Fatigue User’s Guide > Using MSC Fatigue > Job Control
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Job Control
By selecting the Job Control button located on the main MSC Fatigue setup form, a Job Control form will appear. This form is generic for any of the fatigue analysis types. The form allows for job submission and monitoring, as well as other functions explained below. The form updates itself depending on the action required. In all cases, except when reading an old job setup, the action is linked to the jobname entered in the main MSC Fatigue setup form. This simple form appears as:
The actions that can be invoked from this form include submission of a Submit Full Analysis or Submit Partial Analysis, Translate Only, Save Job Only Monitor Job, Abort Job, Delete Job, Read Saved Job, Calculate Normals, Interactive and Analysis Manager. (The action that is invoked from this form uses the current jobname on the main setup form. Click on Apply to invoke the action.)
Submit Full Analysis
When the action is set to Full Analysis and the user clicks the Apply button the following occurs:
The job begins the submission process by checking to see if an existing job of the same name exists. If it does, overwrite permission will be requested.
All of the information requested in the main setup form and the subordinate solution parameter, materials, and loading information forms are written to a MSC Fatigue input file called jobname.fin and includes 90% of the fatigue input parameters. It is an ASCII unformatted file whose text lines consist of “Parameter = Value”. The other 10% of the fatigue input information is retained in the database and consists of the region application information (nodes or elements) for the material and surface finish/treatment combinations and, in most cases, the FE results. If any information is not complete, the user will be notified and the submission process will terminate.
Information is extracted from the database such as the region or group data and results via the PAT3FAT or FATTRANS translator. MSC Fatigue Pre & Post or MSC Patran is suspended while the translation is in progress. A jobname.fes file results from this translation. This is the fatigue analysis input file and is binary in nature. It can be translated to ASCII form and edited if desired.
A UNIX shell script is invoked from which the actual fatigue analysis begins. The analysis goes through two or three basic steps. The fatigue input file is preprocessed via the FEFAT module. This consists of reading the jobname.fes file, superpositioning of load cases, rainflow cycle counting, among other things. The result of this operation is a file called jobname.fpp (jobname.tcy for crack growth analyses). (This submit script is actually a C program on Windows platforms.)
The next phase consists of performing the actual fatigue calculations using the module FEFAT (or PCRACK for crack growth). The results of this operation is a file called jobname.fef (or jobname.crg for crack growth analyses).
If additional calculations such as a Factor of Safety analysis have been requested, they are executed next.
If MSC’s Analysis Manager is installed and licensed, the job as described above will be submitted via the Analysis Manager as opposed to a UNIX shell script (although the script is still executed). It is important that this module be configured properly for proper execution. See Analysis Manager for details.
When the job has been completed the results can be read into the database under the Results form. See Postprocessing Results. For more information about the files created from a MSC Fatigue analysis and the actual operation of the MSC Fatigue modules, see Total Life and Crack Initiation (Ch. 5) or Crack Growth (Ch. 7). Also see The MSC Fatigue Jobname.
The following files are generated during a Crack Initiation or Total Life (S-N) analysis:
 
Filename
Description
jobname.fin
Fatigue job parameter data.
jobname.fes
FE stress and fatigue input file.
jobname.fpp
Fatigue preprocessing results file.
jobname.fef
Fatigue results file.
jobname.fos
Stress factor of safety results file.
jobname.msg
Message file.
jobname.sta
Job status file.
jobnamenn.cyh
Cycle distribution at node/element nn.
jobnamenn.dhh
Damage distribution at node/element nn.
The following files are generated during a Crack Growth analysis:
 
Filename
Description
jobname.fin
Fatigue Input Data.
jobname.fes
FE stress and fatigue input file.
jobname.tcy
Crack growth analysis time history input.
jobname.crg
Crack growth results file.
jobname.msg
Message file.
jobname.sta
Job status file.
Fast Analysis
A special option called Fast Analysis (FASTAN) is also available when performing a full analysis. This option is activated when the Simplified Analysis toggle is set to ON. The purpose of a Fast Analysis is to speed up the identification of the critical areas of a model. This option is especially useful for large models with complex loading. The operation is done by extracting the peaks and valleys from the time histories (shortening the time histories but keeping the damage content) and then running a fatigue analysis which will identify the critical locations. These locations are then used in a full analysis with the full length time histories. This is the operation performed for multiple load cases.
