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2.3Example:creatingamodelofanoverheadhoist
Thisexampleofanoverheadhoist,showninFigure25,leadsyouthroughtheAbaqus/CAEmodelingprocessbyusing
theModelTreeandshowingyouthebasicstepsusedtocreateandanalyzeasimplemodel.Thehoistisasimple,pin
jointedtrussmodelthatisconstrainedattheleftendandmountedonrollersattherightend.Thememberscanrotate
freelyatthejoints.Theframeispreventedfrommovingoutofplane.AsimulationisfirstperformedinAbaqus/Standard
todeterminethestructure'sstaticdeflectionandthepeakstressinitsmemberswhena10kNloadisappliedasshownin
Figure25.ThesimulationisperformedasecondtimeinAbaqus/Explicitundertheassumptionthattheloadisapplied
suddenlytostudythedynamicresponseoftheframe.
Figure25Schematicofanoverheadhoist.

Fortheoverheadhoistexample,youwillperformthefollowingtasks:
Sketchthetwodimensionalgeometryandcreateapartrepresentingtheframe.
Definethematerialpropertiesandsectionpropertiesoftheframe.
Assemblethemodel.
Configuretheanalysisprocedureandoutputrequests.
Applyloadsandboundaryconditionstotheframe.
Meshtheframe.
Createajobandsubmititforanalysis.
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Viewtheresultsoftheanalysis.
Abaqusprovidesscriptsthatreplicatethecompleteanalysismodelforthisproblem.Runoneofthesescriptsifyou
encounterdifficultiesfollowingtheinstructionsgivenbeloworifyouwishtocheckyourwork.Scriptsareavailablein
thefollowinglocations:
APythonscriptforthisexampleisprovidedinOverheadhoistframe,SectionA.1.Instructionsonhowtofetch
thescriptandrunitwithinAbaqus/CAEaregiveninAppendixA,ExampleFiles.
ApluginscriptforthisexampleisavailableintheAbaqus/CAEPlugintoolset.Torunthescriptfrom
Abaqus/CAE,selectPlugins Abaqus GettingStartedhighlightOverheadhoistframeandclickRun.
FormoreinformationabouttheGettingStartedplugins,seeRunningtheGettingStartedwithAbaqus
examples,Section82.1oftheAbaqus/CAEUser'sGuide.
Asnotedearlier,itisassumedthatyouwillbeusingAbaqus/CAEtogeneratethemodel.However,ifyoudonothave
accesstoAbaqus/CAEoranotherpreprocessor,theinputfilethatdefinesthisproblemcanbecreatedmanually,as
discussedinExample:creatingamodelofanoverheadhoist,Section2.3ofGettingStartedwithAbaqus:Keywords
Edition.
2.3.1Units
Beforestartingtodefinethisoranymodel,youneedtodecidewhichsystemofunitsyouwilluse.Abaqushasnobuilt
insystemofunits.DonotincludeunitnamesorlabelswhenenteringdatainAbaqus.Allinputdatamustbespecifiedin
consistentunits.SomecommonsystemsofconsistentunitsareshowninTable21.
Table21Consistentunits.
Quantity
Length

SI
m

SI(mm)
mm

Force

lbf

lbf

Mass

kg

tonne(103kg)

slug

lbfs2/in

Time

lbf/ft2

psi(lbf/in2)

Stress

Pa(N/m2) MPa(N/mm2)

USUnit(ft) USUnit(inch)
ft
in

Energy

mJ(103J)

ftlbf

inlbf

Density

kg/m3

tonne/mm3

slug/ft3

lbfs2/in4

TheSIsystemofunitsisusedthroughoutthisguide.UsersworkinginthesystemslabeledUSUnitshouldbecareful
withtheunitsofdensityoftenthedensitiesgiveninhandbooksofmaterialpropertiesaremultipliedbytheacceleration
duetogravity.
2.3.2Creatingapart
Partsdefinethegeometryoftheindividualcomponentsofyourmodeland,therefore,arethebuildingblocksofan
Abaqus/CAEmodel.YoucancreatepartsthatarenativetoAbaqus/CAE,oryoucanimportpartscreatedbyother
applicationseitherasageometricrepresentationorasafiniteelementmesh.
Youwillstarttheoverheadhoistproblembycreatingatwodimensional,deformablewirepart.Youdothisbysketching
thegeometryoftheframe.Abaqus/CAEautomaticallyenterstheSketcherwhenyoucreateapart.
Abaqus/CAEoftendisplaysashortmessageinthepromptareaindicatingwhatyoushoulddonext,asshowninFigure
26.
Figure26Messagesandinstructionsaredisplayedinthepromptarea.
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ClicktheCancelbuttontocancelthecurrenttask.ClickthePreviousbuttontocancelthecurrentstepinthetaskand
returntothepreviousstep.
Tocreatetheoverheadhoistframe:
1. IfyoudidnotalreadystartAbaqus/CAE,typeabaquscae,whereabaqusisthecommandusedtorunAbaqus.
2. FromtheCreateModelDatabaseoptionsintheStartSessiondialogboxthatappears,selectWith
Standard/ExplicitModel.
Abaqus/CAEentersthePartmodule.TheModelTreeappearsintheleftsideofthemainwindow(underneaththe
Modeltab).BetweentheModelTreeandthecanvasisthePartmoduletoolbox.Atoolboxcontainsasetoficons
thatallowexpertuserstobypassthemenusinthemainmenubar.Formanytools,asyouselectanitemfromthe
mainmenubarortheModelTree,thecorrespondingtoolishighlightedinthemoduletoolboxsoyoucanlearnits
location.
3. IntheModelTree,doubleclickthePartscontainertocreateanewpart.
TheCreatePartdialogboxappears.Abaqus/CAEalsodisplaystextinthepromptareanearthebottomofthe
windowtoguideyouthroughtheprocedure.
YouusetheCreatePartdialogboxtonametheparttochooseitsmodelingspace,type,andbasefeatureandto
settheapproximatesize.Youcaneditandrenameapartafteryoucreateityoucanalsochangeitsmodeling
spaceandtypebutnotitsbasefeature.
4. NamethepartFrame.Chooseatwodimensionalplanardeformablebodyandawirebasefeature.
5. IntheApproximatesizetextfield,type4.0.
ThevalueenteredintheApproximatesizetextfieldatthebottomofthedialogboxsetstheapproximatesizeof
thenewpart.ThesizethatyouenterisusedbyAbaqus/CAEtocalculatethesizeoftheSketchersheetandthe
spacingofitsgrid.Youshouldchoosethisvaluetobeontheorderofthelargestdimensionofyourfinishedpart.
RecallthatAbaqus/CAEdoesnotusespecificunits,buttheunitsmustbeconsistentthroughoutthemodel.Inthis
modelSIunitswillbeused.
6. ClickContinuetoexittheCreatePartdialogbox.
Abaqus/CAEautomaticallyenterstheSketcher.TheSketchertoolboxappearsintheleftsideofthemainwindow,
andtheSketchergridappearsintheviewport.TheSketchercontainsasetofbasictoolsthatallowyoutosketch
thetwodimensionalprofileofyourpart.Abaqus/CAEenterstheSketcherwheneveryoucreateoreditapart.To
finishusinganytool,clickmousebutton2intheviewportorselectanewtool.
Tip:LikealltoolsinAbaqus/CAE,ifyousimplypositionthecursoroveratoolintheSketcher
toolboxforashorttime,asmallwindowappearsthatgivesabriefdescriptionofthetool.When
youselectatool,awhitebackgroundappearsonit.
ThefollowingaspectsoftheSketcherhelpyousketchthedesiredgeometry:
TheSketchergridhelpsyoupositionthecursorandalignobjectsintheviewport.
DashedlinesindicatetheXandYaxesofthesketchandintersectattheoriginofthesketch.
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Atriadinthelowerleftcorneroftheviewportindicatestherelationshipbetweenthesketchplaneandthe
orientationofthepart.
Whenyouselectasketchingtool,Abaqus/CAEdisplaystheXandYcoordinatesofthecursorintheupper
leftcorneroftheviewport.
7. Youwillfirstsketcharoughapproximationoftheframeandlateruseconstraintsanddimensionstorefinethe
sketch.BeginbyusingtheCreateLines:Rectangletool
locatedintheupperrightregionoftheSketcher
toolboxtosketchanarbitraryrectangle.Selectanytwopointsastheoppositecornersoftherectangle.
Clickmousebutton2anywhereintheviewporttoexittherectangletool.
Note:IfyoumakeamistakewhileusingtheSketcher,youcanundoyourlastactionusingthe
Undotool

ordeleteindividualentitiesofyoursketchusingtheDeletetool

8. TheSketcherautomaticallyaddsconstraintstothesketchasindicatedinFigure27(inthiscase,thefourcorners
oftherectangleareassignedperpendicularconstraintsandoneedgeisdesignatedashorizontal).
Figure27ConstraintsindicatedintheSketcher.

