NAstran Simple Problems Getting Started
NAstran Simple Problems Getting Started
Simcenter Nastran
Basic Tutorials
Contents
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TAUCS Version 2.0, November 29, 2001. Copyright (c) 2001, 2002, 2003 by Sivan Toledo, Tel-Aviv
University, [email protected]. All Rights Reserved.
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SOL 101
We will also identify the job with an ID statement and set the CPU time limit with a TIME statement
as follows:
ID MPM,CH 12 EXAMPLE
TIME 100
The end of the Executive Control Section is indicated by the CEND delimiter. Thus, the complete
Executive Control Section is written as follows:
ID MPM,CH 12 EXAMPLE
SOL 101
TIME 100
CEND
Note
Both the TIME and ID statements are optional. The default value of TIME, however, is too
small for all but the most trivial problems.
The format of the ID entry (ID i1,i2) must be adheared to or a fatal error will result.
GRID Points
GRID points are defined in the Bulk Data Section of the input file. The format of the GRID entry is:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
GRID ID CP X1 X2 X3 CD PS SEID
Field Contents
The default basic coordinate system is defined by leaving field 3 (CP) blank (the basic coordinate
system’s ID number is zero).
The values of X1, X2, and X3 (in our rectangular system these mean x, y, and z) in fields 4, 5,
and 6 are as follows:
GRID X Y Z
1 0. 0. 0.
2 10.0 0. 0.
3 20.0 0. 0.
4 30.0 0. 0.
Field 7 (CD) is left blank since we want grid point displacements and constraints to be defined in the
basic coordinate system. The constraints for this problem could be defined on field 8 (PS) of grid
points 1 and 4. Instead, we will use SPC1 entries and leave field 8 blank.
Finally, field 9 is left blank since superelements are not part of this problem.
The completed GRID entries are written as follows:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
GRID 1 0. 0. 0.
GRID 2 10.0 0. 0.
GRID 3 20.0 0. 0.
GRID 4 30.0 0. 0.
GRID,1,,0.,0.,0.
GRID,2,,10.,0.,0.
GRID,3,,20.,0.,0.
GRID,4,,30.,0.,0.
Elements are defined in the Bulk Data Section of the input file. The format of the CBAR simple
beam element is as follows:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
CBAR EID PID GA GB X1 X2 X3
PA PB W1A W2A W3A W1B W2B W3B
Field Contents
EID Unique element identification number. (Integer > 0)
Property identification number of a PBAR entry. (Integer > 0 or
PID blank; Default is EID unless BAROR entry has nonzero entry in
field 3)
Grid point identification numbers of connection points. (Integer
GA, GB
> 0; GA ≠GB)
W1A, W2A, W3A, W1B, W2B, Components of offset vectors and , respectively,
W3B in displacement coordinate systems at points GA and GB,
respectively. (Real or blank)
The property identification number (PID) is arbitrarily chosen to be 101—this label points to a PBAR
beam property entry. The same PID is used for each of the three CBAR elements.
GA and GB are entered for each beam element, starting with GA (end A) of CBAR element 1 at (0.,
0., 0.). Recall that the direction of the X-element axis is defined as the direction from GA to GB.
The beam orientation vector , described by GA and the components X1, X2, and X3, is arbitrarily
chosen by setting X1 = 0.0, X2 = 1.0, and X3 = 0.0. Orientation vector is shown in Figure 1-4.
Figure 1-4.
Plane 1 is thus formed by and the x-element axis. The y-element axis (yelem) is perpendicular to
the x-element axis and lies in plane 1.
Plane 2 is perpendicular to plane 1, and the z-element axis (zelem) is formed by the cross product of
the x-element and y-element axes.
The completed CBAR entries are written as follows:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
CBAR 1 101 1 2 0. 1. 0.
CBAR 2 101 2 3 0. 1. 0.
CBAR 3 101 3 4 0. 1. 0.
CBAR,1,101,1,2,0.,1.,0.
CBAR,2,101,2,3,0.,1.,0.
CBAR,3,101,3,4,0.,1.,0.
