Previous (OS3.5) Input Format
OptiStruct will continue to support the old input format from version 3.5. The new optimization capabilities will not be available if the old format is used for the set up of the optimization problem, that is, if matfrac, mini, maxi, ubcon or lbcon are present. This section is intended to be used for the purpose of debugging or re-running older decks.
OptiStruct Version 3.5 Parameters
| Checkerboard | 0,1,2, or blank (default =
                                0, if card not in deck) Default = 1, if blank  | 
                            Controls checkerboarding.
                                Use 0 for no checkerboard control. Use 1 or blank for global
                                averaging over the entire design domain. This option generally
                                yields a large number of semi-dense elements around fully dense
                                elements. To reduce the number of semi-dense elements in the
                                solution, restart the final iteration with checkerboard control off
                                and run for 10-20 iterations. This may reintroduce some local
                                checkerboarding. This method is used with plate/shell and solid
                                design elements and is highly recommended for tetra elements. Nodal
                                densities are output to the .res file if this
                                option is used. Use 2 for averaging at local areas identified as
                                checkerboarded. Since averaging is only applied locally, a much
                                smaller number of semi-dense elements are found in the final
                                iteration compared to the global averaging method. This method
                                applies only to plate/shell design elements. If used in models with
                                solid design elements, checkerboard control is not applied to solid elements. OptiStruct errors out if this parameter is repeated on DOPTPRM in the Bulk Data section.  | 
                        
| Discrete | <real> Default = 1.0  | 
                            Discreteness parameter.
                                Influences the tendency for elements to converge to a material
                                density of 0 or 1. Higher values decrease the number of elements
                                that remain between 0 and 1. Recommended bounds are 0.0 and 2.0. OptiStruct errors out if this parameter is repeated on DOPTPRM in the Bulk Data section.  | 
                        
| Dcomp | <integer> | Shell elements with PCOMP PID given on this card will be placed in the topology design domain. This card overrides declarations in the Bulk Data section. | 
| Dshell | <integer> No default <real> Default = 0.0  | 
                            Shell elements with PSHELL PID given in first field of DSHELL card will be placed into the topology design domain with T0 given in the second field. This card overrides declarations in the Bulk Data section. | 
| Dsolid | <integer> | Solid elements with PSOLID PID given on this card will be placed into the topology design domain. This card overrides declarations in Bulk Data section. | 
| Matinit | <real> Default = 0.9 or constraint val.  | 
                            This card declares the
                                initial material fraction. For runs with mass as the objective,
                                default is 0.9. For runs with constrained mass, default is reset to
                                constraint value. OptiStruct errors out if this parameter is repeated on DOPTPRM in the Bulk Data section.  | 
                        
| Maxiter | <integer> Default = 30  | 
                            Maximum number of
                                iterations. Sets an upper limit on the number of iterations OptiStruct can perform before completion. If
                                    Maxiter = 0, baseline analysis is conducted
                                after initializing material fractions of all design elements at the
                                matfrac value. If check is present, it overrides
                                    Maxiter = 0. If analysis is present, it
                                overrides Maxiter = 0. OptiStruct errors out if this parameter is repeated on DOPTPRM in the Bulk Data section.  | 
                        
| Mindens | <real> Default = 0.01  | 
                            Minimum element material
                                density. Sets a lower limit on the amount of material that can be
                                assigned to any design element. Extremely low values for this
                                parameter can result in an ill-conditioned stiffness
                                        matrix. OptiStruct errors out if this parameter is repeated on DOPTPRM in the Bulk Data section.  | 
                        
| Minmember | <real> No default <method> Default = 2  | 
                            Specifies the minimum
                                diameter of members formed by OptiStruct. This also eliminates checkerboard results. This command is used
                                to eliminate small members. Method is either 1 or 2. Method 2 is set
                                as default since it achieves more discrete solutions for most
                                        examples. OptiStruct errors out if this parameter is repeated on DOPTPRM in the Bulk Data section.  | 
                        