Toproceed,theperpendicularconstraintsmustbedeleted.IntheSketchertoolbox,selecttheDeletetool
thendothefollowing:

and

a. Inthepromptarea,selectConstraintsasthescopeoftheoperation.
b. Using[Shift]+Click,selectthefourperpendicularconstraints.
c. ClickDoneinthepromptarea.
9. Youwillnowaddadditionalconstraintsanddimensionstorefinethesketch.Constraintsanddimensionsallow
youtocontrolyoursketchgeometryandaddprecision.Formoreinformationonconstraintsanddimensions,see
Controllingsketchgeometry,Section20.7oftheAbaqus/CAEUser'sGuide.
a. UsetheAddConstrainttool
other:

toconstrainthetopandbottomedgessotheyremainparalleltoeach

i. IntheAddConstraintdialogbox,selectParallel.
ii. Intheviewport,selectthetopandbottomedgesofthesketch(using[Shift]+Click).
iii. ClickDoneinthepromptarea.
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b. UsetheAddDimensiontool todimensionthetopandbottomedgesoftherectangle.Thetopedge
shouldhaveahorizontaldimensionof1mandthebottomedgeahorizontaldimensionof2m.When
dimensioningeachedge,simplyselecttheline,clickmousebutton1topositionthedimensiontext,andthen
enterthenewdimensioninthepromptarea.Selectingthelineratherthanitsendpointsconstrainsthelength
ofthelineregardlessofitsorientationinspace(ineffect,defininganobliquedimension).
ResettheviewasneededusingtheAutoFitViewtool
updatedsketch.

intheViewManipulationtoolbartoseethe

c. Dimensiontheleftandrightedgessotheyeachhaveanobliquedimensionof1m.
ThesketchinitscurrentstateisshowninFigure28.Inthisfigurethedefaultgridspacinghasbeendoubled.For
informationonusingtheSketcherOptionstool tomodifytheSketcherdisplay,seeCustomizingthe
Sketcher,Section20.9oftheAbaqus/CAEUser'sGuide.
Figure28Roughsketchofframe(withgridspacingdoubled).

10. Nowsketchtheinterioredgesoftheframe.
a. UsingtheCreateLines:Connectedtool
createtwolinesasfollows:

locatedintheupperrightcorneroftheSketchertoolbox,

i. Startthefirstlineattheupperleftcornerofthesketchandextendittoanypointthatsnapsontothe
bottomedge(itshorizontallocationisarbitrary).
ii. Continuethesecondlinetotheupperrightcornerofthesketch.
iii. Clickmousebutton2anywhereintheviewporttoexittheconnectedlinestool.
b. UsingtheSplittool

,splitthebottomedgeatthepointwhereitintersectsthetwolinescreatedabove:

i. Notethesmallblacktrianglesatthebaseofsomeofthetoolboxicons.Thesetrianglesindicatethe
presenceofhiddeniconsthatcanberevealed.ClickandholdtheAutoTrimtool
middlerightoftheSketchertoolboxuntiladditionaliconsappear.
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ii. Fromthesetofadditionalicons,clicktheSplittool

ThesplittoolappearsintheSketchertoolboxwithawhitebackgroundindicatingthatyouselectedit.
iii. Selectthebottomedgeasthefirstentitytodefinethesplitpoint.
iv. Selecteitherofthetwointeriorlinesasthesecondentity(aredcirclewillappeararoundthesplit
point).
v. Clickmousebutton2toindicatethatyouhavefinishedusingthesplittool.
c. UsetheAddConstrainttool
length:

toconstrainthetwosegmentsofthebottomedgesotheyareofequal

i. IntheAddConstraintdialogbox,selectEquallength.
ii. Intheviewport,selectthetwosegmentsofthebottomedge.
iii. ClickDoneinthepromptarea.
11. ThefinalsketchisshowninFigure29.
Figure29Framegeometrysketch.

12. Fromthepromptarea(nearthebottomofthemainwindow),clickDonetoexittheSketcher.
Note:Ifyoudon'tseetheDonebuttoninthepromptarea,continuetoclickmousebutton2inthe
viewportuntilitappears.
13. Beforeyoucontinue,saveyourmodelinamodeldatabasefile.
a. Fromthemainmenubar,selectFile

Save.TheSaveModelDatabaseAsdialogboxappears.

b. TypeanameforthenewmodeldatabaseintheFileNamefield,andclickOK.Youdonotneedtoinclude
thefileextensionAbaqus/CAEautomaticallyappends.caetothefilename.
Abaqus/CAEstoresthemodeldatabaseinanewfileandreturnstothePartmodule.Thepathandnameof
yourmodeldatabaseappearinthemainwindowtitlebar.
Youshouldalwayssaveyourmodeldatabaseatregularintervals(forexample,eachtimeyouswitchmodules)
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Abaqus/CAEdoesnotsaveyourmodeldatabaseautomatically.
2.3.3Creatingamaterial
InthisproblemallthemembersoftheframearemadeofsteelandassumedtobelinearelasticwithYoung'smodulusof
200GPaandPoisson'sratioof0.3.Thus,youwillcreateasinglelinearelasticmaterialwiththeseproperties.
Todefineamaterial:
1. IntheModelTree,doubleclicktheMaterialscontainertocreateanewmaterial.
Abaqus/CAEswitchestothePropertymodule,andtheEditMaterialdialogboxappears.
2. NamethematerialSteel.
3. Usethemenubarunderthebrowserareaofthematerialeditortorevealmenuscontainingalltheavailable
materialoptions.Someofthemenuitemscontainsubmenusforexample,Figure210showstheoptionsavailable
undertheMechanical Elasticitymenuitem.Whenyouselectamaterialoption,theappropriatedataentryform
appearsbelowthemenu.
Figure210SubmenusavailableundertheMechanical

4. Fromthematerialeditor'smenubar,selectMechanical

Elasticitymenu.

Elasticity

Elastic.

