ABAQUS / Answers

Answers to Common ABAQUS Questions Spring 1997

governed by a single scalar parameter. The method can provide solutions even in cases of complex, unstable response. The collapse of the frame in the gure below illustrates such behavior. The xy plot shows the load versus horizontal and vertical displacement curves for the load point.
160.

Contents
Static Postbuckling and Collapse Analysis Using the Modied Riks Procedure Dynamic Impact with ABAQUS/Standard MODEL CHANGE: Adding or Removing Elements 1 3

[ x10 3 ]
U1_13 U2_13 120.

CONCENTRATED LOAD - CF2

80.

40.

Static Postbuckling and Collapse Analysis Using the Modied Riks Procedure
Static postbuckling and collapse analyses frequently involve structural instabilities where the load-displacement response shows a negative stiffness and the structure must release strain energy to remain in equilibrium. Classes of problems where the prediction of such response is important include: snap-through behavior in arches, domes, or panels; localization of deformation in materials subjected to extreme loads; and limit load calculations of frame structures. In such cases the load can reach a maximum sustainable value and then can decrease. A typical response curve is shown below. Zero stiffness (illustrated by the horizontal tangent) poses a problem for the Newton-Raphson method used in the regular STATIC analysis procedure because the technique predicts an unbounded displacement increment, often preventing further solution.
Axial Load Structural Instability P

0.

-40.
3 1

XMIN 5.273E-02 XMAX 1.092E+02 YMIN -5.280E+04 YMAX 1.423E+05

-80. 0. 20. 40. 60. DISPLACEMENT 80. 100. 120.

Nonmonotonic behavior in both the load and the displacement response during a static collapse analysis.

The modied Riks method in ABAQUS nds static equilibrium at the end of each increment. However, unlike regular nonlinear static analyses, the load magnitude is also a solution variable. It can increase or decrease to satisfy static equilibrium, allowing the response to vary nonmonotonically. To control the progress of solutions like the one shown above, we need a measure of the response that increases monotonically. Because both load and displacement can increase or decrease during such analyses, neither is suitable.

Arc Length and Load Proportionality Factor

Since both loads and displacements are unknowns, the concept of arc length is introduced. It is the distance along the equilibrium solution path in load-displacement space. This measure is used to control the automatic time incrementation algorithm: it is not of physical interest. The results of interest are the current displacements, which are available in the normal manner, and the current values of the loads, which are given by referring to a load proportionality factor, identied by output variable LPF. The concept of proportional loading is important in Riks method analysis, especially when using multiple analysis steps. The current magnitude of the load on the structure is given by P total = P 0 + LPF ( P ref P 0 ), where Pref is the load pattern dened in the current RIKS step, P0 is the dead load (that is, any load or boundary condition applied in a previous step), and LPF is the load proportionality factor. Again, the LPF may increase or

Shortening

One approach to analyze static postbuckling behavior is to use the modied Riks method that is invoked with STATIC, RIKS. This method is suitable when the loading is proportional; that is, where the load magnitudes are

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decrease as the solution proceeds and is printed in the status le. It is worth noting the generality of the loading possibilities: that the live load, which is scaled up or down by the Riks algorithm, is added to any set of dead loads on the structure. The live load may be mechanical or thermal (or a combination of both).

ABAQUS/Answers
This technique is illustrated in ABAQUS/Standard Example Problem 3.2.12.

Important Guidelines
Use of the modied Riks method is advantageous in many situations, but there are some important points to note: Do not use dashpots or rate-dependent materials in analyses using the Riks method. Since arc length is used instead of time, velocities and strain rates will not be correct. Any plasticity model should be used with caution since the development of plastic strain as the solution follows the equilibrium path may not be realistic. This is especially true if the model is simulating a complex buckling or snap-through situation, which, in reality, may be a dynamic event. In such cases there are other more suitable postbuckling analysis techniques. See the lecture notes on Buckling, Postbuckling, and Collapse Analysis with ABAQUS for more information. Amplitude references should not be used on any loading or boundary conditions. The load proportionality factor is the only method of scaling the loads; AMPLITUDE references are ignored. The Riks method works by changing both the displacement and the load on the structure to obtain equilibrium. Therefore, the load must be applied directly to the deforming structure. The Riks method is not appropriate when a structure is loaded by contact from another body; as soon as contact is lost, the Riks method has no mechanism with which to control the loading on the structure.

Postprocessing
By default, history plots created using the READ CURVE command in ABAQUS/Post have arc length as the x-variable. To use LPF as the x-variable, add the parameter TIME SCALE=LOAD FACTOR to the READ CURVE command.

