Resolved

Notes: • In future releases we anticipate updating the interfaces in the Adams/Vibration and
Adams/Car Ride plugins to utilize the new solver functionality and to improve the
usability of the config file feature.
• For continuity and transitional purposes we have decided to leave existing
Adams2Nastran interfaces untouched in Adams/Vibration (and Adams/Car Ride).
This will allow you to more easily compare results between the old and new
methods as you make the transition.

Issues Resolved

1-43125386
Corrected scaling problem for vibration animation of flexible body models that contain no rigid bodies.

1-68989251
Corrected problem that was preventing the proper display of results when using Review -> Display
Eigenvalue Table after loading the results file (.xrf format) that was saved from a Normal Modes
Analysis.

1-71043325
Corrected reporting problem where kinetic energy percentage distribution was totaling more than 100%
when using Adams/Solver (FORTRAN).

1-73206501
In MD R3 / 2008 r1 the error message No Modal Info Found was thrown when using Vibration
-> Review -> Display Modal Info Table after a multi-run analysis; this problem has been fixed.

1-77036657, 1-72631775
Fixed problem in vibration_analysis_linear_solve_mac.cmd macro that was causing crashes when using
Adams/Vibration with vertical applications, such as Adams/Engine.

1-79148861
Updated linearization code to support internally generated DIFFs arising from velocity and acceleration
constraints.

1-100828106
Fixed problem in Adams/Solver (C++) where a damped solution was being computed when a no
damping solution was requested.
90 MD Adams 2010 Release Notes
Adams/Vibration Release Notes

Known Issues
Please go to the Knowledge Base to read all of the Adams/Vibration Known Issues.
Adams/View Release Notes 91
What's New

Adams/View Release Notes


• What's New
• Changes
• Issues Resolved
• Known Issues

What's New
• Default Solver is Adams/Solver (C++)
• Support for Shell Elements in Flexible Body Contact
• Adams2Nastran Enhancements (1-69930371)
• Adams/Solver Script Builder for Adams2Nastran (1-64870862)
• Support for New Static Equilibrium Solvers
• Support for Flexible Body Dynamic Limit
• Support for UMF Linear System Solver
• Animation looping preference (1-71516654)
• MNF Xform tool for Mirroring Flexible Body MNF (1-76618801)
• Plot Config File Support for Adams/View and Adams/PostProcessor
• SimManager Integration
• Output and Contact Step Skipping for Results File (.res) Import (1-79455677)
• Export All Graphics option for .adm Export (1-69930371, 1-221176731)
• Improved XML Results File Reader (1-67046251)
• Command Language for Spline defined by Arc Geometry (1-228428317)

Default Solver is Adams/Solver (C++)


In this release Adams/Solver (C++) has become the default solver for Adams/Solver, Adams/View, and
Adams/View plugins (such as, Adams/Controls, Adams/Durability, Adams/Vibration). It is anticipated
that a comprehensive transition of the entire user base may take several releases; therefore Adams/Solver
(FORTRAN) continues to be available and can be used for comparison purposes and to bridge the gap,
if necessary. Please contact us if you encounter any models that no longer run due to this change, or if
you find unexpected differences in the converged solutions.

Support for Shell Elements in Flexible Body Contact


Flexible body contact has been extended to support shell elements in MNF (or MD DB). You can define
3D contacts that act on the shell face(s) or you can define 2D contacts that act on the shell (closed) free
edge(s). A list of node ids representing a closed free edge is automatically identified by the MNF toolkit
and presented as an object that can be picked. The free edge is treated like contact curve geometry,
92 MD Adams 2010 Release Notes
Adams/View Release Notes

allowing the direction of the curve normal to be flipped so that the contact force may be prescribed to act
on either the interior or exterior of the closed edge. The Contact Create dialog box in Adams/View has
been updated with the new contact options for creating these contacts:
• Flex Edge to Curve
• Flex Edge to Flex Edge
• Flex Edge to Plane

See Adams/Flex Release Notes and Technical Article KB8018471 for further details.
http://simcompanion.mscsoftware.com/infocenter/index?page=content&id=KB8018471

Adams2Nastran Enhancements (1-69930371)


Many enhancements to the Adams2Nastran capability have been implemented, including:
• Support for exporting all model graphics during whitebox export (1-69930371).
• Support for additional operating points: Kinematic, Dynamic, and Current Time (1-79888088)
• New directives for Configuration file

Refer to Adams/Solver (C++ and FORTRAN) Release Notes for more information about the
enhancements of this Adams/Solver (C++) feature and Technical Article KB8018502 for further details:
http://simcompanion.mscsoftware.com/infocenter/index?page=content&id=KB8018502

Adams/Solver Script Builder for Adams2Nastran (1-64870862)


The Adams/Solver Commands script builder interface has been updated to include support of
Adams2Nastran. Look for the Nastran Export option under Append ACF Command... on the Create
Simulation Script dialog box (Simulate -> Simulation Script -> New...).