Abaqus/CAEdisplaystheElasticdataform.
5. Typeavalueof200.0E9forYoung'smodulusandavalueof0.3forPoisson'sratiointherespectivefields.Use
[Tab]ormovethecursortoanewcellandclicktomovebetweencells.
6. ClickOKtoexitthematerialeditor.
2.3.4Definingandassigningsectionproperties
Youdefinethepropertiesofapartthroughsections.Afteryoucreateasection,youcanuseoneofthefollowingtwo
methodstoassignthesectiontothepartinthecurrentviewport:
Youcansimplyselecttheregionfromthepartandassignthesectiontotheselectedregion.
YoucanusetheSettoolsettocreateahomogeneoussetcontainingtheregionandassignthesectiontotheset.
Fortheframemodelyouwillcreateasingletrusssectionthatyouwillassigntotheframebyselectingtheframefrom
theviewport.ThesectionwillrefertothematerialSteelthatyoujustcreatedaswellasdefinethecrosssectionalarea
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oftheframemembers.
Definingatrusssection
Atrusssectiondefinitionrequiresonlyamaterialreferenceandthecrosssectionalarea.Rememberthatthe
framemembersarecircularbarsthatare0.005mindiameter.Thus,theircrosssectionalareais1.963105
m2.
Tip:Youcanusethecommandlineinterface(CLI)inAbaqus/CAEasasimplecalculator.For
example,tocomputethecrosssectionalareaoftheframemembers,clickthe tabinthe
bottomleftcorneroftheAbaqus/CAEwindowtoactivatetheCLI,typepi*0.005**2/4.0
afterthecommandprompt,andpress[Enter].Thevalueofthecrosssectionalareaisprintedin
theCLI.
Todefineatrusssection:
1. IntheModelTree,doubleclicktheSectionscontainertocreateasection.
TheCreateSectiondialogboxappears.
2. IntheCreateSectiondialogbox:
a. NamethesectionFrameSection.
b. IntheCategorylist,selectBeam.
c. IntheTypelist,selectTruss.
d. ClickContinue.
TheEditSectiondialogboxappears.
3. IntheEditSectiondialogbox:
a. AcceptthedefaultselectionofSteelfortheMaterialassociatedwiththesection.Ifyouhad
definedothermaterials,youcouldclickthearrownexttotheMaterialtextboxtoseealistof
availablematerialsandtoselectthematerialofyourchoice.
b. IntheCrosssectionalareafield,enterpi*0.005**2/4.0.
Tip:Ifafieldinadialogboxisexpectingafloatingpointnumber,youcanenteran
arithmeticexpressioninstead.TheexpressionisevaluatedbythePythoninterpreter
thatisbuiltintoAbaqus/CAE.Thearithmeticexpressionwillbereplacedbyits
value.
c. ClickOK.
Assigningthesectiontotheframe
ThesectionFrameSectionmustbeassignedtotheframe.
Toassignthesectiontotheframe:
1. IntheModelTree,expandthebranchforthepartnamedFramebyclickingthe symboltoexpand
thePartscontainerandthenclickingthe symboltoexpandtheFrameitem.
2. DoubleclickSectionAssignmentsinthelistofpartattributesthatappears.
Abaqus/CAEdisplayspromptsinthepromptareatoguideyouthroughtheprocedure.
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3. Selecttheentirepartastheregiontowhichthesectionwillbeapplied.
a. Clickandholdmousebutton1attheupperlefthandcorneroftheviewport.
b. Dragthemousetocreateaboxaroundthetruss.
c. Releasemousebutton1.
Abaqus/CAEhighlightstheentireframe.
4. Inthepromptarea,enterallasthenameofthesetthatwillbecreated.
Thissetwillcontaintheselectedregions.Theadvantageofcreatingasetisthatitcanbeusedforother
purposes.Ifyouprefertonotcreateaset,toggleoffCreatesetinthepromptarea.
5. Clickmousebutton2intheviewportorclickDoneinthepromptareatoaccepttheselectedgeometry.
TheEditSectionAssignmentdialogboxappearscontainingalistofexistingsections.
6. AcceptthedefaultselectionofFrameSection,andclickOK.
Abaqus/CAEassignsthetrusssectiontotheframe,colorstheentireframeaquatoindicatethattheregion
hasasectionassignment,andclosestheEditSectionAssignmentdialogbox.
2.3.5Definingtheassembly
Eachpartthatyoucreateisorientedinitsowncoordinatesystemandisindependentoftheotherpartsinthemodel.
Althoughamodelmaycontainmanyparts,itcontainsonlyoneassembly.Youdefinethegeometryoftheassemblyby
creatinginstancesofapartandthenpositioningtheinstancesrelativetoeachotherinaglobalcoordinatesystem.An
instancecanbeclassifiedaseitherindependentordependent.Independentpartinstancesaremeshedindividually,while
themeshofadependentpartinstanceisassociatedwiththemeshoftheoriginalpart.Forfurtherdetails,seeWorking
withpartinstances,Section13.3oftheAbaqus/CAEUser'sGuide.Bydefault,partinstancesaredependent.
Forthisproblemyouwillcreateasingleinstanceofyouroverheadhoist.Abaqus/CAEpositionstheinstancesothatthe
originofthesketchthatdefinedtheframeoverlaystheoriginoftheassembly'sdefaultcoordinatesystem.
Todefinetheassembly:
1. IntheModelTree,expandtheAssemblycontaineranddoubleclickInstancesinthelistthatappears.
Abaqus/CAEswitchestotheAssemblymodule,andtheCreateInstancedialogboxappears.
2. Inthedialogbox,selectPartstochoosepartsfromthecurrentmodel.
3. SelectFrameandclickOK.
Abaqus/CAEcreatesaninstanceoftheoverheadhoist.Inthisexamplethesingleinstanceoftheframedefinesthe
assembly.Theframeisdisplayedinthe12planeoftheglobalcoordinatesystem(arighthanded,rectangularCartesian
system).Atriadinthelowerleftcorneroftheviewportindicatestheorientationofthemodelwithrespecttotheview.A
secondtriadintheviewportindicatestheoriginandorientationoftheglobalcoordinatesystem(X,Y,andZaxes).The
global1axisisthehorizontalaxisofthehoist,theglobal2axisistheverticalaxis,andtheglobal3axisisnormaltothe
planeoftheframework.FortwodimensionalproblemssuchasthisoneAbaqusrequiresthatthemodellieinaplane
paralleltotheglobal12plane.
2.3.6Configuringyouranalysis
Nowthatyouhavecreatedyourassembly,youcanconfigureyouranalysis.Inthissimulationweareinterestedinthe
staticresponseoftheoverheadhoisttoa10kNloadappliedatthemidspan,withthelefthandendfullyconstrainedand
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arollerconstraintontherighthandend(seeFigure25).Thisisasingleevent,soonlyasingleanalysisstepisneeded
forthesimulation.Thus,themodelwillconsistoftwostepsoverall:
Aninitialstep,inwhichyouwillapplyboundaryconditionsthatconstraintheendsoftheframe.
Ananalysisstep,inwhichyouwillapplyaconcentratedloadatthemidspanoftheframe.
Abaqus/CAEgeneratestheinitialstepautomatically,butyoumustcreatetheanalysisstepyourself.Youmayalso
requestoutputforanystepsintheanalysis.
TherearetwokindsofanalysisstepsinAbaqus:generalanalysissteps,whichcanbeusedtoanalyzelinearornonlinear
response,andlinearperturbationsteps,whichcanbeusedonlytoanalyzelinearproblems.Onlygeneralanalysissteps
areavailableinAbaqus/Explicit.Forthissimulationyouwilldefineastaticlinearperturbationstep.Perturbation
proceduresarediscussedfurtherinChapter11,MultipleStepAnalysis.
Creatingananalysisstep
Createastatic,linearperturbationstepthatfollowstheinitialstepoftheanalysis.
Tocreateastaticlinearperturbationanalysisstep:
1. IntheModelTree,doubleclicktheStepscontainertocreateastep.
Abaqus/CAEswitchestotheStepmodule,andtheCreateStepdialogboxappears.Alistofallthe
generalproceduresandadefaultstepnameofStep1isprovided.
2. ChangethestepnametoApplyload.
3. SelectLinearperturbationastheProceduretype.
4. FromthelistofavailablelinearperturbationproceduresintheCreateStepdialogbox,selectStatic,
LinearperturbationandclickContinue.
TheEditStepdialogboxappearswiththedefaultsettingsforastaticlinearperturbationstep.
5. TheBasictabisselectedbydefault.IntheDescriptionfield,type10kNcentralload.
6. ClicktheOthertabtoseeitscontentsyoucanacceptthedefaultvaluesprovidedforthestep.
7. ClickOKtocreatethestepandtoexittheEditStepdialogbox.
Requestingdataoutput
Finiteelementanalysescancreateverylargeamountsofoutput.Abaqusallowsyoutocontrolandmanagethis
outputsothatonlydatarequiredtointerprettheresultsofyoursimulationareproduced.Fourtypesofoutput
areavailablefromanAbaqusanalysis:
ResultsstoredinaneutralbinaryfileusedbyAbaqus/CAEforpostprocessing.Thisfileiscalledthe
Abaqusoutputdatabasefileandhastheextension.odb.
Printedtablesofresults,writtentotheAbaqusdata(.dat)file.Outputtothedatafileisavailableonlyin
Abaqus/Standard.
Restartdatausedtocontinuetheanalysis,writtentotheAbaqusrestart(.res)file.
Resultsstoredinbinaryfilesforsubsequentpostprocessingwiththirdpartysoftware,writtentothe
Abaqusresults(.fil)file.
Youwilluseonlythefirstoftheseintheoverheadhoistsimulation.
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Bydefault,Abaqus/CAEwritestheresultsoftheanalysistotheoutputdatabase(.odb)file.Whenyoucreatea
step,Abaqus/CAEgeneratesadefaultoutputrequestforthestep.Alistofthepreselectedvariableswrittenby
defaulttotheoutputdatabaseisgivenintheAbaqusAnalysisUser'sGuide.Youdonotneedtodoanythingto
acceptthesedefaults.YouusetheFieldOutputRequestsManagertorequestoutputofvariablesthatshould
bewrittenatrelativelylowfrequenciestotheoutputdatabasefromtheentiremodelorfromalargeportionof
themodel.YouusetheHistoryOutputRequestsManagertorequestoutputofvariablesthatshouldbe
writtentotheoutputdatabaseatahighfrequencyfromasmallportionofthemodelforexample,the
displacementofasinglenode.
Forthisexampleyouwillexaminetheoutputrequeststothe.odbfileandacceptthedefaultconfiguration.
Toexamineyouroutputrequeststothe.odbfile:
1. IntheModelTree,clickmousebutton3ontheFieldOutputRequestscontainerandselectManager
fromthemenuthatappears.
Abaqus/CAEdisplaystheFieldOutputRequestsManager.Thismanagerdisplaysthestatusoffield
outputrequestsinatableformat.Theleftsideofthetablehasanalphabeticallistofexistingoutput
requests.Thetopofthetableliststhenamesofallthestepsintheanalysisintheorderofexecution.Each
cellofthetabledisplaysthestatusofeachoutputrequestineachstep.
YoucanusetheFieldOutputRequestsManagertodothefollowing:
SelectthevariablesthatAbaquswillwritetotheoutputdatabase.
SelectthesectionpointsforwhichAbaquswillgenerateoutputdata.
SelecttheregionofthemodelforwhichAbaquswillgenerateoutputdata.
ChangethefrequencyatwhichAbaquswillwritedatatotheoutputdatabase.
2. ReviewthedefaultoutputrequestthatAbaqus/CAEgeneratesfortheStatic,Linearperturbationstep
youcreatedandnamedApplyload.
SelectthecellinthetablelabeledCreatedifitisnotalreadyselected.Thefollowinginformation
relatedtothecellisshowninthelegendatthebottomofthemanager:
Thetypeofanalysisprocedurecarriedoutinthestepinthatcolumn.
Thelistofoutputrequestvariables.
Theoutputrequeststatus.
3. OntherightsideoftheFieldOutputRequestsManager,clickEdittoviewmoredetailedinformation
abouttheoutputrequest.
Thefieldoutputeditorappears.IntheOutputVariablesregionofthisdialogbox,thereisatextboxthat
listsallvariablesthatwillbeoutput.Ifyouchangeanoutputrequest,youcanalwaysreturntothedefault
settingsbychoosingPreselecteddefaultsabovethetextbox.
4. Clickthearrowsnexttoeachoutputvariablecategorytoseeexactlywhichvariableswillbeoutput.The
boxesnexttoeachcategorytitleallowyoutoseeataglancewhetherallvariablesinthatcategorywillbe
output.Ablackcheckmarkindicatesthatallvariablesareoutput,whileagraycheckmarkindicatesthat
onlysomevariableswillbeoutput.
Basedontheselectionsshownatthebottomofthedialogbox,datawillbegeneratedateverydefault
sectionpointinthemodelandwillbewrittentotheoutputdatabaseaftereveryincrementduringthe
analysis.
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5. ClickCanceltoclosethefieldoutputeditor,sinceyoudonotwishtomakeanychangestothedefault
outputrequests.
6. ClickDismisstoclosetheFieldOutputRequestsManager.
Note:WhatisthedifferencebetweentheDismissandCancelbuttons?Dismissbuttons
appearindialogboxesthatcontaindatathatyoucannotmodify.Forexample,theField
OutputRequestsManagerallowsyoutoviewoutputrequests,butyoumustusethefield
outputeditortomodifythoserequests.ClickingtheDismissbuttonsimplyclosesthe
FieldOutputRequestsManager.Conversely,Cancelbuttonsappearindialogboxes
thatallowyoutomakechanges.ClickingCancelclosesthedialogboxwithoutsaving
yourchanges.
7. ReviewthehistoryoutputrequestsinasimilarmannerbyrightclickingtheHistoryOutputRequests
containerintheModelTreeandopeningthehistoryoutputeditor.
2.3.7Applyingboundaryconditionsandloadstothemodel
Prescribedconditions,suchasloadsandboundaryconditions,arestepdependent,whichmeansthatyoumustspecifythe
steporstepsinwhichtheybecomeactive.Nowthatyouhavedefinedthestepsintheanalysis,youcandefineprescribed
conditions.
Applyingboundaryconditionstotheframe
Instructuralanalyses,boundaryconditionsareappliedtothoseregionsofthemodelwherethedisplacements
and/orrotationsareknown.Suchregionsmaybeconstrainedtoremainfixed(havezerodisplacementand/or
rotation)duringthesimulationormayhavespecified,nonzerodisplacementsand/orrotations.
Inthismodelthebottomleftportionoftheframeisconstrainedcompletelyand,thus,cannotmoveinany
direction.Thebottomrightportionoftheframe,however,isfixedintheverticaldirectionbutisfreetomove
inthehorizontaldirection.Thedirectionsinwhichmotionispossiblearecalleddegreesoffreedom(dof).
ThelabelingconventionusedforthedisplacementandrotationaldegreesoffreedominAbaqusisshownin
Figure211.
Figure211Displacementandrotationaldegreesoffreedom.

