RESCONTROL

RESCONTROL, Action, Ldstep, Frequency, MAXFILES, --, MAXTotalFiles, Filetype
Controls file writing for multiframe restarts.

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Action

Command action:

DEFINE

 — 

Specifies how often .xnnn restart files (default) or .rdnn remeshing database files (for nonlinear mesh adaptivity analysis) are written for a load step. The file type controlled by this command is determined by Filetype.

This action does not support linear static applications. For linear static analyses, use the LINEAR action for the same DEFINE effect.

LINEAR

 — 

Same as Action = DEFINE, but for linear static applications only. For a linear static analysis, the restart capability is normally not needed; however, it is typically needed when a subsequent linear perturbation analysis is desired. By default, none of the restart files are written for a linear static analysis.

FILE_SUMMARY

 — 

Prints the substep and load-step information for all .xnnn or .rdnn files for the current jobname in the current directory. If specified, all other arguments are ignored.

STATUS

 — 

Issuing the command lists the current status in the tables of restart controls specified previously by RESCONTROL. If this option is specified, all other arguments are ignored.

NORESTART

 — 

Cleans up some of the restart files after a distributed-memory parallel (DMP) solution. (Not valid for nonlinear mesh adaptivity.)

The master process will not have the following files in the working directory at the end of the run: .esav, .osav, .xnnn, .rdb, .ldhi. The worker processes will not have the following files in the working directory at the end of the run: .esav, .osav, .xnnn, .rst (or .rth, etc.). Some restart files are never written, some are removed upon exiting the solution processor (for example, upon FINISH), and some are removed upon exiting the program.

This option is useful for cleaning up files written by all distributed processes, especially when you know that these restart files will not be needed later. If this option is specified, all other arguments are ignored.

If this option is used in a shared-memory parallel (SMP) environment, most restart files in the working directory are removed. It has the same effect as issuing RESCONTROL,,NONE.

DELETE

 — 

Delete the restart control specification corresponding to the Ldstep label on a previous RESCONTROL,DEFINE command.

Ldstep

Specifies how the .xnnn or .rdnn files are written for the specified load steps. This option also affects how often the load history information is written to the .ldhi file.

ALL

 — 

Write the .xnnn or .rdnn files at the same substep Frequency for all load steps; write the load history information to the .ldhi file for all load steps. For .rdnn files, this option is the default.

LAST

 — 

Write the .xnnn or .rdnn files for the last load step only; write load-history information to the .ldhi file for the last load step only. This option is the default for nonlinear static and full transient analyses for .xnnn files. If specified, all remaining arguments are ignored.

N

 — 

Number that indicates how often the .xnnn or .rdnn files are written.

Input a positive number to write the .xnnn or .rdnn files at the substep Frequency indicated only for load step N. Other load steps will be written at the default substep frequency or at a frequency defined by a previous RESCONTROL specification. Load-history information is written to the .ldhi file only for load steps N.

Specifying a negative number (-N) is valid for controlling .xnnn files only. The files are written for every Nth load step at the specified substep Frequency. The load history information is written to the .ldhi file every Nth load step. This option is suitable for restart applications in which more than a few hundred load steps are required. Compared to the ALL and positive N options, it can save disk space, as the .ldhi file is smaller and fewer .xnnn files are written.

If Ldstep = -N, all other Ldstep options specified by RESCONTROL are ignored and the program follows the -N option (write load history information every Nth load step). If you want to change this pattern, issue RESCONTROL,DELETE, -N, then issue another RESCONTROL command with the desired Ldstep option.

NONE

 — 

No multiframe restart files (.rdb, .ldhi, .xnnn) are created. (Not valid for nonlinear mesh adaptivity analysis.)

This option is the default for mode-superposition analyses. The remaining arguments are ignored.

For nonlinear static, linear static, and full transient analyses, this option enables a restart to occur at the last or abort point (using the .emat, .esav or .osav, and .db files).

For mode-superposition transient analyses, this option allows a restart from the last point using the .rdsp and .db files.

Frequency

Frequency at which the .xnnn files are written at the substep level, or at which the .rdnn files are written at the remeshing level:

NONE

 — 

Do not write .xnnn files for this load step (not available for .rdnn files).