Support for New Static Equilibrium Solvers


New statics equilibrium solvers introduced with Adams/Solver (C++) are supported in Adams/View.
From the Settings menu select Solver and point to Equilibrium… and the new equilibrium settings can
be found under the Static Method option list when the More option is selected.
Sample Adams/View Command:
executive set equilibrium model=.model_1 static_method=advanced
Refer to Adams/Solver (C++ and FORTRAN) Release Notes for more information about this
Adams/Solver (C++) feature and Knowledge Base Article KB8018472 for further details:
http://simcompanion.mscsoftware.com/infocenter/index?page=content&id=KB8018472

Support for Flexible Body Dynamic Limit


With this release we have introduced a new feature that, when enabled, allows for a dynamic limit to be
prescribed whereby the flexible body is considered with a quasi-static modes representation. You can
Adams/View Release Notes 93
What's New

specify the DYNAMIC_LIMIT and STABILITY_FACTOR parameters for a given flexible body
allowing the higher frequency mode content to be diminished. The Dynamic Limit settings are accessible
from the Dynamic Limit and Stability Factor fields available on the Modify Body dialog box
(Category: Name and Position) which is accessed from the Location button on the Flexible Body
Modify dialog box.
Sample Adams/View Command:
part modify flexible_body name_and_position &
flexible_body_name = .model_1.FLEX_BODY_1 &
dynamic_limit = 1000 &
stability_factor = 10.0

Note: The Flexible Body Modify dialog box allows the Dynamic Limit and Stability Factor fields
to be parameterized with design variables, if desired.

For more information, see Adams/Flex Release Notes and Knowledge Base Article KB8018493.
http://simcompanion.mscsoftware.com/infocenter/index?page=content&id=KB8018493

Support for UMF Linear System Solver


This alternative to the default Calahan solver is beneficial to use when there is a very large number of
equations in your model (in excess of 200,000). The UMF solver is an Unsymmetrical Multi-Frontal
direct sparse solver. See Adams/Solver (C++ and FORTRAN) Release Notes for further details about this
Adams/Solver (C++) feature.
Sample Adams/View Command:
executive_control set solver_parameters &
model_name = .model_1 &
solver_type = umf
For more information, see Knowledge Base Article KB8018305.
http://simcompanion.mscsoftware.com/infocenter/index?page=content&id=KB8018305

Animation looping preference (1-71516654)


The animation looping behavior can now be saved as a preference.
Sample Adams/View Command:
!-------------------------------------------
! Animation Preferences
!-------------------------------------------
default animation_settings loop=oscillate_once
Your preferred settings can be saved (to the aviewBS.cmd file) with the Save Settings button on the
Settings menu in Adams/View, or from the Save button under the Animation tab on the Edit -
Preferences dialog box in Adams/PostProcessor.
94 MD Adams 2010 Release Notes
Adams/View Release Notes

MNF Xform tool for Mirroring Flexible Body MNF (1-76618801)


A graphical user interface for the Adams/Flex Toolkit MNFXFORM command line utility is now
available from Adams/View. It can be accessed from the Build menu under Flexible Bodies -> MNF
Xform… and can be used to translate, rotate and/or mirror MNF (or MD DB) as well as renumber
interface node IDs. The output of this tool is an MNF (or MD DB) which gets written to your working
directory, which you can then import using Build -> Flexible Body -> New… .
Some of the benefits that this tool provides include:
1. It typically requires some extra efforts to generate a mirrored copy of an MNF (of MD DB) from
FEA code. With the MNF Xform tool this task becomes trivial. Adams/Car users whose vehicle
assemblies often involve symmetrical parts will find this tool is very handy for creating the right
and left pairs of flexible components.
2. In high-speed rotation simulation, the simulation performance can often be improved
significantly if the axis-of-rotation is aligned with the Z axis of the FE origin. With MNF Xform,
you can easily create an MNF (or MD DB) that has been rotated to the desired configuration.