Toapplyboundaryconditionstotheframe:
1. IntheModelTree,doubleclicktheBCscontainer.
Abaqus/CAEswitchestotheLoadmodule,andtheCreateBoundaryConditiondialogboxappears.
2. IntheCreateBoundaryConditiondialogbox:
a. NametheboundaryconditionFixed.
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b. Fromthelistofsteps,selectInitialasthestepinwhichtheboundaryconditionwillbe
activated.AllthemechanicalboundaryconditionsspecifiedintheInitialstepmusthavezero
magnitudes.ThisconditionisenforcedautomaticallybyAbaqus/CAE.
c. IntheCategorylist,acceptMechanicalasthedefaultcategoryselection.
d. IntheTypesforSelectedSteplist,selectDisplacement/Rotation,andclickContinue.
Abaqus/CAEdisplayspromptsinthepromptareatoguideyouthroughtheprocedure.For
example,youareaskedtoselecttheregiontowhichtheboundaryconditionwillbeapplied.
Toapplyaprescribedconditiontoaregion,youcaneitherselecttheregiondirectlyintheviewport
orapplytheconditiontoanexistingset(asetisanamedregionofamodel).Setsareaconvenient
toolthatcanbeusedtomanagelargecomplicatedmodels.Inthissimplemodelyouwillnotmake
useofsets.
3. Intheviewport,selectthevertexatthebottomleftcorneroftheframeastheregiontowhichthe
boundaryconditionwillbeapplied.Nametheassociatedsetleft.
4. Clickmousebutton2intheviewportorclickDoneinthepromptareatoindicatethatyouhavefinished
selectingregions.
TheEditBoundaryConditiondialogboxappears.Whenyouaredefiningaboundaryconditioninthe
initialstep,allavailabledegreesoffreedomareunconstrainedbydefault.
5. Inthedialogbox:
a. ToggleonU1andU2sincealltranslationaldegreesoffreedomneedtobeconstrained.
b. ClickOKtocreatetheboundaryconditionandtoclosethedialogbox.
Abaqus/CAEdisplaystwoarrowheadsatthevertextoindicatetheconstraineddegreesoffreedom.
6. RepeattheaboveproceduretoconstraindegreeoffreedomU2atthevertexatthebottomrightcornerof
theframe.NamethisboundaryconditionRollerandtheassociatedsetright.
7. IntheModelTree,clickmousebutton3ontheBCscontainerandselectManagerfromthemenuthat
appears.
Abaqus/CAEdisplaystheBoundaryConditionManager.Themanagerindicatesthattheboundary
conditionsareCreated(activated)intheinitialstepandarePropagatedfrombasestate
(continuetobeactive)intheanalysisstepApplyload.
Tip:Toviewthetitleofacolumninitsentirety,expanditswidthbydraggingthe
dividinglinebetweenthecolumnheadings.
8. ClickDismisstoclosetheBoundaryConditionManager.
Inthisexamplealltheconstraintsareintheglobal1or2directions.Inmanycasesconstraintsarerequiredin
directionsthatarenotalignedwiththeglobaldirections.Insuchcasesyoucandefinealocalcoordinatesystem
forboundaryconditionapplication.TheskewplateexampleinChapter5,UsingShellElements,
demonstrateshowtodothis.
Applyingaloadtotheframe
Nowthatyouhaveconstrainedtheframe,youcanapplyaloadtothebottomoftheframe.InAbaqustheterm
load(asintheLoadmoduleinAbaqus/CAE)generallyreferstoanythingthatinducesachangeintheresponse
ofastructurefromitsinitialstate,including:
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concentratedforces,
pressures,
nonzeroboundaryconditions,
bodyloads,and
temperature(withthermalexpansionofthematerialdefined).
Sometimesthetermloadisusedtoreferspecificallytoforcetypequantities(asintheLoadManagerofthe
Loadmodule)forexample,concentratedforces,pressures,andbodyloadsbutnotboundaryconditionsor
temperature.Theintendedmeaningofthetermshouldbeclearfromthecontextofthediscussion.
Inthissimulationaconcentratedforceof10kNisappliedinthenegative2directiontothemidspanofthe
frametheloadisappliedduringthelinearperturbationstepyoucreatedearlier.Inrealitythereisnosuchthing
asaconcentrated,orpoint,loadtheloadwillalwaysbeappliedoversomefinitearea.However,ifthearea
beingloadedissmall,itisanappropriateidealizationtotreattheloadasaconcentratedload.
Toapplyaconcentratedforcetotheframe:
1. IntheModelTree,clickmousebutton3ontheLoadscontainerandselectManagerfromthemenuthat
appears.
TheLoadManagerappears.
2. AtthebottomoftheLoadManager,clickCreate.
TheCreateLoaddialogboxappears.
3. IntheCreateLoaddialogbox:
a. NametheloadForce.
b. Fromthelistofsteps,selectApplyloadasthestepinwhichtheloadwillbeapplied.
c. IntheCategorylist,acceptMechanicalasthedefaultcategoryselection.
d. IntheTypesforSelectedSteplist,acceptthedefaultselectionofConcentratedforce.
e. ClickContinue.
Abaqus/CAEdisplayspromptsinthepromptareatoguideyouthroughtheprocedure.Youareaskedto
selectaregiontowhichtheloadwillbeapplied.
Aswithboundaryconditions,theregiontowhichtheloadwillbeappliedcanbeselectedeitherdirectly
intheviewportorfromalistofexistingsets.Asbefore,youwillselecttheregiondirectlyinthe
viewport.
4. Intheviewport,selectthevertexatthebottomcenteroftheframeastheregionwheretheloadwillbe
applied.Nametheassociatedsetcenter.
5. Clickmousebutton2intheviewportorclickDoneinthepromptareatoindicatethatyouhavefinished
selectingregions.
TheEditLoaddialogboxappears.
6. Inthedialogbox:
a. Enteramagnitudeof10000.0forCF2.
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b. ClickOKtocreatetheloadandtoclosethedialogbox.
Abaqus/CAEdisplaysadownwardpointingarrowatthevertextoindicatethattheloadisapplied
inthenegative2direction.
7. ExaminetheLoadManagerandnotethatthenewloadisCreated(activated)intheanalysisstep
Applyload.
8. ClickDismisstoclosetheLoadManager.
2.3.8Meshingthemodel
Youwillnowgeneratethefiniteelementmesh.YoucanchoosethemeshingtechniquethatAbaqus/CAEwilluseto
createthemesh,theelementshape,andtheelementtype.Themeshingtechniqueforonedimensionalregions(suchas
theonesinthisexample)cannotbechanged,however.Abaqus/CAEusesanumberofdifferentmeshingtechniques.The
defaultmeshingtechniqueassignedtothemodelisindicatedbythecolorofthemodelthatisdisplayedwhenyouenter
theMeshmoduleifAbaqus/CAEdisplaysthemodelinorange,itcannotbemeshedwithoutassistancefromyou.
AssigninganAbaquselementtype
InthissectionyouwillassignaparticularAbaquselementtypetothemodel.Althoughyouwillassignthe
elementtypenow,youcouldalsowaituntilafterthemeshhasbeencreated.
Twodimensionaltrusselementswillbeusedtomodeltheframe.Theseelementsarechosenbecausetruss
elements,whichcarryonlytensileandcompressiveaxialloads,areidealformodelingpinjointedframeworks
suchasthisoverheadhoist.
ToassignanAbaquselementtype:
1. IntheModelTree,expandtheFrameitemunderneaththePartscontainerifitisnotalreadyexpanded.
ThendoubleclickMeshinthelistthatappears.
Abaqus/CAEswitchestotheMeshmodule.TheMeshmodulefunctionalityisavailableonlythrough
menubaritemsortoolboxicons.
2. Fromthemainmenubar,selectMesh