| Mmcheck | No input | The use of this card will
                                ensure a checkerboard free solution, although with the undesired
                                side effect of achieving a solution that involves a large number of
                                semi-dense elements, similar to the result of using
                                    CHECKER=1. Therefore, use this card only when
                                it is necessary. OptiStruct errors out if this parameter is repeated on DOPTPRM in the Bulk Data section.  | 
                        
| Objtol | <real> Default = 0.005  | 
                            Tolerance in objective
                                function. If the fractional change in objective function is below
                                this quantity for two consecutive iterations, the optimization is
                                considered converged and is stopped. OptiStruct errors out if this parameter is repeated on DOPTPRM in the Bulk Data section.  | 
                        
| Smooth | <real> Default = 0.7071  | 
                            Solution smoothness. Influences the step size of the optimization iterations if the optimality criteria method is used for topology optimization. Changing this parameter generally results in changes in the solution topology. Larger values of this parameter create smoother topologies for shell element models. Leave this parameter at the default value, unless a different solution topology is desired. Recommended bounds are 0.5 and 0.9. | 
OptiStruct Version 3.5 Subcase Information
| lbcon | <real> <string> no defaults | <integer*> <integer*> | Sets a lower bound constraint of value given in the first field of this card for the response given in the second field of the card. Supported responses are: volume, mass, disp, comp, freq, wcomp, wfreq, and comb. Global responses (volume, mass, wcomp, wfreq, and comb) must be located outside of all subcase declarations. Local responses (comp, freq, and disp) must be located within a subcase declaration. The third field is used for mode number declarations for freq responses or grid number declarations for disp responses. The fourth field is used for grid component declarations for disp responses. | 
| Mass | <real>  No default  | 
                            Mass of total model. If present, the matfrac parameter is not used. Input the total target mass for the part and OptiStruct calculates the material fraction automatically. If the computed material fraction is below 0.0 or above 1.0, OptiStruct returns an error. Not available if using multiple material types in the design domain. | |
| Matfrac | <real>
                                     Default = 0.30 range = 0.0-1.0  | 
                            Material fraction. Defines the amount of material to be distributed within the design domain as a fraction of the design domain. For shell elements, design volume is equal to (T - T0) * area. For solid elements, design volume is equal to the sum of the volume of the elements designated as design space. The design volume multiplied by the material fraction is the total amount of design material available. Material fractions for all design elements in the design space are initialized to matfrac value. | |
| maxi | <string>  No default  | 
                            <integer*> <integer*> | Sets objective function to maximize a response. Supported responses are: volume, mass, disp, comp, freq, wcomp, wfreq, and comb. Global responses (volume, mass, wcomp, wfreq, and comb) must be located outside of all subcase declarations. Local responses (comp, freq, and disp) must be located within a subcase declaration. The second field is used for mode number declarations for freq responses or grid number declarations for disp responses. The fourth field is used for grid component declarations for disp responses. | 
| mini | <string>  No default  | 
                            <integer*> <integer*> | Sets objective function to minimize a response. Supported responses are: volume, mass, disp, comp, freq, wcomp, wfreq, and comb. Global responses (volume, mass, wcomp, wfreq, and comb) must be located outside of all subcase declarations. Local responses (comp, freq, and disp) must be located within a subcase declaration. The second field is used for mode number declarations for freq responses or grid number declarations for disp responses. The fourth field is used for grid component declarations for disp responses. | 
| Primary | <integer or blank> default= lowest mode with highest weight if eigen. Subcase no default if static. | This card sets which mode of eigenvalue solution is used to set material orientation angles. Primary mode declaration only applies to runs without static analyses and must be placed in the subcase declaration. If the card is placed in a static subcase, only that subcase is used to determine material orientation angle - no fields are necessary. | |
| ubcon | <real> <string> no defaults | <integer*> <integer*> | Sets an upper bound constraint of value given in the first field of this card for the response given in the second field of the card. Supported responses are: volume, mass, disp, comp, freq, wcomp, wfreq, and comb. Global responses (volume, mass, wcomp, wfreq, and comb) must be located outside of all subcase declarations. Local responses (comp, freq, and disp) must be located within a subcase declaration. The third field is used for mode number declarations for freq responses or grid number declarations for disp responses. The fourth field is used for grid component declarations for disp responses. |