Note: For your convenience an MNF XForm button is also available from the Create a Flexible
Body dialog box in Adams/View.

For more information, see Knowledge Base Article KB8018708.


http://simcompanion.mscsoftware.com/infocenter/index?page=content&id=KB8018708

Plot Config File Support for Adams/View and Adams/PostProcessor


Support for the Adams/Car plot configuration file (*.plt) has been extended to the Adams/View and
Adams/PostProcessor interfaces. The plugin manager now has an Adams/Car Plotting option which
allows you to save and restore plots and re-associate them to a new analysis. In combination with Post-
processing improvements for Adams/Car, this new plugin gives all Adams users access to useful plotting
capabilities.
The plugin adds new entries to the File menus in PostProcessor (standalone and embedded) which will
open the appropriate dialog boxes, respectively:
• File -> Import -> Plot Config File... (Type=Plot Configuration (*.plt))
• File -> Export -> Plot Config File...

If you are unfamiliar with the plot config file, please refer to the chapter Plot Configuration Files (in the
Reviewing Results section of Adams/Car) in the Adams Help System.

Note: Adams/View command language for loading the plugin is:

plugin load plugin = aplt


Adams/View Release Notes 95
What's New

For more information, see Knowledge Base Article KB8018699.


http://simcompanion.mscsoftware.com/infocenter/index?page=content&id=KB8018699

SimManager Integration
Support for connecting SimManager with Adams/View and Adams/Car in this release allows users to
establish connection properties to their SimManager server, Log on and Log off from the server, publish
an Adams model (.cmd or .adm) and all of its associated files (for example geometry) along with
simulation results to the server, and to retrieve published models and results from the server.
SimManager access is available through the File - SimManager menu entry or from the command line.

Notes: • SimManager access is interactive only, no batch mode access is provided.


• Integration with SimManager requires Java Runtime Environment 1.5.0_06 or
later, please visit http://java.sun.com/products/archive/j2se/5.0_06/index.html to
install.

Output and Contact Step Skipping for Results File (.res) Import (1-79455677)
Sometimes it is desirable to avoid importing the entire contents of very large result files (2 Gbyte or
greater) to reduce the memory footprint, save time, or to keep the number of output frames to a minimal
number so that animations can be displayed more rapidly.
You now have an option of specifying a time step interval and a contact interval which is used to reduce
the size of the XRF file during the file import. The new file read syntax for shrinking the result file is:
file results read &
filename=name_of_file.res &
skip_time_interval= n &
skip_contact_interval = n
where n >=0
If the skip_time_interval and skip_contact_interval are not provided (or if their values
are both 1) then the entire result file is read. If the skip_time_interval is 3, for example, and the
skip_contact_interval is 4, then every 3rd step (not including initial condition, input and
contact step) and every fourth contact step is included in the new shrunken results file, and is written to
disk with the name name_of_file_shrink_3_4.res. This smaller size file is then loaded into Adams/View
in place of the original file.
Both of File - Import dialog boxes in Adams/View and Adams/PostProcessor have been updated to
support this feature with the new fields, Time Step Skip and Contact Step Skip.
The python file ResFileShrinker.py can be used independently as well, as follows:
mdadams2010 python ResFileShrinker.py wasbig.res smallnow.res
time_step_interval contact_step_interval
where:
96 MD Adams 2010 Release Notes
Adams/View Release Notes

time step interval >= 0


contact step interval >= 0
Windows Example:
mdadams2010 python ResFileShrinker.py
C:\models\sample_res_files\test_model.res out.res 2 2

Export All Graphics option for .adm Export (1-69930371, 1-221176731)


A new Export All Graphics check box is now available from the File -> Export -> Adams/Solver
Dataset dialog box. This allows geometry types such as link, for which there is no GRAPHICS Statement
support, to be written out with an GRAPHICS, EXTERNAL geometry reference (.xmt_txt) in the .adm
file.

Notes: • This feature is utilized by Adams2Nastran when using the Export All Graphics
option.
• Graphics that are a child of a UDE are not exported.
• Graphics that are inactive are not exported.

Improved XML Results File Reader (1-67046251)


A new results file reader that uses the SAX (Simple API for XML) parser directly, has been developed
as a replacement for the existing DOM (Document Object Model) code. The benefits of the new file
reader include:
1. Reduced memory footprint
2. Reduced time for importing very large (> 2GB) files.
This SAX reader is called whenever you import an XML results file, with the exception of when the
Leave on Disk option has been selected (in which case the original DOM code will be used).