ElementType.

3. Ifyoucreatedthesetnamedallwhileassigningsectionproperties,clickSetsintherightsideofthe
promptareaandselectallfromtheRegionSelectiondialogbox.Otherwise,dragthemousetocreatea
boxthatselectstheentireframeastheregiontobeassignedanelementtypeandclickDoneinthe
promptareawhenyouarefinished.
TheElementTypedialogboxappears.
4. Inthedialogbox,selectthefollowing:
StandardastheElementLibraryselection(thedefault).
LinearastheGeometricOrder(thedefault).
TrussastheFamilyofelements.
5. Inthelowerportionofthedialogbox,examinetheelementshapeoptions.Abriefdescriptionofthe
defaultelementselectionisavailableatthebottomofeachtabbedpage.
Sincethemodelisatwodimensionaltruss,onlytwodimensionaltrusselementtypesareshownonthe
Linetabbedpage.AdescriptionoftheelementtypeT2D2appearsatthebottomofthedialogbox.
Abaqus/CAEwillnowassociateT2D2elementswiththeelementsinthemesh.
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6. ClickOKtoassigntheelementtypeandtoclosethedialogbox.
7. Inthepromptarea,clickDonetoendtheprocedure.
Creatingthemesh
Basicmeshingisatwostageoperation:firstyouseedtheedgesofthepartinstance,andthenyoumeshthepart
instance.Youselectthenumberofseedsbasedonthedesiredelementsizeoronthenumberofelementsthat
youwantalonganedge,andAbaqus/CAEplacesthenodesofthemeshattheseedswheneverpossible.Forthis
problemyouwillcreateoneelementoneachbarofthehoist.
Toseedandmeshthemodel:
1. Fromthemainmenubar,selectSeed

Parttoseedthepartinstance.

Note:Youcangainmorecontroloftheresultingmeshbyseedingeachedgeofthepart
instanceindividually,butitisnotnecessaryforthisexample.
TheGlobalSeedsdialogboxappears.ThedialogboxdisplaysthedefaultelementsizethatAbaqus/CAE
willusetoseedthepartinstance.Thisdefaultelementsizeisbasedonthesizeofthepartinstance.A
relativelylargeseedvaluewillbeusedsothatonlyoneelementwillbecreatedperregion.
2. IntheGlobalSeedsdialogbox,specifyanapproximateglobalelementsizeof1.0,andclickOKto
createtheseedsandtoclosethedialogbox.
3. Fromthemainmenubar,selectMesh

Parttomeshthepartinstance.