If only a single load case is used, the peak valley extraction method is not used. Instead the time history is cycle counted and then the subsequent rainflow matrix is used for the remainder of the analysis. For a single load case, only the Simplified Analysis toggle needs to be turned on, but for multiple load cases, the settings of the other widgets on the Job Control form are taken into account. A description of all the parameters for multiple load cases follows:
 
Parameter
Description
Type
This specifies how the peak/valley extraction is to be performed. Three methods are available. The first is to specify a percentage gate of the total stress/strain range of the signal. The second is to specify the number of points to be retained in the time history. The third is to specify a percentage reduction of the total signal. Type is ignored for single load cases. Instead a rainflow matrix is created from the time history.
Percentage Gate
A percentage gate can be specified which is a percentage of the maximum stress/strain range of the time history. For example if the largest range is 1000MPa and the gate is set to 50 (percent), then any cycles encountered with ranges below 500 MPa will be ignored. This parameter is ignored for a single load case.
Number of Points
The total number of points to be retained in the time history can be specified. This number cannot be less than two nor can it be less than the number of points that a 99% gate would calculate. The program will automatically compensate if the user has specified an unacceptable number of points to retain. This parameter is ignored for a single load case.
Reduction Factor
This is the percent reduction factor by which to reduce the time history signals. For example if the signals have 1000 points, and you specify 50%, the signal will be reduced to 500 points. Again the same limits apply to this as apply when specifying the number of points to retain. This parameter is ignored for a single load case.
Number of FE Entities
Finally, you have the ability to specify how many of the most critical locations should be retained in the final analysis. If you specify 50 points, then the 50 points with the most damage from the analysis using the reduced time histories will be used in the full analysis with the full signals. Only these nodes will be reported back. (Although you may look at the results from the fast analysis which are called jobname_short.* and may be manually viewed and/or imported into the database.) This parameter is ignored for single load cases.
 
 
Important:  
Using the Fast Analysis process can significantly speed up your analysis job (by orders of magnitude). However, you must be aware that by reducing the time histories, the subsequent analysis is only an approximation to help quickly identify the critical locations. Although the locations reported back have the correct life values, an improper gate or reduction factor could identify the incorrect locations, or miss other critical locations. Use with caution.
Submit Partial Analysis
When the action is set to Partial Analysis and the user selects the Apply button the following occurs:
The job will begin the submission process by checking to see if an existing job of the same name exists. If it does, overwrite permission will be requested.
All of the information requested in the main setup form and the subordinate solution parameter, materials, and loading information forms are written to a MSC Fatigue input file called jobname.fin and includes 90% of the fatigue input parameters. It is an ASCII unformatted file whose text lines consist of “Parameter = Value”. The other 10% of the fatigue input information is retained in the database and consists of the region application information (nodes or elements) for the material and surface finish/treatment combinations and, in most cases, the FE results. If any information is not complete, the user will be notified and the submission process will terminate.
Information is extracted from the database such as the region or group data and results via the PAT3FAT or FATTRANS translator. MSC Fatigue Pre & Post or MSC Patran is suspended while the translation is in progress. A jobname.fes file results from this translation. This is the fatigue analysis input file and is binary in nature. It can be translated to ASCII form and edited if desired.
A UNIX shell script is invoked from which the actual fatigue analysis begins. The analysis goes through two or three basic steps. The fatigue input file is preprocessed via the FEFAT module. This consists of reading the jobname.fes file, superpositioning of load cases, rainflow cycle counting, among other things. The result of this operation is a file called jobname.fpp (jobname.tcy for crack growth analyses).
If MSC’s Analysis Manager is installed and licensed, the job as described above will be submitted via the Analysis Manager as opposed to a UNIX shell script (although the script is still executed). It is important that this module be configured properly for proper execution. See Analysis Manager for details.
