Lsdyna Sim

Scope

• In scope: Running LS-DYNA simulations via .k keyword files, building decks via PyDyna keywords API, keyword file validation, convergence verification, output parsing (d3hsp, glstat, messag), explicit and implicit dynamics, DPF post-processing
• Out of scope: Mesh generation (use ANSA, ICEM, or Workbench Meshing), geometry creation, MPP parallel execution setup

Hard constraints

1. *KEYWORD must be the first line: Every .k file must begin with *KEYWORD. Files without this marker are rejected.
2. *END must terminate the file: Missing *END causes unpredictable parsing behavior.
3. Fixed-width card format (hand-written .k): LS-DYNA uses 8-character or 10-character fixed-width fields. Misaligned data is silently misread. Use the PyDyna keywords API to avoid this entire class of bugs.
4. exit_code == 0 does not mean success: LS-DYNA returns exit code 0 even on error termination. Always check for N o r m a l t e r m i n a t i o n in output (spaced characters).
5. DLL dependencies on Windows: The solver requires Intel runtime DLLs (libiomp5md.dll) from the ANSYS tp/IntelCompiler/ tree. The sim driver handles this automatically via PATH augmentation; PyDyna's run_dyna() assumes a properly set up ANSYS environment.
6. Output goes to files, not stdout: Primary results go to d3plot (binary), d3hsp (text log), glstat (global stats), messag (log). Stdout contains only progress and termination status.

Dual-path strategy: hand-written .k vs PyDyna SDK

This skill supports two interchangeable input paths. Choose based on the task:

Default recommendation: For any new deck the agent builds from scratch, use the PyDyna SDK path. For existing .k files the user provides, modify in place (or load via Deck.import_file() and patch with PyDyna).

See:

• base/reference/pydyna_keywords_api.md for the full API reference
• base/reference/pydyna_run_api.md for run_dyna() usage
• base/workflows/pydyna_taylor_bar/ for the canonical end-to-end example

Execution modes

The driver supports both one-shot and persistent session modes:

One-shot — sim run file.k --solver ls_dyna

• Direct subprocess call to lsdyna_sp.exe i=file.k
• Result stored as a numbered run in .sim/runs/
• Best for: pre-made .k files, CI smoke tests, batch processing

Session — sim connect --solver ls_dyna then sim exec / sim inspect

• A Python namespace persists across calls, holding deck, kwd, run_dyna, workdir, model, dpf, etc.
• The solver call (run_dyna(...)) is still a one-shot subprocess inside, but the deck-building and DPF post-processing wrap around it interactively.
• Best for: incremental deck construction, parametric sweeps, DPF exploration.
• After any sim exec that produces a d3plot, the runtime auto-loads it into a dpf.Model so sim inspect results.summary works immediately.

See base/reference/session_workflow.md for the full session protocol, inspect targets, and patterns.

Required protocol

Step 0 — Check availability

sim check ls_dyna

For PyDyna-path workflows, also verify:

python -c "from ansys.dyna.core import Deck, keywords; from ansys.dyna.core.run import run_dyna"

Step 1 — Validate inputs (Category A / B / C)

• Category A (must ask user): geometry/mesh (.k file), materials, boundary conditions, loads, acceptance criteria, termination time
• Category B (may default): precision (single/double), number of CPUs, memory allocation, timestep scale factor
• Category C (derive from files): element types, material model IDs, node/element counts

Step 2 — Build / lint the deck

Path A (hand-written .k):

sim lint <file.k>

Checks: *KEYWORD present, *END present, *NODE/*ELEMENT sections exist, *CONTROL_TERMINATION defined.

Path B (PyDyna SDK):

from ansys.dyna.core import Deck, keywords as kwd

deck = Deck()
deck.title = "..."
# ... add keywords ...
deck.export_file("input.k")

PyDyna validates types and field constraints at attribute-set time.

Step 3 — Execute (one-shot)

Path A (sim CLI):

sim run <file.k> --solver ls_dyna

Path B (PyDyna run_dyna):

from ansys.dyna.core.run import run_dyna
run_dyna("input.k", working_directory=wd)

Step 4 — Verify results

Check for in the output:

• N o r m a l t e r m i n a t i o n (spaced characters — mandatory)
• Problem cycle count matches expected range
• Problem time reached *CONTROL_TERMINATION endtime
• No *** Error or *** Fatal messages
• Output files produced: d3plot, d3hsp, glstat

Step 5 — Physics validation

For explicit dynamics:

• Check energy balance in glstat (total energy should be approximately conserved)
• Verify timestep didn't drop below DTMIN
• Check for excessive mass scaling if DT2MS is set

For implicit:

• Check convergence iterations in d3hsp
• Verify displacement convergence tolerance met

Step 6 — Post-process (recommended: DPF)

import ansys.dpf.core as dpf

ds = dpf.DataSources()
ds.set_result_file_path("d3plot", "d3plot")
model = dpf.Model(ds)

# Global kinetic energy time series
gke_op = dpf.operators.result.global_kinetic_energy()
gke_op.inputs.data_sources.connect(ds)
ke = gke_op.eval().get_field(0).data

# Time axis
time = model.metadata.time_freq_support.time_frequencies.data_as_list

DPF can extract any field result without requiring LS-PrePost. See the Taylor bar example for a full plot workflow.

Input file format (hand-written reference)

Keyword file structure

*KEYWORD
*TITLE
Description of the model
$
$ Comments start with $
$ Fixed-width cards: 8 characters per field (standard)
$
*CONTROL_TERMINATION
$  ENDTIM    ENDCYC     DTMIN    ENDENG    ENDMAS
   1.0e-3         0       0.0       0.0       0.0
*MAT_ELASTIC
$      MID        RO         E        PR
         1  7.85e-09    210000       0.3
*NODE
$    NID               X               Y               Z
       1       0.000000       0.000000       0.000000
*ELEMENT_SOLID
$    EID     PID      N1      N2      N3      N4      N5      N6      N7      N8
       1       1       1       2       3       4       5       6       7       8
*END

Key rules

• All keywords start with * in column 1
• Data cards follow immediately after the keyword line
• Fields are right-justified within their 8-character columns
• Use $ for comment lines
• *INCLUDE references external files

File index

Hand-written .k references

PyDyna SDK references

Workflows

Other