4. Fromthebuttonsinthepromptarea,clickYestoconfirmthatyouwanttomeshthepartinstance.
Tip:YoucandisplaythenodeandelementnumberswithintheMeshmodulebyselectingView
PartDisplayOptionsfromthemainmenubar.ToggleonShownodelabelsandShow
elementlabelsintheMeshtabbedpageofthePartDisplayOptionsdialogboxthatappears.
2.3.9Creatingananalysisjob
Nowthatyouhaveconfiguredyouranalysis,youwillcreateajobthatisassociatedwithyourmodel.
Tocreateananalysisjob:
1. IntheModelTree,doubleclicktheJobscontainertocreateajob.
Abaqus/CAEswitchestotheJobmodule,andtheCreateJobdialogboxappearswithalistofthemodelsinthe
modeldatabase.Whenyouarefinisheddefiningyourjob,theJobscontainerwilldisplayalistofyourjobs.
2. NamethejobFrame,andclickContinue.
TheEditJobdialogboxappears.
3. IntheDescriptionfield,typeTwodimensionaloverheadhoistframe.
4. ClickOKtoacceptallotherdefaultjobsettingsinthejobeditorandtoclosethedialogbox.
2.3.10Checkingthemodel
Havinggeneratedthemodelforthissimulation,youarereadytoruntheanalysis.Unfortunately,itispossibletohave
errorsinthemodelbecauseofincorrectormissingdata.Youshouldperformadatacheckanalysisfirstbeforerunning
thesimulation.
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Torunadatacheckanalysis:
1. IntheModelTree,expandtheJobscontainer.Clickmousebutton3onthejobnamedFrame,andselectData
Checkfromthemenuthatappearstosubmityourjobforadatacheckanalysis.
2. Afteryousubmityourjob,informationappearsnexttothejobnameindicatingthejob'sstatus.Thestatusofthe
overheadhoistproblemindicatesoneofthefollowingconditions:
CheckSubmittedwhilethemodelisbeingsubmittedforadatacheck.
CheckRunningwhileAbaqusperformsadatacheckonthemodel.
CheckCompletedwhenthedatacheckhascompletedsuccessfully.
Submittedwhilethejobisbeingsubmittedforafullanalysis.
RunningwhileAbaqusanalyzesthemodel.
Completedwhenthefullanalysisiscomplete,andtheoutputhasbeenwrittentotheoutputdatabase.
AbortedifAbaqus/CAEfindsaproblemwiththeinputfileortheanalysisandabortstheanalysis.In
addition,Abaqus/CAEreportstheprobleminthemessagearea(seeFigure22).
Duringtheanalysis,Abaqus/StandardsendsinformationtoAbaqus/CAEtoallowyoutomonitortheprogressofthejob.
Informationfromthestatus,data,log,andmessagefilesappearsintheJobMonitordialogbox.Youcanbrowsethese
filesinthetabbedwindowsinthebottomhalfoftheJobMonitordialogbox,andyoucansearchtheircontents.Select
thedesiredfiletab,enterasearchstringintheTexttofindfield,andclickNextorPrevioustostepthroughthefile
fromonehittothenext.ToggleonMatchcasetoperformacasesensitivesearch.
Tomonitorthestatusofajob:
1. IntheModelTree,clickmousebutton3onthejobnamedFrameandselectMonitorfromthemenuthatappears
toopentheJobMonitordialogbox.
TheJobMonitordialogboxappears.
2. Thetophalfofthedialogboxdisplaystheinformationavailableinthestatus(.sta)filethatAbaquscreatesfor
theanalysis.ThisfilecontainsabriefsummaryoftheprogressofananalysisandisdescribedinOutput,Section
4.1.1oftheAbaqusAnalysisUser'sGuide.Thebottomhalfofthedialogboxallowsyoutoviewinformation
abouttheanalysis.
ClicktheLogtabtodisplaythestartandendtimesfortheanalysisthatappearinthelog(.log)file.
ClicktheErrorsandWarningstabstodisplaytheerrorsorthewarningsthatappearinthedata(.dat)and
message(.msg)files.Ifaparticularregionofthemodeliscausingtheerrororwarning,anodeorelement
setwillbecreatedautomaticallythatcontainsthatregion.Thenameofthenodeorelementsetappearswith
theerrororwarningmessage,andyoucanviewthesetusingdisplaygroupsintheVisualizationmodule.
Itwillnotbepossibletoperformtheanalysisuntilthecausesofanyerrormessagesarecorrected.In
addition,youshouldalwaysinvestigatethereasonforanywarningmessagestodeterminewhether
correctiveactionisneededorwhethersuchmessagescanbeignoredsafely.
Abaquslimitsthenumberoferrorandwarningmessagesthatappearinthejobmonitor(bydefaultthese
limitsare10errormessagesand50warningmessages).Ifthemessagelimitsareexceeded,information
regardingtheadditionalerrorsandwarningscanbeobtainedfromtheprintedoutputfilesthemselves.See
Jobcustomizationparameters,Section4.1.3oftheAbaqusInstallationandLicensingGuide,fordetailson
changingthedefaultmessagelimits.
ClicktheOutputtabtodisplayarecordofeachoutputdataentryasitiswrittentotheoutputdatabase.
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AstheanalysisproceedsandAbaquscreatesthedata,message,andstatusfiles,Abaqus/CAEactivatesthe
DataFile,MessageFile,andStatusFiletabsanddisplaysthecontentsofeachfileinthecorresponding
tabbedpage.Youcanclickanyofthesetabstobrowseorsearchthefileforadditionalerrorandwarning
messages.
Note:AlthoughAbaqus/CAEupdatesthecontentsoftheDataFile,MessageFile,and
StatusFiletabbedpagesperiodicallyastheanalysisruns,thedatamightnotalwaysbe
synchronizedwiththelatestdatainthefiles.
3. ClickDismisstoclosetheJobMonitordialogbox.
2.3.11Runningtheanalysis
Makeanynecessarycorrectionstoyourmodel.Whenthedatacheckanalysiscompleteswithnoerrormessages,runthe
analysisitself.Todothis,clickmousebutton3onthejobnamedFrameandselectContinuefromthemenuthat
appears.
Note:Performingadatacheckanalysisresultsinthecreationofjobfiles.Whenyousubmitajobfor
analysisandfilesofthesamenamealreadyexist,Abaqus/CAEdisplaysadialogboxaskingifitisOKto
overwritethejobfiles.ClickOKtocontinue.
Youshouldalwaysperformadatacheckanalysisbeforerunningasimulationtoensurethatthemodelhasbeendefined
correctlyandtocheckthatthereisenoughdiskspaceandmemoryavailabletocompletetheanalysis.However,itis
possibletocombinethedatacheckandanalysisphasesofthesimulationbyclickingmousebutton3onthejobnamein
theJobscontainerandselectingSubmitfromthemenuthatappears.
Ifasimulationisexpectedtotakeasubstantialamountoftime,itmaybeconvenienttorunitinabatchqueueby
selectingQueueastheRunModeintheEditJobdialogbox.(Theavailabilityofsuchaqueuedependsonthequeue
definitionsettingsinyourAbaqusenvironmentfile.Ifyouhaveanyquestions,refertoDefininganalysisbatchqueues,
Section4.2oftheAbaqusInstallationandLicensingGuide,oraskyoursystemadministratoraboutdefininganalysis
batchqueuesonyoursystem.)
2.3.12Postprocessing
Graphicalpostprocessingisimportantbecauseofthegreatvolumeofdatacreatedduringasimulation.TheVisualization
moduleofAbaqus/CAE(alsolicensedseparatelyasAbaqus/Viewer)allowsyoutoviewtheresultsgraphicallyusinga
varietyofmethods,includingdeformedshapeplots,contourplots,vectorplots,animations,andXYplots.Inaddition,it
allowsyoutocreatetabularreportsoftheoutputdata.Allofthesemethodsarediscussedinthisguide.Formore
informationonanyofthepostprocessingfeaturesdiscussedinthisguide,consultPartV,Viewingresults,ofthe
Abaqus/CAEUser'sGuide.ForthisexampleyouwillusetheVisualizationmoduletodosomebasicmodelchecksand
todisplaythedeformedshapeoftheframe.
Whenthejobcompletessuccessfully,youarereadytoviewtheresultsoftheanalysiswiththeVisualizationmodule.In
theModelTree,clickmousebutton3onthejobnamedFrameandselectResultsfromthemenuthatappearstoenter
theVisualizationmodule.Abaqus/CAEopenstheoutputdatabasecreatedbythejobanddisplaystheundeformedmodel
shape,asshowninFigure212.
Figure212Undeformedmodelshape.

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YoucanalsoentertheVisualizationmodulebyselectingVisualizationfromtheModulelistlocatedinthecontextbar.
SelectFile Open,selectFrame.odbfromthelistofavailableoutputdatabasefiles,andclickOK.
Youcanchoosetodisplaythetitleblockandstateblockatthebottomoftheviewporttheseblocksarenotshownin
Figure212.Thetitleblockatthebottomoftheviewportindicatesthefollowing:
Thedescriptionofthemodel(fromthejobdescription).
Thenameoftheoutputdatabase(fromthenameoftheanalysisjob).
Theproductname(Abaqus/StandardorAbaqus/Explicit)andreleaseusedtogeneratetheoutputdatabase.
Thedatetheoutputdatabasewaslastmodified.
Thestateblockatthebottomoftheviewportindicatesthefollowing:
Whichstepisbeingdisplayed.
Theincrementwithinthestep.
Thesteptime.
Thevieworientationtriadindicatestheorientationofthemodelintheglobalcoordinatesystem.The3Dcompass
locatedintheupperrightcorneroftheviewportallowsyoutomanipulatetheviewdirectly.
Youcansuppressthedisplayofandcustomizethetitleblock,stateblock,vieworientationtriad,and3Dcompassby
selectingViewport ViewportAnnotationOptionsfromthemainmenubar(forexample,manyofthefiguresinthis
guidedonotincludethetitleblockorthecompass).
TheResultsTree
YouwillusetheResultsTreetoquerythecomponentsofthemodel.TheResultsTreeallowseasyaccesstothe
historyoutputcontainedinanoutputdatabasefileforthepurposeofcreatingXYplotsandalsotogroupsof
elements,nodes,andsurfacesbasedonsetnames,materialandsectionassignment,etc.forthepurposesof
verifyingthemodelandalsocontrollingtheviewportdisplay.
Toquerythemodel:
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1. Intheleftsideofthemainwindow,clicktheResultstabtoswitchtotheResultsTreeifitisnotalready
visible.
2. AlloutputdatabasefilesthatareopeninagivenpostprocessingsessionarelistedunderneaththeOutput
Databasescontainer.Expandthiscontainerandthenexpandthecontainerfortheoutputdatabasenamed
Frame.odb.
3. ExpandtheMaterialscontainer,andclickthematerialnamedSTEEL.
Allelementsarehighlightedintheviewportbecauseonlyonematerialassignmentwasusedinthis
analysis.
TheResultsTreewillbeusedmoreextensivelyinlaterexamplestoillustratetheXYplottingcapabilityand
manipulatingthedisplayusingdisplaygroups.
Customizinganundeformedshapeplot
Youwillnowusetheplotoptionstoenablethedisplayofnodeandelementnumbering.Plotoptionsthatare
commontoallplottypes(undeformed,deformed,contour,symbol,andmaterialorientation)aresetinasingle
dialogbox.Thecontour,symbol,andmaterialorientationplottypeshaveadditionaloptions,eachspecificto
thegivenplottype.
Todisplaynodenumbers:
1. Fromthemainmenubar,selectOptions

Commonorusethe

toolinthetoolbox.

TheCommonPlotOptionsdialogboxappears.
2. ClicktheLabelstab.
3. ToggleonShownodelabels.
4. ClickApply.
Abaqus/CAEappliesthechangeandkeepsthedialogboxopen.
ThecustomizedundeformedplotisshowninFigure213(yournodenumbersmaybedifferent).
Figure213Nodenumberplot.

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Todisplayelementnumbers:
1. IntheLabelstabbedpageoftheCommonPlotOptionsdialogbox,toggleonShowelementlabels.
2. ClickOK.
Abaqus/CAEappliesthechangeandclosesthedialogbox.
TheresultingplotisshowninFigure214(yourelementnumbersmaybedifferent).
Figure214Nodeandelementnumberplot.