Note: The original DOM code can be restored if the environment variable MSC_RESULTS_DOM
is set to 1.

Command Language for Spline defined by Arc Geometry (1-228428317)


Four new parameters ref_profile_name, spread_points, closed, num_new_pts have
been added to the Adams/View command geometry create curve bspline, to enable the
creation of a BSPLINE from an existing wire geometry. You can specify an existing wire geometry (such
as an arc or chain) using the parameter ref_profile_name and a BSPLINE will be created from the
points making up the geometry. Adams/View automatically creates the needed Matrix/Curve entities and
references them to the newly created BSPLINE appropriately. You have the option of specifying an
equally spaced geometric points using spread_points parameter.
Adams/View Release Notes 97
Changes

Changes
• ADAMS_ID parameter and .adm Export for Revolution, Extrusion, and Torus Geometry (1-
79755462, 1-76571391)
• Range of Alpha Extended for HHT Integrator (1-71229441, 1-75620641)
• Support for Decimal Places on Force Graphics (1-FDB40168, 1-80864232)
• Removal of obsolete TIRE command language (1-109306438, 1-80187559, 1-79420041)
• UNIQUE_NAME_IN_HIERARCHY function (1-69930403)
• Support for negative values of Poisson’s Ratio (1-78399818)
• Font Size for Legend Text (1-FDB16481)
• Slinch Mass Unit Type (1-79194241)
• Color Changed for Play button on Main Toolbox (1-51734377)
• Trace Spline screen prompts (1-FDB9996)
• Error Handling of Parasolid Attributes Mismatch (1-75505981)
• Support for Flexible Body Marker without NODE_ID (1-46524557, 1-212465053)
• VALI function (1-201768971)
• View -> Part Only shows Flex-Body name in View Title (1-FDB41430)
• IFLIP_GEOMETRY and JFLIP_GEOMETRY Arguments for Contact (1-79498730)
• Naming convention for MKB results (1-249936214)
• Parasolid Version Updated (1-239671156)
• Adams2Nastran Command Syntax (1-248112701)

ADAMS_ID parameter and .adm Export for Revolution, Extrusion, and Torus Geometry
(1-79755462, 1-76571391)
Revolution, Extrusion, and Torus geometry is now supported in the Adams/Solver Dataset Language
(ADL). In support of this change the adams_id parameter has been added to the command language for
Revolution, Extrusion, and Torus geometry types. Additionally, exporting the Adams/Solver model file
with File -> Export -> Adams/Solver Dataset will now write extrusion, revolution, and torus geometry
to the .adm file using the corresponding new Adams/Solver GRAPHICS statements. See Dataset
Language Support for Revolution, Extrusion, and Torus Geometry in the Adams/Solver Release Notes for
more details or refer to the Adams/Solver Help for the GRAPHICS statement.

Range of Alpha Extended for HHT Integrator (1-71229441, 1-75620641)


The field for Alpha on the Solver Settings dialog box for HHT now accepts values greater than or equal
to -0.333333 and 0.0. Previously the smallest allowable value was -0.3, but now the user can enter a value
closer to the theoretical limit of -1/3.
98 MD Adams 2010 Release Notes
Adams/View Release Notes

Support for Decimal Places on Force Graphics (1-FDB40168, 1-80864232)


The number of decimal places displayed for force graphics can now be specified directly. The default is
4 decimal places.
Sample Adams/View Command:
default force &
force_scale=1.0 &
torque_scale=1.0 &
display_text=yes &
decimal_places=4 &
display_wireframe=yes &
always_in_front=no
Your preferred settings can be saved (to the aviewBS.cmd file) with the Save Settings button on the
Settings menu in Adams/View, or from the Save button under the Animation tab on the Edit -
Preferences dialog box in Adams/PostProcessor.

Removal of obsolete TIRE command language (1-109306438, 1-80187559, 1-79420041)


All obsolete TIRE element command language and any associated dialog box entries have been removed.
Associated error messaging has also been changed, indicating finalization of feature removal.
From this:
WARNING: The TIRE element is no longer supported by Adams/Solver.
This 'tire' syntax will be removed in a future release.
To this:
WARNING: The TIRE element is no longer supported by Adams/Solver.