Continuations of the CBAR entries are not required since pin flags and offset vectors are not used in
this model.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
PBAR PID MID A I1 I2 J NSM
C1 C2 D1 D2 El E2 F1 F2
K1 K2 I12
Field Contents
PID Property identification number. (Integer > 0)
MID Material identification number. (Integer > 0)
A Area of bar cross section. (Real)
I1, I2, I12 Area moments of inertia.
(Real; I1≥0.0
I2≥0.0
I1 ·I2>I122 )
J Torsional constant. (Real)
NSM Nonstructural mass per unit length. (Real)
K1, K2 Area factor for shear. (Real)
Ci, Di, Ei, Fi Stress recovery coefficients. (Real; Default = 0.0)
For our model, the property ID (PID) is 101, as called out on the CBAR entry. The material ID (MID) is
arbitrarily chosen to be 201—this label points to a MAT1 entry. The beam’s cross sectional area A is
entered in field 4, and the torsional constant J is entered in field 7. The beam has no nonstructural
mass (NSM), so column 8 is left blank.
Now you will specify I1 and I2 in fields 5 and 6. Recall that the choice of orientation vector is
arbitrary. What is not arbitrary is getting each value of I to match its correct plane. I1 is the moment
of inertia for bending in plane 1 (which is the same as bending about the z axis, as it was probably
called in your strength of materials class). Similarly, I2 is the moment of inertia for bending in plane 2
(about the y axis). Thus, I1 = IZ = 0.667 in, and I2= Iy = 0.1667in.
As a check for this model, think of plane 1 in this problem as the “stiff plane” (larger value of I) and
plane 2 as the “not-as-stiff” plane (smaller value of I).
Stress recovery coefficients are user-selected coordinates located on the bar’s element y-z plane at
which stresses are calculated by Simcenter Nastran. We will choose the following two points (there is
no requirement that all four available points must be used):
Finally, the problem statement requires that we investigate the effect of shear deflection. To add
shear deflection to the bar, we include appropriate values of K1 and K2 on the second continuation of
the PBAR entry. For a rectangular cross section, K1 = K2 = 5/6.
Leaving K1 and K2 blank results in default values of infinity (i.e., transverse shear flexibility is set
equal to zero). This means that no deflection due to shear will occur.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
PBAR 101 201 2. .667 .1667 .458
1. .5 -1. .5
PBAR,101,201,2.,.667,.1667,.458
,1.,.5,-1.,.5
,.8333,.8333
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
SPC1 SID C G1 G2 G3 G4 G5 G6
G7 G8 G9 -etc.-
Field Contents
SID Identification number of single-point constraint set. (Integer > 0)
C Component numbers. (Any unique combination of the Integers 1 through 6
with no embedded blanks for grid points. This number must be Integer 0
or blank for scalar points)
An SPC set identification number (SID) of 100 is arbitrarily chosen and entered in field 2. To select
the SPC, the following Case Control command must be added to the Case Control Section:
SPC=100
Constraints are applied in the GRID point’s displacement coordinate system—in our problem this is
the basic coordinate system. The required components of constraint are shown below:
Grids 1 and 4 cannot translate in the x, y, or z directions (constrain DOFs 1, 2, and 3). Grids 1
and 4 cannot rotate about the x-axis or y-axis (constrain DOFs 4 and 5). Grids 1 and 4 can rotate
about the z-axis (leave DOF 6 unconstrained).
Therefore, the required SPC1 entry is written as follows:
SPC1,100,12345,1,4
.
Poisson’s ratio is 0.3. The format of the MAT1 entry is shown below (we will not use the optional
stress limit/margin of safety capability on the MAT1 continuation line).
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
MAT1 MID E G NU RHO A TREF GE
Field Contents
MID Material identification number. (Integer > 0)
E Young’s modulus. (Real ≥0.0 or blank)
G Shear modulus. (Real ≥0.0 or blank)
NU Poisson’s ratio. (-1.0 < Real ≤ 0.5 or blank)
RHO Mass density. (Real)
A Thermal expansion coefficient. (Real)
TREF Reference temperature for the calculation of thermal loads, or a
temperature-dependent thermal expansion coefficient. (Real; Default = 0.0
if A is specified)
GE Structural element damping coefficient. (Real)
The material identification number called out on the PBAR entry is 201; this goes in field 2 of the
MAT1 entry. Values for RHO, A, TREF, and GE are irrelevant to this problem and are therefore left
blank. Thus, the MAT1 entry is written as follows:
MAT1 201 30.E6 .3
MAT1,201,30.E6,,.3
Field Contents
A load set identification number (SID) of 10 is arbitrarily chosen and entered in field 2 of the FORCE
entry. To select the load set, the following Case Control command must be added to the Case
Control Section:
LOAD=10
where (0., 1., 0.) is a unit vector in the positive Y direction of the displacement coordinate system.