At this point, the analysis stops and does not perform the full, global multi-location fatigue analysis or crack growth calculation. This might be convenient if it is desired to go directly to MSC Fatigue’s Design Optimization or Crack Growth modules, knowing before hand where the critical locations are (see Design Optimization) or for performing a Factor of Safety analysis at a known location.
For more information about the files created from a MSC Fatigue analysis and the actual operation of the MSC Fatigue modules, see Total Life and Crack Initiation (Ch. 5) or Crack Growth (Ch. 7). Also see The MSC Fatigue Jobname.
Translate Only
When the action is set to Translate Only and the user selects the Apply button the following occurs:
The job will begin the submission process by checking to see if an existing job of the same name exists. If it does, overwrite permission will be requested.
All of the information requested in the main setup form and the subordinate solution parameter, materials, and loading information forms are written to a MSC Fatigue input file called jobname.fin and includes 90% of the fatigue input parameters. It is an ASCII unformatted file whose text lines consist of “Parameter = Value”. The other 10% of the fatigue input information is retained in the database and consists of the region application information (nodes or elements) for the material and surface finish/treatment combinations and, in most cases, the FE results. If any information is not complete, the user will be notified and the submission process will terminate.
Information is extracted from the database such as the region or group data and results via the PAT3FAT or FATTRANS translator. MSC Fatigue Pre & Post or MSC Patran is suspended while the translation is in progress. A jobname.fes file results from this translation. This is the fatigue analysis input file and is binary in nature. It can be translated to ASCII form and edited if desired.
At this point, the translation stops and no fatigue analysis or crack growth calculation are performed. This might be convenient if it is desired to edit the fatigue input deck and then continue on in an interactive mode. See Calculate Normals and Utilities.
For more information about the files created from a MSC Fatigue analysis and the actual operation of the MSC Fatigue modules, see Total Life and Crack Initiation (Ch. 5) or Crack Growth (Ch. 7). Also see The MSC Fatigue Jobname.
Save Job Only
When the action is set to Save Job Only and the user selects the Apply button the following occurs:
The job will begin the save process by checking to see if an existing job of the same name exists. If it does, overwrite permission will be requested.
All of the information requested in the main setup form and the subordinate solution parameter, materials, and loading information forms are written to a MSC Fatigue input file called jobname.fin and includes 90% of the fatigue input parameters. It is an ASCII unformatted file whose text lines consist of “Parameter = Value”. The other 10% of the fatigue input information is retained in the database and consists of the region application information (nodes or elements) for the material and surface finish/treatment combinations and, in most cases, the FE results. If any information is not complete, the user will be notified and the submission process will terminate.
This saved fatigue input file can be read back into the main MSC Fatigue setup form. See the Read Saved Job action below. For more information about the files created from a MSC Fatigue analysis and the actual operation of the MSC Fatigue modules, see Total Life and Crack Initiation (Ch. 5) or Crack Growth (Ch. 7). Also see The MSC Fatigue Jobname.
Monitor Job
When the action is Monitor Job, the current job status will be reported in the status box. This is achieved by examining the contents of the jobname.sta file which is updated at various points during the analysis. The jobname.msg file will contain a history of the job (i.e., all the messages generated while running the current MSC Fatigue session). Continue clicking the Apply button for an updated current report.
Following is a list of some of the possible messages and a brief explanation.
Job Execution Status Messages
When a job is submitted, it will pass through three to five phases. The user will be informed through the status option of the progress of the job. Both success and error messages are displayed. The following list summarizes some of the typical, normal operation messages which the user may experience. Not all the messages will be displayed since the status file is updated very quickly in some cases. In certain cases, the status file may not be available in which case a “Try again” message will appear. When execution is through MSC’s Analysis Manager, these messages appear in the Analysis Manager message window.
Phase 1
JOB jobname HAS BEEN SUBMITTED BUT HAS NOT STARTED EXECUTION
JOB HAS BEGUN EXECUTION
WRITING THE JOB (.FIN) FILE
Phase 2
PAT3FAT” reading the neutral file...
PAT3FAT” reading the.FIN file...
PAT3FAT” reading the FE results...
PAT3FAT” writing the.FES file...
