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EXAMPLE: NONLINEAR SKEW PLATE
Note: Alternatively, you may use the Frame Selector dialog box to select a results frame.
X–Y plotting
You saved the displacements of the midspan nodes (node set MIDSPAN) in the history portion of
the output database file skew_nl.odb for each increment of the simulation. You can use these
results to create X–Y plots. In particular, you will plot the vertical displacement history of the nodes
located at the edges of the plate midspan.
To create X–Y plots of the midspan displacements:
1. First, display only the nodes in the node set named PART-1–1.MIDSPAN: in the Results Tree,
expand the Node Sets container underneath the output database file named skew_nl.odb.
Click mouse button 3 on the set named PART-1-1.MIDSPAN, and select Replace from the
menu that appears.
2. Use the Common Plot Options dialog box to show the node labels (i.e., numbers) to
determine which nodes are located at the edges of the plate midspan.
3. In the Results Tree, expand the History Output container for the output database named
skew_nl.odb.
4. Locate the output labeled as follows: Spatial displacement:
U3 at Node xxx
in NSET MIDSPAN. Each of these curves represents the vertical motion of one of the
midspan nodes.
Tip: Filter the container according to *U3* to facilitate your selection.
5. Select (using [Ctrl]+Click) the vertical motion of the two midspan edge nodes. Use the node
labels to determine which curves you need to select.
6. Click mouse button 3, and select Plot from the menu that appears.
Abaqus reads the data for both curves from the output database file and plots a graph similar
to the one shown in Figure 8–14. (For clarity, the second curve has been changed to a dashed
line, and the default grid and legend positions have been changed.)
The nonlinear nature of this simulation is clearly seen in these curves: as the analysis
progresses, the plate stiffens. In this simulation the increase in the plate stiffness with the
deformation is due to membrane effects. Therefore, the resulting peak displacement is less
than that predicted by the linear analysis, which did not include this effect.
You can create X–Y curves from either history or field data stored in the output database (.odb)
file. X–Y curves can also be read from an external file or they can be typed into the Visualization
module interactively. Once curves have been created, their data can be further manipulated and
plotted to the screen in graphical form.
The X–Y plotting capability of Abaqus/Viewer is discussed further in Chapter 10, “Materials.”
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