In free field format, the entry is written as follows.
FORCE,10,3,,-100.,0.,1.,0.
In order to help verify the model results, we will also ask for the following output quantities:
FORCE=ALL (prints all element forces)
SPCF=ALL (prints all forces of single point constraint; i.e., reaction forces)
The following command will yield both unsorted and sorted input file listings:
ECHO=BOTH
TITLE and SUBTITLE headings will appear on each page of the output, and are chosen as follows:
TITLE=HINGED BEAM
SUBTITLE=WITH CONCENTRATED FORCE
SPC=100
LOAD=10
The complete Case Control Section is shown below. The commands can be entered in any order
after the CEND delimiter.
CEND
ECHO=BOTH
DISP=ALL
STRESS=ALL
FORCE=ALL
SPCF=ALL
SPC=100
LOAD=10
TITLE=HINGED
BEAM SUBTITLE=WITH
CONCENTRATED FORCE
ID MPM,EXAMPLE1
SOL 101
TIME 100
CEND
ECHO=BOTH
DISP=ALL
STRESS=ALL
FORCE=ALL
SPCF=ALL
SPC=100
LOAD=10
TITLE=HINGED BEAM
SUBTITLE=WITH CONCENTRATED FORCE
$
BEGIN BULK
$ DEFINE GRID POINTS
GRID,1,,0.,0.,0.
GRID,2,,10.,0.,0.
GRID,3,,20.,0.,0.
GRID,4,,30.,0.,0.
$
$ DEFINE CBAR ELEMENTS
CBAR,1,101,1,2,0.,1.,0.
CBAR,2,101,2,3,0.,1.,0.
CBAR,3,101,3,4,0.,1.,0.
$
Listing 1-1.
It is useful at this point to review “what points to what” in the model. Set and property relationships
are summarized in the diagram below:
The job is submitted to Simcenter Nastran with a system command similar to the following:
The details of the command are unique to your system; refer to the Simcenter Nastran Installation
and Operations Guide for more information.
The complete .f06 file for this problem (no shear deflection) is shown in Table 1-1.
No error or warning messages are present in the .f06 (results) file—this is certainly no guarantee of
a correct run, but it’s a good first step. Also, examine the value of epsilon on page 6 of the output.
It is very small (~10–16), showing stable numerical behavior. Next, it is a good policy to check the
displacement values, just to verify that they are not absurdly out of line with the physical problem or
that a geometric nonlinear analysis is not required. For example, this beam displacing several inches
might indicate that a load is orders of magnitude too high, or that a cross sectional property or an
elastic modulus has been incorrectly specified. In our case, the lateral displacements (page 8 of the
output) are on the order of 10-3 inches, which seems reasonable for this problem.
Note
Suppose you did obtain displacements of several inches—or perhaps into the next city.
Shouldn’t Simcenter Nastran give some sort of engineering sanity warning? The answer
is no, because the program is doing precisely what it was told to do and has no ability to
judge what a reasonable displacement is. Recall that our analysis is linear and that the
MAT1 material property entry thinks that the elastic modulus E is the material curve. This
distinction is shown in Figure 1-5.
Check Reactions
To check static equilibrium, we calculate the reaction forces at the constraints and obtain 33.3 lbs. in
the +y direction at grid point 1 and 66.6 lbs. in the +y direction at grid point 4 (Figure 1-7(a)). These
values match the forces of single point constraint reported on page 9 of the output (T2 in this table
means forces in the Y direction). Thus, the load and resulting reactions make sense.
Figure 1-7. Beam Reaction Forces, Shear Diagram, and Moment Diagram
The displacement at the point of application of the load (GRID 3) is shown in the results:
.