PAT3FAT” terminated normally
Phase 3
Preprocessor loaded and running
Preprocessing n% complete
Writing intermediate data file
Preprocessing completed successfully
Phase 4
Fatigue analysis module loaded and running
Fatigue analysis n% complete
Fatigue analysis completed successfully
In addition there may be other messages giving status of other aspects of the job such as Factor of Safety analysis or Crack Growth analysis. Error messages are also displayed via these status messages.
What To Do When a Job Stops
If the status message does not appear to be updating, it is possible that the job has halted due to an error. In many cases, that error message will be reported through the status facility. However, if it is not reported, you can investigate the problem by opening another window and examining the following file:
jobname.msg: This file will contain all the status messages for the job including any error messages.
Some hints on determining why a job has failed:
1. If the jobname.fin file and the database exist in your directory, try running the job interactively by typing:
pat3fat jobname (if you were using the PAT3FAT translator)
or
fattrans jobname (if you were using the FATTRANS translator)
then checking the message file.
2. If the jobname.fes file exists, run the FEFAT program interactively and watch for error messages. Type fefat at the system prompt.
3. If the jobname.fpp or jobname.tcy files exist, run FEFAT or PCRACK interactively and watch for error messages. Type fefat or pcrack at the system prompt.
See Total Life and Crack Initiation (Ch. 5) or Crack Growth (Ch. 7) for an explanation of these MSC Fatigue executables. Also check the file called batlog.lst for any additional clues if none of the above helps.
 
Important:  
If a job inadvertently quits, sometimes a jobname.fpr file is left in the directory. This file is created during submission to detect a running job so that inadvertent submissions while a job is in progress of the same jobname are detected. In some cases, it may be necessary to remove this file before resubmitting the job.
Error Messages
See Error Messages (App. 18) for a description of error messages and possible solutions.
Abort Job
If the action is set to Abort, the job will be aborted by selecting the Apply button. This is achieved by creating an empty jobname.abo file in the current directory. The MSC Fatigue modules periodically check for this file and when detected, will abort.
Likewise, a jobname.abo file can be created or the jobname.sta file renamed to jobname.abo from the operating system prompt and the same result will be achieved when a job is running.
If execution is via MSC’s Analysis Manager, then the Analysis Manager will handle the abortion of the job. All files will automatically be cleaned up by the Analysis Manager.
Delete Job
If the action is set to Delete, the various files associated with the job will be deleted by selecting the Apply button. The files that will be deleted if encountered are:
 
Filename
Description
jobname.fin
Fatigue job parameter data.
jobname.fes
FE stress and fatigue input file.
jobname.fpp
Fatigue preprocessing results file.
jobname.fef
Fatigue results file.
jobname.fos
Stress factor or safety results file.
jobname.msg/log
Message and log files.
jobname.sta
Job status file.
jobname.tcy
Crack growth analysis time history input file.
jobname.crg
Crack growth results file.
jobname.abo
Abort detection file.
jobname.rmn
P/FATIGUE 2.5 results menu file. (obsolete)
jobname.vec
Surface normals vector file.
jobname.*_tmpl
Results template files.
Other files may also be deleted if associated with the particular job. Use this option with caution.
Read Saved Job
When the action is Read Saved Job, a databox and button will appear on the form. If the select.fin file button is pressed then a file select form is displayed with all the available jobs from the local directory. By selecting one of the existing jobs and clicking on the OK button, the Jobname databox is filled out. By clicking on the Apply button, the reading of the jobname.fin files will initiate. If these files are successfully read the widgets and parameters in the main MSC Fatigue setup form and the subordinate solution parameter, materials, and loading forms will be updated.
If the read is unsuccessful, some of the parameters certainly will not be complete. It is always beneficial to check and see if the parameters have been updated properly before attempting to submit the analysis.
 
Important:  
If the name of the job is known beforehand, it is possible to type the name of the job in the Jobname databox on the main MSC Fatigue form and press the <RETURN> key to read a saved job or type in the fin filename directly into the databox on the Job Control form. If the job exists, permission to read will be asked.