Terminating the Analysis

In a regular STATIC procedure the step is completed when the prescribed time period is nished, leaving the loads at their user-dened values. In a RIKS step, however, the magnitude of the load can increase or decrease since it is part of the solution, and time has no meaning. Therefore, we require alternative methods of identifying when a step is complete. You can specify a maximum value of the load proportionality factor at which the step will complete or the maximum displacement at a particular degree of freedom. If neither of these conditions is reached, ABAQUS will stop when the number of increments specied on the STEP option is exceeded. In cases of severe nonlinearity, the Riks method may not converge or may converge to previously obtained equilibrium congurations. Often such problems are caused by the arc length being too large. If you suspect that this is the problem, look in the message le to nd the typical arc lengths used and rerun the analysis with a smaller maximum arc length. The maximum arc length can be specied on the data line of the STATIC, RIKS option.

Imperfections
A postbuckling analysis of a geometrically perfect structure may exhibit a sharp bifurcation at the buckling load, which may be missed by the Riks method. Adding geometric imperfections smooths out the discontinuous response at the point of buckling and allows the solution to follow the response more easily. Also, seeding the structure with realistic imperfections leads to a more conservative prediction of the maximum response if the structure is imperfection sensitive. ABAQUS Version 5.6 has a particularly convenient feature for doing this: the IMPERFECTION option. To model the postbuckling response of a structure, rst carry out an eigenvalue buckling analysis to identify the range of critical buckling loads and to obtain the buckling mode shapes. Next, carry out a postbuckling analysis using STATIC, RIKS; however, use the IMPERFECTION option to seed the initial coordinates of the structure with imperfections constructed from the mode shapes in the previous analysis.

Mises stress on the deformed conguration from overpressurizing a uid channel in an automotive air conditioning system.

Internal pressure versus the bulge displacement of the uid channel. The Riks-based solution predicts the maximum pressure and the subsequent necking in the channel wall, which leads to the unstable response and incipient structural failure.

2.0

[ x10 3 ]
LD_DSP

Internal Pressure (psi)

XMIN XMAX YMIN YMAX 1.463E-05 1.354E-02 1.562E+02 1.725E+03

1.5

1.0

0.5

0.0 0.

5.

10.

15.

Bulge Displacement (in)

[ x10 -3 ]

ABAQUS/Answers

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Dynamic Impact with ABAQUS/Standard

This article describes specic issues that arise when analyzing the nonlinear dynamic response of models that include contact in ABAQUS/Standard.

Increment just prior to impact.

Impact with Hard Contact

When using the hard (default) surface behavior, ABAQUS assumes that the local impact between the nodes on the contact surfaces is perfectly inelastic. The velocity of the nodes after impact is found using a momentum balance. The impact algorithm conserves momentum but does not conserve energy. Energy is always lost at the nodes involved in impact. A ner mesh will mean that less mass is concentrated at each such node, thus minimizing these energy losses. History plots of ALLKE (total kinetic energy) and ALLKL (energy lost as a result of impact) will illustrate the energy loss. Normally the energy lost because of impact should be a small percentage of the total energy in the model. The momentum calculation is done in a separate increment with a very small time step as illustrated in this extract from the status le for Example Problem 5.2.6:
STEP 1 1 1 1 INC ATT 186 187 188 189 1 2 1 1 TOTAL ITERS 1 1 1 2 TOTAL TIME 0.0677 0.0677 0.0677 0.0680 STEP TIME 0.0677 0.0677 0.0677 0.0680 INC OF TIME 0.0002063 3.243e-05 2.579e-10 0.0002579

ABAQUS detects overclosure and cuts the increment back to the average time of impact for all ve nodes.

A contact constraint is applied to all ve nodes, freezing some in an open and some in an overclosed position

In increment 187 the time step has been cut back to the estimated time that the nodes impact; there are two attempts. Increment 188 is a momentum calculation the time step is very small, less than the minimum time step specied in the input le. In increment 189 the algorithm reverts to its normal dynamic equilibrium calculations. It is best to use elements with lumped mass matrices for impact problems. These elements include all rst-order elements and the modied second-order tetrahedra. With lumped mass matrices, impact calculations only affect the velocity and acceleration of the nodes directly involved in the impact. In contrast, impact involving elements with consistent mass matrices will inuence nodes in the vicinity of impact but not directly involved in it. Such sudden change in the motion of nonimpacting nodes may cause the contact state to change, which may require further iteration and cause spurious high-frequency noise in the response. High-frequency noise in any impact analysis is best addressed by choosing a suitable value for the HAFTOL parameter on the DYNAMIC option. See the ABAQUS/Standard Users Manual for details. ABAQUS uses the time of impact for its momentum balance calculations. When multiple nodes change their contact state during an increment, ABAQUS uses an average impact time. This behavior is illustrated in the following gure.