The deflection is in the -y direction as expected.
The CBAR element stresses at the point of application of the load (GRID 3) are reported by end b of
CBAR 2 and end a of CBAR 3. Positive stress values indicate tension and negative values indicate
compression. The top of the beam is in compression and the bottom of the beam is in tension.
Stress recovery point 1 is located on the top of the beam and point 2 is located at the bottom of
the beam, as shown in Figure 1-8:
First, the deflection at the point of application of the load will be determined by hand. This calculation
does not include shear effects, so it can be directly compared with the Simcenter Nastran results
shown in the Simcenter Nastran Output. The deflection due to bending only is calculated as follows:
This value is in exact agreement with the T2 value for GRID 3 on page 8 of the Simcenter Nastran
output.
The effect of shear deflection is determined by adding the second continuation of the PBAR entry and
rerunning the job. The new Bulk Data Section is shown in Listing1-2.
Problem Statement
Find the free end deflection of a rectangular cantilever beam subject to a uniform distributed load
and a concentrated moment at the free end. The beam’s geometry, properties, and loading are
shown in Figure 2-1.
The uniform distributed load is applied to the three CBAR elements using a PLOAD1 entry. One
PLOAD1 entry is required for each element. We have chosen fractional scaling, which means that
the physical length of the element is normalized to a length of 1.0. Since the distributed load runs
the entire length of each element, each PLOAD1 entry will be applied from 0.0 to 1.0. Since the
load is uniform, P1 = P2 = 22.0 lb/in.
The concentrated end moment is applied using a MOMENT entry. The direction of the moment (by
the right hand rule) is about the +z axis. Thus,
Output Requests
The Case Control Command DISP = ALL is required to report displacements. In addition, it is a
good idea to look at constraint forces at the wall as part of checking out the model. Thus, we will
add the Case Control Command SPCF = ALL.
ID MPM,EXAMPLE2
SOL 101
TIME 100
CEND
ECHO=BOTH
DISP=ALL
SPCF=ALL
LOAD=10
TITLE=EXAMPLE 2
SUBTITLE=CANTILEVER BEAM
LABEL=DISTRIBUTED LOAD AND END MOMENT
$
BEGIN BULK
$ DEFINE
GRID POINTS
GRID,1,,0.,0.,0.,,123456
GRID,2,,10.,0.,0.
GRID,3,,20.,0.,0.
GRID,4,,30.,0.,0.
$
$ DEFINE CBAR ELEMENTS
CBAR,1,101,1,2,0.,1.,0.
CBAR,2,101,2,3,0.,1.,0.
CBAR,3,101,3,4,0.,1.,0.
$
$ DEFINE CBAR ELEMENT CROSS SECTIONAL PROPERTIES
PBAR,101,201,2.,.667,.1667,.458,,,
+PB1 +PB1,1.,.5
$
$ DEFINE MATERIAL PROPERTIES
MAT1,201,30.E6,,.3
$
$ DEFINE UNIFORM DISTRIBUTED LOAD
PLOAD1,10,1,FY,FR,0.,-22.,1.,-22.
PLOAD1,10,2,FY,FR,0.,-22.,1.,-22.
PLOAD1,10,3,FY,FR,0.,-22.,1.,-22.
$
$ DEFINE CONCENTRATED MOMENT AT FREE END
MOMENT,10,4,,120.,0.,0.,1.
ENDDATA
Listing 2-1.
First, we review the .f06 output file for any warning or error messages. None are present in this file.
Next, look at epsilon on page 6 of the output. Its value of -7.77E-17 is indeed very small, showing
no evidence of numerical difficulties. Finally, we review the reaction forces (forces of single point
constraint, or SPC forces) at the wall. As a check, a free body diagram of the structure is used to
solve for reaction forces as follows:
The SPC forces are listed on page 9 of the Simcenter Nastran results. The T2 reaction (force at
grid point 1 in the y direction) is +660 lbs. The R3 reaction (moment about the z axis) is +9780 lb.
Thus, we can be confident that the loads were applied correctly, and at least the static equilibrium of
the problem makes sense.
The displacement results are shown on page 8 of the .f06 file. Note that all displacements at the
wall (GRID 1) are exactly zero, as they should be. The free end deflection in the y direction (T2 of
GRID 4) is -1.086207E-1 in.
