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How can I correct Abaqus/Standard convergence difficulties QA Article: QA00000008865

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caused by local instabilities? Last Update Date: 08/06/2015
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Portfolio / Domain: SIMULIA Abaqus Unified FEA / n/a Views: 429 views
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QUESTION My analysis develops local instabilities that are causing convergence difficulties; how can I correct
this?

ANSWER Some sources of instability include local yield, snap-through, surface wrinkling, and localized material failure. When
local instabilities develop, it may not be possible to obtain a static solution; a dynamic method must be used or
artificial damping must be introduced when using a static method. Local instabilities are indicated by sudden
convergence difficulty with very small time increments. Unlike global instabilities, the Riks method will not help in
these cases.

The corrective action is normally to add a dissipation mechanism. Use automatic stabilization with the static, coupled
temperature-displacement, soils, or quasi-static procedures; check that the viscous forces (use output variable VF)
introduced are small compared to any other typical forces and that the energy dissipated   by the automatic
stabilization (use output variable ALLSD) is small relative to the internal energy ALLIE.

Alternatively, use discrete dashpots: apply them to all nodes in all directions; adjust the damping coefficient as
necessary to ensure that dashpot forces are small relative to typical forces in the structure and that the viscous
dissipation energy ALLVD is small relative to the internal energy ALLIE.

If the local instability is due to a loss of contact, contact damping can stabilize the contact region while contact
changes.

If the region of the model experiencing local instability is also simultaneously experiencing a large global deformation
or rigid body motion, the automatic stabilization will not discriminate between the two scales of motion. Velocity
proportional forces are applied to any motion; care must be taken to ensure that stabilization does not significantly
alter the results. In some situations it may be helpful to place dashpots between the locally unstable region and some
other part of the structure so that the dashpots will react to relative rather than total velocities.

Discrete dashpot elements can also serve to prevent rigid body motion.

KEYWORDS local instability, instability, instabilities, stabilize, stabilization, damping, dashpots, dissipat

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