ABAQUS Convergence Guideline

Revision: 0 10/7/2005
Symptoms of Convergence Problems
• The symptoms of most convergence problems can be found in the message file. The .dat
and .sta files may also contain symptoms of the problem.
• Some common messages that may indicate convergence problems
***WARNING: THE SOLUTION APPEARS TO BE DIVERGING
***WARNING: THE STRAIN INCREMENT HAS EXCEEDED FIFTY TIMES THE
STRAIN TO CAUSE FIRST YIELD AT 7 POINTS
***WARNING: THE SYSTEM MATRIX HAS 3 NEGATIVE EIGENVALUES
***WARNING: ELEMENT 441 IS DISTORTING SO MUCH THAT IT TURNS
INSIDE OUT
***NOTE: SUBDIVISION AFTER 12 ITERATIONS FOR SEVERE
DISCONTINUITIES
***WARNING: OVERCLOSURE OF CONTACT SURFACES SLAVE_SURF AND
MASTER_SURF IS TOO SEVERE – CUTBACK WILL RESULT
***WARNING: SOLVER PROBLEM. ZERO PIVOT WHEN PROCESSING NODE 1
D.O.F. 1
Causes of Convergence Problems
• Inadequate FE modeling is the most common cause of convergence problems in
nonlinear simulations. Here are some examples:
o Defining conflicting constraints between BCs, contact conditions, and/or MPCs
o Not adequately constraining the model
o Having incomplete/inadequate material data
o Using an inappropriate element
• Another common cause is the physical system is very unstable. These cases demand the
correct element type and analysis techniques be used.
Helping ABAQUS Find a Converged Solution
• The best way to help ABAQUS is to build the model slowly.
o Do not put every detail into your first model.
o Possibly start with contact, but no plasticity, friction, or nonlinear geometry to
gain insight on how the model behaves.
o Add one piece at a time to limit the number of sources of convergence issues.
• Give reasonable values for the initial increment, minimum increment size, and
maximum increment size.
• Causes of convergence problems are reported in the .msg, .dat, .odb, and .sta files.
o Do not limit the data written to the message file.
o For contact issues use *PRINT, CONTACT=YES to get detailed contact
information in the message file.
o For material issues use *PRINT, PLASTICITY=YES to get output of element and
integration point numbers for which the plasticity algorithms have failed to
converge in the material routines.
o Request other additional information be written to these files to aid in finding the
source of the convergence issue.
General Tools
1) Use displacement control instead of load control. Write the required nodal forces and
displacements to the *.dat file then use the JCI script, xydata, to generate an xy file of load
vs. displacement to plot in HyperView. Cannot combine with RIKS.
2) Control increment sizes to prevent ABAQUS from approaching a sudden stiffness change
too aggressively. Set the initial increment size, the minimum step size, and the maximum
step size using *STATIC. The initial increment size should normally be in the 0.01 to 0.1
range to start the analysis slowly (DEFAULT=1.0). The minimum step size can be decreased
to allow ABAQUS to cut back further (DEFAULT=0.00001). The maximum step size can be
decreased to prevent ABAQUS from overshooting a sudden stiffness change and can result
in a more efficient run (NO DEFAULT).
*STATIC
0.01, 1.0 ,1.0000E-08, 0.1
3) Create an initial step that is very small for the purpose of initiating contact.
4) Use dashpot or spring elements on specific nodes.
5) Use connector elements or beam elements instead of MPCs (especially spider MPCs).
6) If hourglassing is a problem (usually only an issue with continuum elements, not shell
elements), use fully integrated element types or hourglass control.
7) To help with problems with large rotations use parabolic extrapolation.
*STEP, EXTRAPOLATION=PARABOLIC
8) Turn off extrapolation of the displacement correction so ABAQUS does not approach a
sudden stiffness change too aggressively.
*STEP, EXTRAPOLATION=NO
9) For problems with follower loads or for finite sliding between highly curved deformable
surfaces, use the unsymmetric matrix storage and solution scheme.
*STEP, UNSYMM=YES
10) For locally unstable problems, use automated stabilization and monitor the damping
energy. This cannot be used with RIKS, but can be combined with displacement control
*STATIC, STABILIZE
*ENERGY OUTPUT or *ENERGY PRINT or *ENERGY FILE
ELSD
ESDDEN
ALLSD
11) For globally unstable problems (global buckling/collapse) RIKS can be used. If using RIKS,
use without RIKS until needed, then create an additional step that uses RIKS. NOTE: using
displacement control is more efficient than RIKS. For backtracking in RIKS analysis, specify
a maximum arc length such as 1.5 under
*STATIC, RIKS
12) Add slightly increasing slope to perfectly plastic region of *PLASTIC material definition.
13) Use hybrid elements for highly incompressible elements (poisson’s ratio approaching 0.5) or
for Ill-Conditioning (large stiffness differences in elements such as bending vs. axial
stiffness).
14) Try the latest release of ABAQUS.
15) Loosen the convergence criteria (avoid this if possible). You may need to do this for an
initial small step when contact is required, but then use default parameters for subsequent
steps.
*CONTROLS, PARAMETERS=FIELD
Tools for Stabilization of Initial Rigid Body Motion (ie: static equilibrium depends
on contact)
1) Create an initial step that is very small for the purpose of initiating contact.
2) Use displacement control instead of load control. Write the required nodal forces and
displacements to the *.dat file then use the JCI script, xydata, to generate an xy file of load
vs. displacement to plot in HyperView. Cannot combine with RIKS.
3) Add springs that have a low stiffness compared to the total load to give some resistance to
the contact pair until contact is established. If the spring force is to high, create a second
step to remove the spring once contact is established (use S11 to monitor force).
4) For getting contact established in an initial step without rigid body motions use the
APPROACH parameter. Apply the structural load (or the vast majority of it) in a separate
step. Monitor energy levels of CPRESS and ALLSD.
*CONTACT CONTROLS, APPROACH
MASTER=master-name, SLAVE=slave-name