As a final observation, note that there is no axial shortening of the beam as it deflects downward (all
T1s are exactly zero). This is a consequence of the simplifying small displacement assumptions built
into slender beam theory and beam elements when used in linear analysis. If the load on the beam is
such that large displacement occurs, nonlinear analysis must be used to update the element matrices
as the structure deforms. The shortening terms will then be part of the solution.
Create a Simcenter Nastran model to analyze the thin rectangular plate shown in Figure 2-2. The
plate is subject to a uniform pressure load of 0.25 lb/in2 in the -z direction. Find the maximum
deflection of the plate.
The uniform pressure load is applied to all plate elements using the PLOAD2 entry. Only one
PLOAD2 entry is required by using the “THRU” feature (elements 1 THRU 12). The positive normal
to each plate element (as dictated by the GRID point ordering sequence) is in the negative z axis
direction, which is the same direction as the pressure load. Therefore, the value of pressure in Field
3 of the PLOAD2 entry is positive.
SPC1 entries are used to model the structure’s constraints. The SPC1 entries have a set ID of 10,
which is selected by the Case Control command SPC = 100. The constraints on the structure are
shown in Figure 2-4.
Note
1. The out-of-plane rotational DOF (degree of freedom 6) is constrained for all grids in
the model. This is a requirement of a CQUAD4 flat plate element, and has nothing
to do with this specific problem.
2. Grids 16 and 20, shared with the fixed edge, are fixed—the greater constraint governs.
For the remaining grids:
Alternate Format:
SPC1 SID C G1 “THRU” G2
Out-of-plane Rotations:
Hinged Edges:
spc1 100 1234 1 6 11 5 10 15
Fixed Edge:
Note that some constraints are redundantly specified. For example, GRID 17 is constrained in all 6
DOFs with the fixed edge SPC1, and again in DOF 6 with the out-of-plane rotational constraint. This
is perfectly acceptable, and keeps the constraint bookkeeping a little tidier.
SPC1 100 123456 16 THRU 20
Output Requests
The problem statement requires displacements. As a matter of good practice, we will also request
SPC forces to check the model’s reactions. Thus, the following output requests are included in
the Case Control Section:
DISP=ALL SPCF=ALL
ID MPM,EXAMPLE3
SOL 101
TIME 100
CEND
SPCF=ALL
DISP=ALL
TITLE=PLATE EXAMPLE
SUBTITLE=FIXED-HINGED-HINGED-FREE
LABEL=UNIFORM LATERAL PRESSURE LOAD (0.25 lb/in**2)
SPC=100
ECHO=BOTH
LOAD=5
$
BEGIN BULK
$ DEFINE GRID POINTS
GRID,1,,0.,0.,0.
GRID,2,,1.5,0.,0.
GRID,3,,3.0,0.,0.
GRID,4,,4.5,0.,0.
GRID,5,,6.0,0.,0.
GRID,6,,0.,1.,0.
GRID,7,,1.5,1.,0.
GRID,8,,3.0,1.,0.
GRID,9,,4.5,1.,0.
GRID,10,,6.0,1.,0.
GRID,11,,0.,2.,0.
GRID,12,,1.5,2.,0.
GRID,13,,3.0,2.,0.
GRID,14,,4.5,2.,0.
GRID,15,,6.0,2.,0.
GRID,16,,0.,3.,0.
GRID,17,,1.5,3.,0.
GRID,18,,3.0,3.,0.
GRID,19,,4.5,3.,0.
GRID,20,,6.0,3.,0.