UNIQUE_NAME_IN_HIERARCHY function (1-69930403)


A new function, UNIQUE_NAME_IN_HIERARCHY has been added and is essentially a smarter form of
UNIQUE_NAME. The function UNIQUE_NAME_IN_HIERARCHY takes into account existing hierarchy
given its input. Therefore, if an entity MYNAME_1 already exists under .model_1, then
UNIQUE_NAME_IN_HIERARCHY(“.model_1.MYNAME”) would return '.model_1.MYNAME_2'
ensuring that the output is truly unique in the hierarchy specified in the input. Note that an entity
'MYNAME_2' might already exist under a different model, but the value returned would still be
'.model_1.MYNAME_2' as this name is still unique within the hierarchy of 'model_1'.

Support for negative values of Poisson’s Ratio (1-78399818)


Updated material command language and associated dialog box to allow negative values for Poisson's
Ratio.

Font Size for Legend Text (1-FDB16481)


The font size for the plot legend text can now be set directly from the property editor when a
legend_object is selected from the tree view in the Plotting window.
Adams/View Release Notes 99
Changes

Slinch Mass Unit Type (1-79194241)


The Slinch (slug inch) unit type has been added to the set of allowable mass units.
1 Slinch = 12 Slugs = 175.12683524647638 KG

Color Changed for Play button on Main Toolbox (1-51734377)


The color of the Play button icon for the Simulation tool on the Main Toolbox has been changed to green
so that it can be more easily distinguished from the Play button for the Animation tool. This change has
been implemented to help users avoid the mistake of (re)running a simulation, when they really intended
to just playback the animation of a simulation.

Trace Spline screen prompts (1-FDB9996)


Changed wording in status bar prompts to be more clear on what can be picked for the Create Trace
Spline feature. The two successive screen prompts now read as follows:
• Select a point, marker, circle, or cylinder with which to trace
• Select the part on which to create the trace

Error Handling of Parasolid Attributes Mismatch (1-75505981)


A new boolean parameter ignore_parasolid_attrib_mismatch has been added to the default
geometry command language. By default this parameter has been set to Yes in order to suppress the
error message: "PK_PART_receive: Attribute definitions mismatch".
Sample Adams/View Command Language:
defaults geometry ignore_parasolid_attrib_mismatch = yes

Support for Flexible Body Marker without NODE_ID (1-46524557, 1-212465053)


Markers can now be created in Adams/View on a flexible body without specifying a Node ID. This may
be done interactively or with command language. The parameter preserve_location=TRUE is
now written out to the command file whenever a marker is created on a flexible body without specifying
the node_id to snap to.

VALI function (1-201768971)


In the previous release only (MD R3 / 2008 r1) the VALI function was changed to return the last match.
This had caused some problems in some reported applications so it has now been changed back to the
way it was prior to MD R3 / 2008 r1, returning the first match instead.

View -> Part Only shows Flex-Body name in View Title (1-FDB41430)
Made changes to the view title to display the flexible body name when using View -> Part Only... rather
displaying No Model which was being shown previously and for displaying flexible body mode
information when using the Flexible Body Modify dialog box.
100 MD Adams 2010 Release Notes
Adams/View Release Notes

IFLIP_GEOMETRY and JFLIP_GEOMETRY Arguments for Contact (1-79498730)


Previously there have been several options for flipping contact normals of 2D, Sphere-to-Sphere, and
Point-to-Plane contact pairs, including:
1. IFLIP_GEOMETRY=id, id, id (and JFLIP_GEOMETRY=id, id, id)
2. IFLIP_NORMAL (and JFLIP_NORMAL)
3. INORMAL_FLIP=F:F:F (and JNORMAL_FLIP=F:F:F)
To help avoid confusion, broader support for option 1) has been added for the aforementioned contact
pairs. Options 2) and 3) are being phased out and will be replaced with option 1), where applicable.

Naming convention for MKB results (1-249936214)


Changed the default prefix for the MKB linear results object to be MKB_.

Parasolid Version Updated (1-239671156)


The Parasolid version number is 19.0.17. The Parasolid schema per the schema file
"adams_install_dir/common/parasolid_schema/sch_19008.sch_txt" is reported as:
: SCHEMA FILE created by modeller version 1900157/19008;

Adams2Nastran Command Syntax (1-248112701)


Updated command language for Adams2Nastran to refer to output file 'prefix', rather than output file
'name'.
Sample Adams/View Command Language:
simulation single_run nastran_export static &
model_name=.model_1 &
type=white_box &
output_file_prefix="model_1" &
write_to_terminal=off &
reset_after_export=yes &
export_all_graphics=off

Issues Resolved

1-FDB40703
Updated bspline modify dialog box to better handle the closing of splines when the Closed option has
been set to Yes.