Calculate Normals
This is an advanced feature of MSC Fatigue to allow for more control of the input stress or strain information to the fatigue analysis. This feature is only applicable to a nodal based fatigue analysis.
Fatigue crack initiation normally occurs at free surfaces. Equilibrium requirements dictate that the direct and shear stresses normal to a free surface are always zero. It follows that the surface normal is a principal stress direction, and that any non‑zero principal stresses must lie in the plane of the surface. This state of plane stress means that any study of surface stress states can be reduced to a 2D problem, if the results are presented in a suitable coordinate system (e.g., one whose x and y axes lie in the plane of the surface). In addition, critical plane analyses require that stresses and strains be resolved onto planes intersecting the surface at angles of 90 and 45 degrees. This requires the surface normal to be referenced, and this is readily accomplished if the results are in local coordinate systems such as those just described. The z-axes of these nodal coordinate frames must be normal to the surface of the component at each node.
The definition of a local coordinate system is dependent on the identification of a surface normal. A way to do this is to average the outward facing normals of element faces adjoining the nodes in question. This method may be applied, even if the node lies on an edge adjoining two facets of the component; the stress on external sharp corners should be uniaxial, and sharp internal corners generate theoretical elastic singularities where the approximate solutions generated by FE methods are meaningless anyway.
The outward surface normal defines the z-axis of the local coordinate system, and these surface normals are provided in the form of a set of direction cosines in the basic coordinate system. It then remains to define the local x- and y-axes. This is accomplished as follows:
1. If the direction cosines of the z-axis (i.e., the surface normal) are (0,0,1) i.e., k’=k, then the local coordinate system is the same as the global.
2. If the direction cosines of the z-axis are (0,0,-1) i.e., k’=-k, then the local x-axis is the same as the global x-axis and the y-axis is reversed, i.e., i’=i, j’=-j.
3. In any other case, the local x-axis is parallel to the cross product of the z- and z’-axes, with the y’-axis completing a right-handed set, i.e., parallel to the cross product of the z’- and x’-axes so that
(2‑1)
By clicking the Apply button with the action set to Calculate Normals, these surface normals are calculated and stored in a file called jobname.vec for each surface node of the model. The existence of this file during a job submission or when running the PAT3FAT translator will cause a transformation of nodal stress or strain values to these local coordinate system thus defining the surface state. Nodes that lie in the interior of the model are unaffected by this feature.
These averaged nodal outward normals are also graphically plotted for visualization and verification purposes. Press the Remove Vectors button to remove them. Once they have been removed they can only be replotted if the whole procedure is repeated.
In addition to this, after the translator PAT3FAT or FATTRANS has completed the translation, new nodal results files will exist by the names jobname_lc#.nod or jobname_ts#.nod. There will be one file for each load case or time step respectively. These files contain the new surface stress or strain states and can be imported into the database via the File Import form as MSC Patran “.nod” files for visualization purposes. A template file to do this called jobname.nod_tmpl is also created.
Interactive
By clicking Apply with the Action set to Interactive, a separate MSC Fatigue module called FEFAT will be invoked. This module can be invoked at any time. However, to perform any fatigue analysis, the analysis steps must have been performed up through the translation stage. With the exception of the basic utilities in FEFAT, the existence of a jobname.fes file is a minimum requirement.
For operation of this MSC Fatigue module, see Total Life and Crack Initiation (Ch. 5).
Analysis Manager
The Analysis Manager is a client-server productivity tool for launching and managing analysis jobs on local and/or remote hosts. As a separately installed and licensed program, it is not part of MSC.Fatigue. The Analysis Manager (AM) functionality will typically be accessed from the fatigue "Job Control" form. These functionalities include:
Remote or local job submittal
Automatic copying of files across network and back, even if job fails
Interactive job status, elapsed and cpu time, % of cpu usage, % and total disk space usage
Specification of maximum disk usage
Customized submittal times
Easy abortion of job
Queue management to determine best location to run job
Submission as another user if configured properly
Mail notification on job completion
Note:  
MSC.Patran and MSC.Fatigue must be installed, licensed, and properly configured on both the client AND server machines.