$
$ DEFINE PLATE ELEMENTS
CQUAD4,1,101,1,6,7,2
CQUAD4,2,101,2,7,8,3
CQUAD4,3,101,3,8,9,4
CQUAD4,4,101,4,9,10,5
CQUAD4,5,101,6,11,12,7
CQUAD4,6,101,7,12,13,8
CQUAD4,7,101,8,13,14,9
CQUAD4,8,101,9,14,15,10
CQUAD4,9,101,11,16,17,12
CQUAD4,10,101,12,17,18,13
CQUAD4,11,101,13,18,19,14
CQUAD4,12,101,14,19,20,15
$
$ DEFINE PRESSURE LOAD ON PLATES
PLOAD2,5,0.25,1,THRU,12
$ DEFINE PROPERTIES OF PLATE ELEMENTS
PSHELL,101,105,.05,105,,105
MAT1,105,30.E6,,0.3
$
$ DEFINE FIXED EDGE
SPC1,100,123456,16,THRU,20
$
$ DEFINE HINGED EDGES
SPC1,100,1234,1,6,11,5,10,15
$
$ CONSTRAIN OUT-OF-PLANE ROTATION FOR ALL GRIDS
SPC1,100,6,1,THRU,20
ENDDATA
Listing 2-2.
The value of epsilon, listed on page 6 of the output, is small, indicating a numerically well-behaved
problem. A plot of the deformed plate is shown in Figure 2-5. As expected, the maximum
displacement (-3.678445E-3 inches) occurs at grid point 3 in the -T3 direction. This deflection is
approximately one-fourteenth the thickness of the plate, and is therefore a fairly reasonable “small”
displacement.
It is also useful to check the applied loads against the reaction forces. We have:
Total Lateral Applied Force = (0.25 lb/in2)(3 in)(6 in) = 4.5 lbs
which is in agreement with the T3 direction SPCFORCE resultant listed on page 7 of the output. Note
that the SPCFORCE is positive, and the applied load is in the negative z (-T3) direction.
Problem Statement
Two spur gears are in contact as shown in Figure 2-6. The gears are either aligned or misaligned. In
the aligned case, a distributed load of 600 N/mm exists across the line of contact between two teeth.
The line of contact is located at a radius of 99.6 mm from the gear’s center. In the misaligned case, a
concentrated load of 6000 N acts at a single point of contact at the edge of a tooth. The gear teeth
are 10 mm wide and 23.5 mm high (from base to tip). The gear’s material properties are:
ν = 0.3
The goal is to obtain a rough estimate of a gear tooth’s peak von Mises stress for each load case.
von Mises stress, a commonly used quantity in finite element stress analysis, is given by:
Equation 2-1.
A single gear tooth is modeled using two CHEXA solid elements with midside grid points as shown
in Figure 2-7. Midside grid points are useful when the shape of a structure is complex or when
bending effects are important.
Subcase 1 represents aligned gear teeth and uses the distributed load shown in Figure 2-8. The
total applied load is given by:
Total Load = Distributed Load · Width of Gear Tooth = 600 N/mm · 10 mm = 6000 N
In order to approximate the “contact patch” of mating gear teeth, we distribute the total force of 6000
N across the line of contact with 1000 N on each corner grid (grid points 15 and 17) and 4000 N on
the center grid (grid point 16). A load set identification number of 41 (arbitrarily chosen) is given to the
three FORCE Bulk Data entries of subcase 1.
Output Requests
Stress output is selected with the Case Control command STRESS = ALL. Note that this command
appears above the subcase level and therefore applies to both subcases.
Stress Results
First we examine the output for error or warning messages—none are present—and find epsilon,
which is reported for each subcase (page 5 of the output). Epsilon is very small in both cases.
CHEXA stress results are reported at each element’s center and corner grid points. Stresses at
midside grid points are not available. For gear teeth in alignment (subcase 1), the peak von Mises
stress is 1.73E2 MPa at grid points 15 and 17 of CHEXA element 1 (page 6 of the output shown
in Table 2-3.) For misaligned gear teeth (subcase 2), the peak von Mises stress is 6.31E2 MPa at
grid point 15 (see output).
Observe that for both subcases the von Mises stresses at grid points shared by two adjacent
elements differ. Solid element stresses are calculated inside the element and are interpolated in
toward the element’s center and extrapolated outward to its corners. The numerical discrepancy
between shared grid points is due to interpolation and extrapolation differences between adjoining
elements in regions where high stress gradients exists (which is often the case in a model with an
inadequate number of elements). This discrepancy between neighboring element stresses can be
reduced by refining the element mesh.
Note also that solid elements result in a considerable volume of printed output. If printed output is
desired for larger solid element models, you may want to be somewhat selective in requesting output
using the Case Control Section of the input file.
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