The larger the time increment, the greater the number of nodes that may impact and the greater the inaccuracy in the resulting contact state. For this reason, an upper limit should be set on the time increment. In addition, if possible, dynamic contact problems should be started with the bodies just in (or just prior to) contact, with appropriate initial velocities.

Impact with Softened Contact

Softened contact can be dened by using the SURFACE BEHAVIOR, SOFTENED option. This option allows the pressure-clearance relationship to be specied as a piecewise linear function or as an exponential curve. Softened contact is useful for modeling surface coatings or for overcoming numerical difculties in modeling hard contact. With softened contact, ABAQUS does not use the impact algorithm described above. Instead, it assumes that contact between the nodes on the contact surfaces is elastic. The change in velocity is determined by the amount of interpenetration, which means that there should be no sudden jumps in velocity; no loss of kinetic energy; and, therefore, no need to calculate the momentum balance. However, slave nodes can bounce back immediately after impact, leading to chattering, convergence problems, and excessively small time increments. Softened contact should, therefore, be used with caution in dynamic impact simulations.

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ABAQUS/Answers

MODEL CHANGE: Adding or Removing Elements

The MODEL CHANGE option has been revised over the last two releases of ABAQUS to make it easier to use for common applications. This article focuses on this capability for adding and removing elements. For more information about the use of the MODEL CHANGE option to add or remove contact pairs, see the Winter 1996 edition of ABAQUS/Answers (http://www.hks.com/newsletters/a96-1/a1.html). All of the elements that will be required in a simulation must be dened in the model denition at the start of the analysis. However, those that are not used initially can be removed in the rst step and reintroduced later. Elements can either be reintroduced in a strain-free state or with strains based on the deformation from their initial shape. Strain-free reactivation is indicated by using the ADD=STRAIN FREE parameter on the MODEL CHANGE option and should be used when adding elements representing new material in an already distorted mesh. Examples include installing a liner in an excavated tunnel, building a gravity dam, or welding reinforcement plates on a loaded structure. The strains in the elements are based on their deformation subsequent to reactivation. This type of reactivation was available starting in ABAQUS Version 5.5. The ADD=WITH STRAIN parameter should be used when reactivating a part that has been temporarily removed or disconnected; for example, in an assembly when a new part must conform to the distortion of its new neighbors. This type of reactivation was available prior to ABAQUS Version 5.5.

in a step where all other loads and boundary conditions remain unchanged. When elements are added in a strain-free state, they are simply added at the start of the step. This addition will not cause convergence problems since the elements do not carry any load at the time of their activation. However, when elements are added with strain, the strain is ramped up from zero to the required value over the step to prevent convergence problems. Since the elements are completely activated only at the end of the step, the reactivation should be done in its own step with no changes to other loads and boundary conditions. When reactivating heat transfer elements, the element conductivity is simply scaled up over the step. When reactivating elements in a strain-free state, ABAQUS checks the new shape of reintroduced elements. If the elements have changed shape, ABAQUS recalculates their masses, their material point orientations, and (in the case of beams and shells) their normals.

Postprocessing
ABAQUS/Post only plots elements that are active in the model. If elements have been removed and so are not active in a step, they will not be displayed in that step. When using other postprocessors, it may be necessary to exclude non-active elements manually from the display.

Important Guidelines
All types of elements can be removed and reactivated, including superelements and elements with rebar. Elements can be removed and reactivated in all general steps except those using the STATIC, RIKS option. The MODEL CHANGE option cannot be used in linear perturbation steps. If all elements attached to a contact pair are removed, the contact pair should also be removed to prevent numerical problems. Similarly, any concentrated loads (CLOAD) must also be removed if they are carried solely by removed elements. Distributed loads on removed elements are removed automatically. In a static analysis ensure that the structure is still adequately constrained against rigid body motion after elements have been removed.

Implementation
When removing elements, ABAQUS rst calculates the forces, F, due to the stresses in the elements to be removed. The elements are then removed at the start of the step and replaced by the forces, F, applied to the neighboring elements. These forces are then ramped down over the step. Thus, the effect of the elements is removed gradually, allowing the automatic time incrementation algorithm to work properly and so preventing convergence problems. Since the inuence of the elements is completely removed only at the end of the step, element removal should be done

ABAQUS

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