Use of Analysis Manager with MSC.Fatigue
The Analysis Manager (AM) can be used to submit, monitor, or abort MSC.Fatigue jobs. This section describes how to perform these functions. Note that in order to access these functions, the Analysis Manager must be installed, licensed, and enabled. Please see the Analysis Manager documentation for a detailed description of the operation instructions.
Configuration of Analysis Manager for MSC.Fatigue
For the Analysis Manager to be able to submit, monitor, and manage MSC.Fatigue jobs, it must first be configured properly. A couple of settings are also required to the user's local machine. Please see the Analysis Manager documentation for more detailed installation and configuration instructions.
Setup on the Local User's Machine (Client):
Since the user's local machine is a client of the Analysis Manager, a couple of settings are used to properly configure the client. These are as follows:
AM_HOME environment variable
.p3mgrrc [optional-created after modifying and saving AM configuration through the AM GUI]
The AM_HOME environment variable is used to specify the location where Analysis Manager has been installed on the local machine. Note that the installation on the client machine should be exactly the same as on the server machine(s). AM_HOME can be set as in the following examples:
setenv AM_HOME /msc/patran2004/p3manager_files (cshell)
AM_HOME=/msc/patran2004/p3manager_files ; export AM_HOME (Bourne shell, kshell)
The .p3mgrrc is a configuration file that is saved any time the user changes and saves the AM configuration through the main AM GUI. This file is normally stored in the user's home directory. The .p3mgrrc is a text file, and may be viewed and edited by the user if needed. However, this is not normally required and should be done only after saving the original file.
Setup on the Analysis and Queue Manager Machines (Server):
Several files are used in the configuration of Analysis Manager on the server machine. These files are located in the AM installation directory, hereafter denoted as AM_HOME.
$AM_HOME/default/conf/host.cfg
$AM_HOME/default/conf/disk.cfg
$AM_HOME/org.cfg [changes only needed for special situations]
$P3_HOME/P3_TRANS.INI [Windows only-changes only needed for special situations]
Note:  
$P3_HOME is the location on the server machine where MSC.Patran and MSC.Fatigue_for_Patran has been installed.
The host configuration file (host.cfg) is normally set up by the system administrator. In order for changes in this file to take effect, the QueMgr and RmtMgr daemons (unix) or services (Windows) must be re-started. (Please see the Analysis Manager documentation for more detailed instructions.)
Below is an example of the host.cfg file. Required parameters are denoted with bold letters. Note that a more extensively commented host.cfg file is given in the file "$AM_HOME/default/conf/host.cfg.sample".
#----------------------------------------------------------
# AnalysisManager host.cfg file
#----------------------------------------------------------
#
ADMIN: myname
#
QUE_TYPE: MSC
#
#----------------------------------------------------------------------
# A/M HOSTS Section
#----------------------------------------------------------------------
#
#A/M HostPhysical Host Type EXE_Path RC_Path
#----------------------------------------------------------------------
AM_HOSTS:
FAT_2005 mach.mycomp.com 20 /msc/patran2004/bin/FatigueExecute NONE
#
#Physical Host Class Max
#----------------------------------------------------------------------
PHYSICAL_HOSTS:
mach.mycomp.com SUNS 100
#
#Type Prog_name App_name MaxAppTask [ option args ]
#----------------------------------------------------------------------
APPLICATIONS:
20 FatMgr MSC.Fatigue 1000 -j $JOBNAME -h $P3AMHOST -d $P3AMDIR
#----------------------------------------------------------------------
 
The following is a short description of the contents of the example host.cfg file shown above. Note that the following descriptions apply only to configuration for MSC.Fatigue.