LAST

 — 

Write the .xnnn files for the last substep of the load step only (default for nonlinear static and full transient analyses), or write the .rdnn files for the last remesh of the load step only (default for nonlinear mesh adaptivity analysis).

N

 — 

If N is positive, write the .xnnn files at every Nth substep of a load step, or write the .rdnn files at every Nth remesh of a load step.

If N is negative (not valid for .rdnn files), write N equally spaced .xnnn files within a load step.

In nonlinear static and full transient analyses, -N is valid only when automatic time stepping is enabled (AUTOTS,ON).

In mode-superposition analyses, negative N is always valid.

MAXFILES

Maximum number of .xnnn files to save within a load step (not available for .rdnn files):

-1

 — 

Overwrite existing .xnnn files (default). The total maximum number of .xnnn files for one run is 999. If this number is reached before the analysis is complete, the program will reset the .xnnn file numbering back to 1 and continue to write .xnnn files; the program keeps the newest 999 restart files and overwrites the oldest restart files. For this option, the maximum number of files can be changed to a number less than 999 by setting the MAXTotalFiles argument.

0

 — 

Do not overwrite any existing .xnnn files. The total maximum number of .xnnn files for one run is 999. If this number is reached before the analysis is complete, the analysis continues but no longer writes any .xnnn files.

N

 — 

Maximum number of .xnnn files to keep for each load step. When N .xnnn files have been written for a load step, the program overwrites the first .xnnn file of that load step for subsequent substeps. N must be <= 999. If a total of 999 restart files is reached before the analysis is complete, the analysis continues but writes no additional .xnnn files.

--

Reserved for future use.

MAXTotalFiles

Total number of restart files to keep. Default = 999 for .xnnn files and 99 for .rdnn files. This option is valid only when MAXFILES = -1 (default).

Valid MAXTotalFiles values are 1 through 999 for .xnnn files, and 1 through 99 for .rdnn files.

When the total number of restart files written exceeds MAXTotalFiles, the program resets the .xnnn or .rdnn file numbering back to 1 and continues to write .xnnn or .rdnn files. The newest files are retained and the oldest files are overwritten.

The MAXtotalFiles value specified applies to all subsequent load steps. To reset it to the default, reissue the command with MAXTotalFiles = 0 or some negative value.

If MAXTotalFiles is set to different values at different load steps, and if the value of MAXTotalFiles specified in the prior load step is larger than that of the current load step, the program can only overwrite the current number of maximum restart files up to the number MAXTotalFiles currently specified (which is smaller than the previous number).

The recommended way to control the maximum number of restart files is to specify MAXTotalFiles at the first load step and not vary it in subsequent load steps. Also, MAXTotalFiles is best used when Ldstep = -N or ALL.

Filetype

The type of restart file to be controlled by this command. Valid only when Action = DEFINE:

XNNN

 — 

Control .xnnn files (default).

RDNN

 — 

Control .rdnn remeshing database files. Needed only for a nonlinear mesh adaptivity analysis.

Command Default

If the RESCONTROL command is not issued during a structural analysis, the .rdb and .ldhi files are written as described in Restarting an Analysis.

For nonlinear static and full transient analysis:

The default behavior is multiframe restart: RESCONTROL,DEFINE,LAST,LAST
The .xnnn file is written at the last substep of the last load step. An .rnnn file is also written at the iteration prior to the abort point of the run if a jobname.abt file was used (or the Stop button was pressed in the GUI), or if the job terminated because of a failure to reach convergence or some other solution error. No information at the aborted substep is saved to the .xnnn file.

For nonlinear mesh adaptivity analysis:

The default behavior for .rdnn files written is: RESCONTROL,DEFINE,ALL,LAST,,,,RDNN
The .rdnn file is written at the last remesh of every load step by default.
The .rdnn and .rnnn files interact with each other. Generally, .rdnn file writing is superior to that of .rnnn file writing. For example, if no RESCONTROL,DEFINE command is issued, the default behavior is that both .rdnn and .rnnn files are written at the last occurrence of every load step (equivalent to RESCONTROL,DEFINE,ALL,LAST and RESCONTROL,DEFINE,ALL,LAST,,,,RDNN).