Removethenodeandelementlabelsbeforeproceeding.Todisablethedisplayofnodeandelementnumbers,
repeattheaboveprocedureand,underLabels,toggleoffShownodelabelsandShowelementlabels.
Displayingandcustomizingadeformedshapeplot
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Youwillnowdisplaythedeformedmodelshapeandusetheplotoptionstochangethedeformationscale
factor.Youwillalsosuperimposetheundeformedmodelshapeonthedeformedmodelshape.
Fromthemainmenubar,selectPlot DeformedShapeorusethe
displaysthedeformedmodelshape,asshowninFigure215.

toolinthetoolbox.Abaqus/CAE

Figure215Deformedmodelshape.

Forsmalldisplacementanalyses(thedefaultformulationinAbaqus/Standard)thedisplacementsarescaled
automaticallytoensurethattheyareclearlyvisible.Thescalefactorisdisplayedinthestateblock.Inthiscase
thedisplacementshavebeenscaledbyafactorof42.83.
Tochangethedeformationscalefactor:
1. Fromthemainmenubar,selectOptions

Commonorusethe

toolinthetoolbox.

2. FromtheCommonPlotOptionsdialogbox,clicktheBasictabifitisnotalreadyselected.
3. FromtheDeformationScaleFactorarea,toggleonUniformandenter10.0intheValuefield.
4. ClickApplytoredisplaythedeformedshape.
Thestateblockdisplaysthenewscalefactor.
5. Toreturntoautomaticscalingofthedisplacements,repeattheaboveprocedureand,intheDeformation
ScaleFactorfield,toggleonAutocompute.
6. ClickOKtoclosetheCommonPlotOptionsdialogbox.
Tosuperimposetheundeformedmodelshapeonthedeformedmodelshape:
1. ClicktheAllowMultiplePlotStates

toolinthetoolboxtoallowmultipleplotstatesintheviewport

thenclickthe toolorselectPlot UndeformedShapetoaddtheundeformedshapeplottothe

existingdeformedplotintheviewport.
Bydefault,Abaqus/CAEplotsthedeformedmodelshapeingreenandthe(superimposed)undeformed
modelshapeinatranslucentwhite.
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2. Theplotoptionsforthesuperimposedimagearecontrolledseparatelyfromthoseoftheprimaryimage.
Fromthemainmenubar,selectOptions Superimposeorusethe
theedgestyleofthesuperimposed(i.e.,undeformed)image.

toolinthetoolboxtochange

3. FromtheSuperimposePlotOptionsdialogbox,clicktheColor&Styletab.
4. IntheColor&Styletabbedpage,selectthedashededgestyle.
5. ClickOKtoclosetheSuperimposePlotOptionsdialogboxandtoapplythechange.
TheplotisshowninFigure216.Theundeformedmodelshapeappearswithadashededgestyle.
Figure216Undeformedanddeformedmodelshapes.

CheckingthemodelwithAbaqus/CAE
YoucanuseAbaqus/CAEtocheckthatthemodeliscorrectbeforerunningthesimulation.Youhavealready
learnedhowtodrawplotsofthemodelandtodisplaythenodeandelementnumbers.Theseareusefultoolsfor
checkingthatAbaqusisusingthecorrectmesh.
Theboundaryconditionsappliedtotheoverheadhoistmodelcanalsobedisplayedandcheckedinthe
Visualizationmodule.
Todisplayboundaryconditionsontheundeformedmodel:
1. Clickthe

toolinthetoolboxtodisablemultipleplotstatesintheviewport.

2. Displaytheundeformedmodelshape,ifitisnotdisplayedalready.
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3. Fromthemainmenubar,selectView

ODBDisplayOptions.

4. IntheODBDisplayOptionsdialogbox,clicktheEntityDisplaytab.
5. ToggleonShowboundaryconditions.
6. ClickOK.
Abaqus/CAEdisplayssymbolstoindicatetheappliedboundaryconditions,asshowninFigure217.
Figure217Appliedboundaryconditionsontheoverheadhoist.

Tabulardatareports
Inadditiontothegraphicalcapabilitiesdescribedabove,Abaqus/CAEallowsyoutowritedatatoatextfileina
tabularformat.Thisfeatureisaconvenientalternativetowritingtabularoutputtothedata(.dat)file.Output
generatedthiswayhasmanyusesforexample,itcanbeusedinwrittenreports.Inthisproblemyouwill
generateareportcontainingtheelementstresses,nodaldisplacements,andreactionforces.
Togeneratefielddatareports:
1. Fromthemainmenubar,selectReport

FieldOutput.

2. IntheVariabletabbedpageoftheReportFieldOutputdialogbox,acceptthedefaultpositionlabeled
IntegrationPoint.ClickthetrianglenexttoS:Stresscomponentstoexpandthelistofavailable
variables.Fromthislist,toggleonS11.
3. IntheSetuptabbedpage,namethereportFrame.rpt.IntheDataregionatthebottomofthepage,
toggleoffColumntotals.
4. ClickApply.
Theelementstressesarewrittentothereportfile.
5. IntheVariabletabbedpageoftheReportFieldOutputdialogbox,changethepositiontoUnique
Nodal.ToggleoffS:Stresscomponents,andselectU1andU2fromthelistofavailableU:Spatial
displacementvariables.
6. ClickApply.
Thenodaldisplacementsareappendedtothereportfile.
7. IntheVariabletabbedpageoftheReportFieldOutputdialogbox,toggleoffU:Spatial
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displacement,andselectRF1andRF2fromthelistofavailableRF:Reactionforcevariables.
8. IntheDataregionatthebottomoftheSetuptabbedpage,toggleonColumntotals.
9. ClickOK.
Thereactionforcesareappendedtothereportfile,andtheReportFieldOutputdialogboxcloses.
OpenthefileFrame.rptinatexteditor.Thecontentsofthisfileareshownbelow.Yournodeandelement
numberingmaybedifferent.Verysmallvaluesmayalsobecalculateddifferently,dependingonyoursystem.
Stressoutput:
FieldOutputReport
Source1

ODB:Frame.odb
Step:Applyload
Frame:Increment1:StepTime=2.2200E16
Loc1:Integrationpointvaluesfromsource1
Outputsortedbycolumn"ElementLabel".
FieldOutputreportedatintegrationpointsforpart:FRAME1
ElementIntS.S11
LabelPt@Loc1

11294.116E+06
21294.116E+06
31294.116E+06
41147.058E+06
51294.116E+06
61147.058E+06
71294.116E+06
Minimum294.116E+06
AtElement5
IntPt1
Maximum294.116E+06
AtElement7
IntPt1
Displacementoutput:
FieldOutputReport
Source1

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ODB:Frame.odb
Step:Applyload
Frame:Increment1:StepTime=2.2200E16
Loc1:Nodalvaluesfromsource1
Outputsortedbycolumn"NodeLabel".
FieldOutputreportedatnodesforpart:FRAME1
NodeU.U1U.U2
Label@Loc1@Loc1

11.47058E032.54712E03
246.3233E122.54712E03
3735.291E064.66972E03
40.5.E33
51.47058E035.E33
Minimum46.3233E124.66972E03
AtNode23
Maximum1.47058E035.E33
AtNode55
Reactionforceoutput:
FieldOutputReport
Source1

ODB:Frame.odb
Step:Applyload
Frame:Increment1:StepTime=2.2200E16
Loc1:Nodalvaluesfromsource1
Outputsortedbycolumn"NodeLabel".
FieldOutputreportedatnodesforpart:FRAME1
NodeRF.RF1RF.RF2
Label@Loc1@Loc1