AM_HOSTS:
A/M Host - a name that is used on the AM GUI's for a particular combination of analysis type and machine (any string)
Physical Host - fully qualified name of the analysis host
Type - AM application type (must use integer "20" for MSC.Fatigue)
EXE_Path - full path to the MSC.Fatigue shell program FatigueExecute
RC_Path - rc file name (not currently used)
PHYSICAL_HOSTS:
Physical Host - fully qualified name of the analysis host
Class - denotes machine type (legal names are: HP700, SUNS, RS6K, SGI5, WINNT, LX86)
Max - Maximum allowable concurrent tasks for this host
APPLICATIONS:
Type - AM application type (must use integer "20" for MSC.Fatigue)
Prog_name - application manager name (must use "FatMgr")
App_name - application name (must use "MSC.Fatigue")
MaxAppTask - maximum number of this type of application allowed simultaneously
[ option args ] - arguments used by the application manager to start the fatigue analysis (muse use the exact string "-j $JOBNAME -h $P3AMHOST -d $P3AMDIR")
To submit an analysis job:
From the "Job Control" form, click "Full Analysis, or "Partial Analysis." This will seamlessly start the job submittal process, and the Analysis Manager "Monitor" GUI will appear. From this form, the progress of the analysis can be monitored; if needed, the job can also be aborted from this form.
From the "Job Control" form, click "Analysis Manager." This will cause the full AM GUI to appear. However this is only applicable for submitting an existing analysis job, i.e., one previously submitted as outlined above.
To monitor a job:
From the "Job Control" form, click "Monitor Job." This cause the AM "Monitor" GUI to appear.
As described above, the "Monitor" GUI will also appear automatically after a job has been submitted.
To abort a job:
From the "Job Control" form, click "Abort Job." This cause the AM "Monitor" GUI to appear, and the job will be aborted. From this form, the disposition of the job can be seen as well as the output from the job.
As described above, the "Monitor" GUI will also appear automatically after a job has been submitted; the job can be aborted from this form.
To disable Analysis Manager:
If the Analysis Manager is to be disabled for MSC.Fatigue analysis, an environment variable can be set as follows. This will not affect Analysis Manager for other analysis types.
setenv FAT_DISABLE_AM 1 (cshell)
FAT_DISABLE_AM=1 ; export FAT_DISABLE_AM (Bourne shell, kshell)
For Windows, the environment variable can be set from the "SystemProperties/Advanced/Environment Variables/User Variables" form. For a "New" variable, set "Variable Name" = FAT_DISABLE_AM and "Variable Value" = 1.
Output from Analysis Manager:
Four files of special interest are created during a Fatigue job submitted using AM:
jobname.stderr - contains text directed to standard error by programs running during the Fatigue analysis job on the analysis host
jobname.stdout - contains text directed to standard output by programs running during the Fatigue analysis job on the analysis host
jobname.mon - contains monitoring information from a job
jobname.tml - this is the AM log file
 
Actions Performed During Job Submission:
When AM is used to submit an MSC.Fatigue analysis job, the following actions are performed:
The amf (.amf) file, which contains a list of files to be copied to the analysis host, is created
A copy of the input (fin) file is created (jobname_bak.fin). The path information is stripped from the fin file.
The solver input file (.fes) file, which contains job parameters, entity ids, stress results, etc., is created
The solver input (.fes) file is converted to a neutral ASCII format (.asc) file
All the above actions are performed on the local machine
The Analysis Manager is started, and the Queue Manager is signaled; the Queue Manager process resides on the Queue Manager host
The Queue Manager signals the appropriate Remote Manager process and copies the job file to the appropriate machine. The MSC.Fatigue analysis process is started (FatMgr); this occurs on the analysis host
The FatMgr process copies all needed files into temporary directory on the analysis host
The pre-analysis process is started through a shell program (FatigueExecute); the neutral format analysis input file (.asc) and other binary files may be converted to a binary format compatible with the analysis host
The analysis process is started through a shell program (FatigueSubmit); the fatigue solver is run
Unessential files are removed from the temporary dir; the results files and other required files are copied back to the local machine, and the temporary directory is cleaned up
The Analysis Manager signals the user that the analysis job is complete
 
Note:  
MSC.Fatigue jobname may be used incorrectly by Analysis Manager. The jobname given when "Full Analysis" is clicked from the MSC.Fatigue "Job Control" form may be over-ridden by the .p3mgrrc file contents. This generally occurs when the configuration settings are modified and saved from the AM main GUI. To overcome this problem, edit the .p3mgrrc file (normally located in the user home directory) and remove the line beginning with: "gen_submit[MSC.Fatigue].gen_input_deck”