For SMART crack-growth analysis:

The default behavior of restart control for SMART crack growth is: RESCONTROL,DEFINE,LAST,LAST.
Given the command RESCONTROL, the rule controlling the writing of .rdnn files in SMART crack-growth analysis is as follows: (1) each .rdnn file must be associated with at least one .rnnn file, and (2) each .rnnn file must have one .rdnn file associated with it. When the frequency of .rdnn file writing differs from the frequency of .rnnn file writing, the frequency of .rnnn file writing takes precedence, and an .rdnn file is not written at a substep in which an .rnnn file is not written.
Note that if you would like to limit the total number of restart files written (MAXTotalFiles) for both .rnnn and .rdnn files, it is required to define the rule for both file types separately. For example:
RESCONTROL,DEFINE,ALL,ALL,,,2
RESCONTROL,DEFINE,ALL,ALL,,,2,RDNN
will write restart files at all substeps of all loadsteps but only keep the .rnnn and .rdnn files of the last two substeps. However, skipping the second line would cause all .rdnn files to be kept.

Notes

RESCONTROL sets up the restart parameters for a multiframe restart, enabling you to restart an analysis from any load step and substep for which there is an .xnnn file. You can perform a multiframe restart for static and transient (full or mode-superposition method) analyses only. For more information about multiframe restarts and descriptions of the contents of the files used, see Restarting an Analysis in the Basic Analysis Guide.

Syntax

Multiframe restart files are generically indicated here as .xnnn files. They correspond to .rnnn files for nonlinear static and full transient analyses, and .mnnn files for mode-superposition analyses.
Remeshing database files are indicated as .rdnn files. This type of restart file is needed only after remeshing during a nonlinear mesh adaptivity analysis.
When Action = DEFINE, the specified Filetype determines the type of file (.xnnn or .rdnn) controlled by this command.

Number of Restart Files Allowed

The total number of restart files for any analysis cannot exceed 999 (for example, jobname.r001 to jobname.r999).
The total number of remeshing database files cannot exceed 99 (for example, jobname.rd01 to jobname.rd99).

Considerations for Nonlinear Mesh Adaptivity Analysis

To control both .xnnn and .rdnn file writing (Filetype = XNNN and Filetype = RDNN, respectively), separate RESCONTROL commands are necessary.
Action = NORESTART and Ldstep = NONE are not valid and will cause the analysis to fail.
Ldstep = -N is not valid for controlling .xnnn files.

Limiting the Number of Files Saved

If you have many substeps for each load step and are writing .xnnn files frequently, you may want to set MAXFILES to limit the number of .xnnn files saved, as they can fill your disk quickly.
You can specify MAXFILES and Frequency for individual load steps. These arguments take on the default value or the value defined by RESCONTROL,,ALL,Frequency,MAXFILES if they are not explicitly defined for a specific load step.
When .xnnn files are written over many load steps, you may want to further limit the number of .xnnn files by setting MAXTotalFiles.

Maximum Number of Load Steps

You can specify a maximum of ten load steps; that is, you can issue the RESCONTROL,,N command a maximum of ten times. Specified load steps cannot be changed in a restart.

Specifying Ldstep = LAST or -N

The program accepts only one occurrence of RESCONTROL with Ldstep = LAST. If you issue RESCONTROL,,LAST,Frequency,MAXFILES multiple times, the last specification overwrites the previous one.
The program accepts only one occurrence of RESCONTROL with a negative Ldstep value (RESCONTROL,,N where N is a negative number). If you issue RESCONTROL multiple times with a negative Ldstep value, the last specification overwrites the previous one.

Using RESCONTROL in a Restarted Analysis

The RESCONTROL command is not valid in the restarted load step of a restart analysis. It is only valid in subsequent load steps.

Example Usage

Menu Paths

Main Menu>Preprocessor>Loads>Analysis Type>Sol'n Controls>Sol'n Options
Main Menu>Preprocessor>Loads>Load Step Opts>Nonlinear>Restart Control
Main Menu>Solution>Analysis Type>Sol'n Controls>Sol'n Options
Main Menu>Solution>Load Step Opts>Nonlinear>Restart Control