1-FDB52813
Fixed problem in Animation panel error checking where the Radius field for the Hotspots Tab would
remain yellow even after any erroneously entered values had been corrected.
Adams/View Release Notes 101
Issues Resolved

1-FDB53603
Fixed flexible body animation caching issue where progress meters would be displayed too often while
animating stress for results containing contact incidents.

1-21045005
Eliminated stray symbols reported in plots when symbol_increment was specified for curves.

1-21280137
Changing the name of the File Prefix in the Settings -> Solver -> Output dialog box was causing
previously saved Request file (.req) data to be lost; this Adams/Solver (Fortran) issue has been corrected.

1-21615248
Updated curve_trace code to automatically remove duplicate points that prevented a spline from
being drawn when using Create Trace Spline from the Review menu.

1-21636191
Exposed create_butterworth_filter dialog box which had been overlooked and missing from
the Adams/PostProcessor interface.

1-23399871
Fixed reported problem where user-subroutine DLL(s) could not be found after a Model Verify operation
and warning message(s) were issued, for example:
WARNING: A user SFOSUB subroutine is required for SFORCE
model_1.SFORCE_1.

1-40484147
Updated logic for processing flip normals when lists of participating contact geometry have been
modified (shortened) and simulations are being run with external solver.

1-42203241
Updated curve_trace code so that the base marker of the spline is created with the same orientation
as the circle or cylinder's reference marker.

1-44762411
Corrected controls toolkit code so that values of numerator and denominator elements will be retained
in the command file.
102 MD Adams 2010 Release Notes
Adams/View Release Notes

1-58644104
Improved Contact Modify dialog box to ensure that entity attributes commands executed
during a Contact Modify operation resolve the GCONTACT entity to a full name, thus avoiding any
errors due to potential name conflicts with other entities having matching names in the database.

1-59685308, 1-FDB49748
Fixed logic in command file writer to better handle general constraint (GCON) function expressions with
dependencies on design variables and measures, addressing unexpected warnings seen during command
file import.

1-60114711
Added support for Routine argument on command language for spline and SPLINE statement in .adm
file, for example:
ADM output:
SPLINE/1
, FILE = BSP_SPLINE.asc
, ROUTINE = test::
Or (if user parameter is specified)
SPLINE/1
, FILE = BSP_SPLINE.asc
, FUNCTION = USER(1, 50)\
, ROUTINE = test::

1-61466445
An outline is not allowed in the creation of PTCV or CVCV constraints; a more descriptive error message
is now thrown when this situation occurs.

1-61923280
Fixed sources of reported memory leaks that were discovered when running a DOE for a 3D contact
model when using the default (RAPID) contact library with Adams/Solver (C++).

1-62235755
Updated list_info functionality to properly handle the information reporting of Design Objectives
with defined by '/View Variable and Macro'.

1-64653177, 1-60243571, 1-66834291, 1-74588743


Updated database converter for .bin files containing TFSISO objects with an IC array.
Adams/View Release Notes 103
Issues Resolved

1-65923941
Removed performance bottlenecks and improved memory management in the reading of Wavefront
(.obj) files.

1-66299867
Fixed reporting problem in aggregate mass calculation, where the orientation of the CM marker was
being reported incorrectly.

1-66371156
Improved expression Evaluate processing in the function builder so the contents of a DB_* function
will not result in the following error when it evaluates to nothing (that is empty value):

ERROR: ----------------------------------------------------
ERROR: Invalid input. Enter a quoted string.
ERROR: The command was not executed.
ERROR: >> var set var=.mdi.fbTmpStr2 str=(eval(DB_DEPENDENTS(
.model_1 , "all" )))
ERROR: -----------------------------------------------------

1-66820852
Updated Adams/Solver (C++) so that when Adams/View performs model verify it will report the
number of DOF for bodies, matching the behavior of Adams/Solver (FORTRAN). In other words,
DIFFs, LSEs and TFSISOs, and GSEs that may have been counted up in previous releases are no longer
being reported for model verification.