10.0.
20.0.
30.0.
4454.747E155.E+03
50.5.E+03
Minimum0.0.
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AtNode53
Maximum454.747E155.E+03
AtNode45
Total454.747E1510.E+03
Arethenodaldisplacementsandpeakstressesintheindividualmembersreasonableforthishoistandthese
appliedloads?
Itisalwaysagoodideatocheckthattheresultsofthesimulationsatisfybasicphysicalprinciples.Inthiscase
checkthattheexternalforcesappliedtothehoistandthereactionforcessumtozeroinboththeverticaland
horizontaldirections.
Whatnodeshaveverticalforcesappliedtothem?Whatnodeshavehorizontalforces?Dotheresultsfromyour
simulationmatchthoseshownhere?
2.3.13RerunningtheanalysisusingAbaqus/Explicit
WewillrerunthesameanalysisinAbaqus/Explicitforcomparison.Thistimeweareinterestedinthedynamicresponse
ofthehoisttothesameloadappliedsuddenlyatthemidspan.Beforecontinuing,clicktheModeltabintheleftsideof
themainwindowtoswitchtotheModelTree.Clickmousebutton3onModel1intheModelTreeandselectCopy
ModelfromthemenuthatappearstocopytheexistingmodeltoanewmodelnamedExplicit.Makeallsubsequent
changestotheExplicitmodel(youmaywanttocollapsetheoriginalmodeltoavoidconfusion).Youwillneedto
replacethestaticstepwithanexplicitdynamicstep,modifytheoutputrequestsandthematerialdefinition,andchange
theelementlibrarybeforeyoucanresubmitthejob.
Replacingtheanalysisstep
Thestepdefinitionmustchangetoreflectadynamic,explicitanalysis.
Toreplacethestaticstepwithanexplicitdynamicstep:
1. IntheModelTree,expandtheStepscontainer.Clickmousebutton3onthestepnamedApplyload,and
selectReplacefromthemenuthatappears.
2. IntheReplaceStepdialogbox,selectDynamic,ExplicitfromthelistofavailableGeneralprocedures.
ClickContinue.
Modelattributessuchasboundaryconditions,loads,andcontactinteractionsareretainedwhenreplacing
astep.Modelattributesthatcannotbeconvertedwillbedeleted.Inthissimulationallnecessarymodel
attributeswillberetained.
3. IntheBasictabbedpageoftheEditStepdialogbox,enterthestepdescription10kNcentralload,
suddenlyappliedandsetthetimeperiodofthestepto0.01s.
Modifyingtheoutputrequests
Becausethisisadynamicanalysisinwhichthetransientresponseoftheframeisofinterest,itishelpfulto
havethedisplacementsofthecenterpointwrittenashistoryoutput.Displacementhistoryoutputcanbe
requestedonlyforapreselectedset.Youwillusethesetnamedcenter,whichwascreatedearlierwhile
assigningtheload.Ifyoudidnotcreatethissetpreviously,thefollowinginstructionsareprovidedforyour
convenience.
Tocreateaset(ifnecessary):
1. IntheModelTree,expandtheAssemblycontaineranddoubleclicktheSetsitem.
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TheCreateSetdialogboxappears.
2. Namethesetcenter,acceptthedefaultselectionofGeometry,andclickContinue.
Note:Formeshedpartsyoucandefinesetsthatarebasedoneitherthegeometryorthe
mesh.Ifyoumodifythemesh,youmustredefineameshbasedset.However,ageometry
basedsetwillupdateautomatically.Forunmeshedpartsonlygeometrybasedsetsare
available.
3. Intheviewport,selectthepointatthecenterofthebottomedgeofthetruss.Inthepromptarea,click
Donewhenyouarefinished.
Toadddisplacementstothehistoryoutputrequest:
1. IntheModelTree,clickmousebutton3ontheHistoryOutputRequestscontainerandselectManager
fromthemenuthatappears.
2. IntheHistoryOutputRequestsManagerdialogboxthatappears,clickEdit.
Thehistoryoutputeditorappears.
3. UndertheDomainfield,selectSet.Abaqusautomaticallyprovidesalistofallthesetscreatedfora
givenmodel.Choosethesetnamedcenter.
4. UndertheFrequencyfield,selectEveryntimeincrementsandsetthevalueofnto1towritethe
outputateveryincrement.
5. IntheOutputVariablesregion,toggleofftheEnergyoutputandclickthearrowtotheleftofthe
Displacement/Velocity/Accelerationcategorytorevealhistoryoutputoptionsfortranslationsand
rotations.
6. ToggleonUT,Translationstohavethedisplacementsfortheselectedsetbewrittenashistoryoutputto
theoutputdatabasefile.
7. ClickOKtosaveyourchangesandtoclosethedialogbox.DismisstheHistoryOutputRequests
Manager.
Modifyingthematerialdefinition
SinceAbaqus/Explicitperformsadynamicanalysis,acompletematerialdefinitionrequiresthatyouspecifythe
materialdensity.Forthisproblemassumethedensityisequalto7800kg/m3.
Toadddensitytothematerialdefinition:
1. IntheModelTree,expandtheMaterialscontaineranddoubleclickSteel.
2. Inthematerialeditor,selectGeneral

Densityandtypeavalueof7800forthedensity.

3. ClickOKtoclosetheEditMaterialdialogbox.
Changingtheelementlibraryandsubmittingthejobforanalysis
AswillbediscussedinChapter3,FiniteElementsandRigidBodies,theelementsavailablein
Abaqus/ExplicitareasubsetofthoseavailableinAbaqus/Standard.Thus,toensurethatyouareusingavalid
elementtypeinyouranalysis,youmustchangetheelementlibraryfromwhichtheelementsareselectedtothe
explicitelementlibrary.Abaqus/CAEautomaticallyfilterstheavailableelementtypesaccordingtotheselected
elementlibrary.Afterchangingtheelementlibrary,youwillcreateandrunanewjobfortheAbaqus/Explicit
analysis.
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Tochangetheelementlibrary:
1. IntheModelTree,expandtheFrameitemunderneaththePartscontainer.ThendoubleclickMeshin
thelistthatappears.
Abaqus/CAEswitchestotheMeshmodule.
2. Fromthemainmenubar,selectMesh ElementType,selectthesetall(orpicktheentireframeinthe
viewport),andchangetheElementLibraryselectiontoExplicit.
3. ClickOKtoacceptthenewelementtype.
Tocreateandrunthenewjob:
1. IntheModelTree,doubleclicktheJobscontainer.
2. NamethenewjobexpFrame,andselectExplicitasthesourcemodel.
3. Submitthejob.
2.3.14Postprocessingthedynamicanalysisresults
ForthestaticlinearperturbationanalysisdoneinAbaqus/Standardyouexaminedthedeformedshapeaswellasstress,
displacement,andreactionforceoutput.FortheAbaqus/Explicitanalysisyoucansimilarlyexaminethedeformedshape
andgeneratefielddatareports.Becausethisisadynamicanalysis,youshouldalsoexaminethetransientresponse
resultingfromtheloading.Youwilldothisbyanimatingthetimehistoryofthedeformedmodelshapeandplottingthe
displacementhistoryofthebottomcenternodeinthetruss.
Plotthedeformedshapeofthemodel.Forlargedisplacementanalyses(thedefaultformulationinAbaqus/Explicit)the
displacedshapescalefactorhasadefaultvalueof1.ChangetheDeformationScaleFactorto20sothatyoucanmore
easilyseethedeformationofthetruss.
Tocreateatimehistoryanimationofthedeformedmodelshape:
1. Fromthemainmenubar,selectAnimate

TimeHistoryorusethe

toolinthetoolbox.

Thetimehistoryanimationbeginsinacontinuousloopatitsfastestspeed.Abaqus/CAEdisplaysthemovieplayer
controlsintherightsideofthecontextbar(immediatelyabovetheviewport).
2. Fromthemainmenubar,selectOptions
(locateddirectlyunderneaththe

Animationorusetheanimationoptions

toolinthetoolbox

tool).

TheAnimationOptionsdialogboxappears.
3. ChangetheModetoPlayOnce,andslowtheanimationdownbymovingtheFrameRateslider.
4. Youcanusetheanimationcontrolstostart,pause,andstepthroughtheanimation.FromlefttorightofFigure2
18,thesecontrolsperformthefollowingfunctions:play/pause,first,previous,next,andlast.
Figure218Postprocessinganimationcontrols.

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Thetrussrespondsdynamicallytotheload.Youcanconfirmthisbyplottingtheverticaldisplacementhistoryofthe
nodesetCenter.
YoucancreateXYcurvesfromeitherhistoryorfielddatastoredintheoutputdatabase(.odb)file.XYcurvescan
alsobereadfromanexternalfileortheycanbetypedintotheVisualizationmoduleinteractively.Oncecurveshave
beencreated,theirdatacanbefurthermanipulatedandplottedtothescreeningraphicalform.Inthisexampleyouwill
createandplotthecurveusinghistorydata.
TocreateanXYplotoftheverticaldisplacementforanode:
1. IntheResultsTree,expandtheHistoryOutputcontainerunderneaththeoutputdatabasenamedexpFrame.odb.
2. Fromthelistofavailablehistoryoutput,doubleclickSpatialdisplacement:U2atNodexinNSET
CENTER.
Abaqus/CAEplotstheverticaldisplacementatthecenternodealongthebottomofthetruss,asshowninFigure2
19.
Figure219Verticaldisplacementatthemidspanofthetruss.

Note:Thechartlegendhasbeensuppressedandtheaxislabelsmodifiedinthisfigure.ManyXY
plotoptionsaredirectlyaccessiblebydoubleclickingtheappropriateregionsoftheviewport.To
enabledirectobjectactions,however,youmustfirstclick inthepromptareatocancelthe
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currentprocedure(ifnecessary).Tosuppressthelegend,doubleclickitintheviewporttoopenthe
ChartLegendOptionsdialogbox.IntheContentstabbedpageofthisdialogbox,toggleoff
Showlegend.Tomodifytheaxislabels,doubleclickeitheraxistoopentheAxisOptionsdialog
box,andedittheaxistitlesasindicatedinFigure219.
ExitingAbaqus/CAE
SaveyourmodeldatabasefilethenselectFile

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ExitfromthemainmenubartoexitAbaqus/CAE.

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