1-67554397
Updated logic in Adams/Solver dataset (.adm) file export code so that the INORMAL_FLIP argument
is no longer written out for Point-to-Plane contacts.

1-68877686
Fixed the Reset before running option so that it works when used with the Find static equilibrium
button.

1-69427411
Improved internal units checks to fix a scaling problem affecting displacement output requests when
using CUNITS, CNAMES, and RESULTS_NAMES arguments.

1-70870231
Fixed crash of the Database Navigator that occurred on Linux64 when using the option menu to change
modes.
104 MD Adams 2010 Release Notes
Adams/View Release Notes

1-72628781
Results files containing an '&' in the header strings is now written so that the ampersand is preserved.

1-72660920
Corrected abnormality in handling of contact incidents data which was leading to what appeared to be
force dropouts in contact force magnitude plots. The MD R3/2008 r1 work-around (that is PPT
Preferences - Change Duplicate Point to Use first duplicate) which was provided in Technical Article
KI8007829 should no longer be required.

1-73206538
STR_DATE function will return the input string if the input string contains an unsupported format
description. Refer to the Design-Time Functions section of View Function Builder help documentation
for the supported formats.

1-73508421
Problems in the analog Butterworth Filter on 64-bit platforms have been corrected.

1-74874221
Fixed memory issue that generated Exception 11 error when plotting the flexible body CM_Position
object channel.

1-74965166, 1-76391681, 1-76406661


View -> Model menu would output errors when used after Plugin Manager usage or Model - New; this
has been fixed.

1-74983951
Fixed code that was causing the Adams/Car window title to turn into the Adams/View window title after
returning from the Postprocessor window.

1-75599861
Online Help failed to work in Adams/View when the help file path contained repeated slashes; this has
been fixed.

1-75717476
Upgraded Adams/Exchange geometry libraries to improve support of IGES import on 64-bit Linux
platform.

1-75801129
Expanded the commands on the Measure button (on the Sensor dialog box) to consider whether Angular
Values has been selected and to use the appropriate fields.
Adams/View Release Notes 105
Issues Resolved

1-76001399
Fixed results file reading code so deactivated force(s) do not cause subsequent animations to be slowed
down due to unnecessary caching.

1-76329021
Fixed underlying commands for Tools -> Purge Cache Files to be platform independent so it works
properly on Windows platform.

1-76406661
Updated the rename dialog box to fix programming error that was causing the following issue:
ERROR: The Variable named tmp has already been defined as Integer_Primitive
and may not be changed to type database object.
ERROR: ---------------------------------------------------------------------
ERROR: The object ".gui.rename_panel.tmp" has no elements to index in the
"object_value" field
ERROR: The command was not executed.
ERROR: +1>> if cond=(tmp.object_value != (none))
ERROR: ---------------------------------------------------------------------

1-76579650
Corrected macro that caused the following error when run on linux32 platform when
AGGREGATE_MASS is used to compute the aggregate when point_masses are included:
ERROR: The inertia tensor is ill formed. Both the CM/IM
orientation and IP will be incorrect.

1-76788128, 1-67757265
Fixed code to allow Chain geometry (and its children) to be moved using the move (copy) tool.

1-77275928
Improved post-processing performance of node incident force graphics for flexible-body contact model
results animation.

1-77793061
Improved handling of duplicate entries in xml results files to prevent Exception 11 during file import.

1-77924958
Updated solver compatibility checker so that models containing POINT_POINT joint primitives are
checked and warning messages issued. If you should try to run such a model using Adams/Solver
(FORTRAN) you will get the expected error message, for instance:
ERROR: Solver could not run because one or more model elements
are only supported by the C++ Solver.
106 MD Adams 2010 Release Notes
Adams/View Release Notes

Unsupported element names:


JPRIM_2

1-77932321
Corrected problem in Assist box for Delay function where it was entering a value of 0 for the 4th
argument when it actually should have been omitted from the expression.

1-78454881
Updated units settings dialog box so that switching between valid unit types will work cleanly. In
previous releases you may have encountered benign error message(s) such as:
ERROR: ----------------------------------------------------------
ERROR: The matrix index 6 is above the valid range 1 - 3
ERROR: The matrix index 6 is above the valid range 1 - 3
ERROR: The command was not executed.
ERROR: +1&> current=(eval(.mdi.angle_s[.system_defaults.angle+1])
ERROR: ----------------------------------------------------------

1-79025861, 1-79489141
Fixed case-sensitivity problem in XML Results File (XRF) reader that affected Adams/Car results files
containing duplicate result set names with different component names.

1-79210831
Updated command file export so the full gravity field name is output to the command file whenever sub-
model(s) exist.

1-79210862
The characters '<' and '>' are now treated as special characters, forcing the command file write code to
output quotes whenever they are present in a comment string for Request(s).

1-79278563, 1-199237421
Corrected binary database conversion so PENALTY and RESTITUTION_COEFFICIENT fields are
now handled properly and icons for Contact will not appear dashed when opening old binaries in the new
release.

1-79329911
Fixed reported problem in Precision Move tool so that it now displays correct values when using the
Load button.
Adams/View Release Notes 107
Issues Resolved

1-79889931
Fixed a reported problem where the orientation of the CM marker for BOX geometry was being
calculated erroneously; loosened the tolerance for determining if the off-diagonal terms of the tensor
matrix are zero when using that tensor to calculate the orientation of the center-of-mass.

1-80004668
Fixed GRAPHICS statement (.adm) parsing error where having a trailing white space character(s) on the
FILE argument prevented the reading of Parasolid geometry file.

1-80278341
Fixed problem where the memory footprint in Adams/View was growing much more than it should have
when reading in Adams/Insight DOE simulation results files (xml format).

1-80863551
Fixed reported case of Point Masses being written to the .adm file with incorrect QG locations.

1-133791111
Updated plot browser logic so that 'deactivated' measures, requests, clearances and result-sets created
from inactive modeling entities are no longer shown.

1-136150657
Updated command file writer to support using a design variable that is a child of another design variable
in a general_motion.

1-184677193
Fixed problem on Linux64 platform which adversely affected the INTERP1 design-time function.

1-189879652
Fixed memory management problem that was affecting the import of Parasolid file(s) from ProE
Wildfire2 in a reported case.

1-190297091
Corrected problem where a GSE modify was causing an obsolete XXFLAG parameter to be added.

1-190439994
Corrected problem in the command file writer that was causing rotational MOTIONs (on tire modeling
elements) to be written out in the wrong order.
108 MD Adams 2010 Release Notes
Adams/View Release Notes

1-191311211
Updated the general_state_equation modify code so state_equation_count now allows 0.

1-191752060
Updated XRF results file reader to better handle the parsing of erroneous NaN values that may occur in
rare circumstances, such as in faulty user-written subroutine code.

1-193574026, 1-206458091
Fixed problem where a model containing a submodel would run okay with internal solver but would
crash when run with external solver. Improved the support of vertical product Adams datasets (.adm)
containing geometry on a submodel's ground part that is referenced by another modeling object (for
example Contact).

1-199571379
Modified flexible body matrix file (.mtx) data checking to improve file export performance of
Adams/Solver Dataset (.adm) files for flexible body models containing a large number of enabled modes.

1-200021971
Updated polyline normal calculation to handle special cases in a more consistent manner.

1-202421806
Updated Sensor Modify dialog box so that parameterization of the output stepsize field is preserved and
displayed correctly.

1-226789610
A new composed unit, Force/Volume, has been implemented in Adams/View and Adams/Car variables
with those units (such as in cubic polynomial expressions) will now be evaluated correctly.

1-250243491
Fixed problem in AMD syntax checker that was preventing the legal use of CORRECTOR argument with
HASTIFF integrator.

1-250278293
When loading a binary in Adams/View with the Mechatronics plugin already loaded/saved, the wrong
mode was set ('acar') and this disrupted some of the Mechatronics macros and dialog boxes. This has been
fixed so that the correct mode ('aview') is now set.

Note: A work-around for previous releases is to execute ACAR_SET_MODE("aview")


in Function Builder. To confirm this, execute ACAR_GET_MODE().
Adams/View Release Notes 109
Known Issues

1-250805651
Corrected Adams/View database logic problem that was preventing contact TRACK data from being
visible for plotting in the PostProcessor in cases where the database contained more than one model with
results.

1-251266720
Corrected memory allocation problems affecting PWELCH signal processing for PSD on 64-bit
platforms.

Known Issues
Please go to the Knowledge Base to read all of the Adams/View Known Issues.
110 MD Adams 2010 Release Notes
Other Known Issues

Other Known Issues


• Please go to the Knowledge Base to read all of the Adams Documentation Known Issues.
• Please go to the Knowledge Base to read all of the Adams General Known Issues.

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