Tools for Contact Related Convergence Problems

General note on contact: Use caution when using additional parameters to help with
convergence (e.g. adjust, approach, shrink, automatic tolerance). Make sure the load flow or
critical contact behavior is not affected.

1) Monitor the contact forces using *CONTACT PRINT. Forces will be written to the *.dat file
that will help determine which contact pairs are having difficulty establishing contact.
2) With very limited exceptions, regardless of how defined in hypermesh, Abaqus recognizes
only the slave nodes (not slave surfaces). So, choose master / slave surfaces and define
mesh accordingly to capture the contact behavior desired.
3) Define master surface such that it extends beyond the slave surface.
4) Double check normals on contact surfaces. Contact normal direction is based on the master
surface. So, if normal direction is critical (e.g. cam surface) choose the master surface
accordingly.
5) Double check edges on contact surfaces. Eliminate cracks on master surface.
6) Do not have one node defined as slave for two or more contact pairs or gap elements.
7) Use GAP elements if possible to eliminate the contact. If gap elements defined as initial zero
clearance are chattering, try changing to a very small non-zero clearance.
8) Add springs that have a low stiffness compared to the total load to give some resistance to
the contact pair until contact is established. If the spring force is too high, create a second
step to remove the spring once contact is established (use S11 to monitor force).
9) Add dashpots.
10) If contacts are slightly initially over-penetrated, use adjust=0 Note, use with care if initial
contact force is critical.
11) Use softened contact to apply force relative to the amount of penetration (if chattering).
*SURFACE BEHAVIOR, PRESSURE-OVERCLOSE=EXPONENTIAL
0.1, 200
12) Increase the maximum number of allowed severe discontinuity iterations (DEFAULT=12) if
the severe discontinuities are decreasing.
*CONTROLS, PARAMETERS=TIME INCREMENTATION
, , , , , ,24,
13) Turn on automatic tolerances to have ABAQUS compute an overclosure tolerance and a
separation pressure tolerance.
*CONTACT CONTROLS, AUTOMATIC TOLERANCES
14) Eliminate friction in contacts unless it is absolutely necessary (such as in
mechanisms/internals). Conversely on rare occasions a model will better with increased
friction. If any friction coefficient is greater than 0.2, ABAQUS/Standard will use the
unsymmetric matrix storage and solution scheme automatically.
15) Turn on small sliding, but only where applicable. Small sliding creates an infinite master
surface so use with caution.
*CONTACT PAIR, SMALL SLIDING
16) Use *CONTACT DAMPING to damp relative motions of contact surfaces during approach
or separation. Review documentation for suggestions on monitoring dissipated energy.
17) Increase HCRIT in *CONTACT PAIR. NOTE: rarely helps
18) For finite sliding between highly curved deformable surfaces, use the unsymmetric matrix
storage and solution scheme.
*STEP, UNSYMM=YES
19) For severely discontinuous behavior such as frictional sliding, apply the discontinuous
control. This could increase run time, especially for problems that are not severely
discontinuous.
*CONTROLS, ANALYSIS=DISCONTINUOUS
20) Punt, use explicit solver.

Notes
• As a rule, use *PRINT, CONTACT=YES to request detailed output of points that are
contacting or separating in interface and gap problems.
• As a rule, do not use the ADJUST parameter in a *CONTACT PAIR that will be
removed. The adjust is done prior to the remove and can distort elements if the surfaces
are not in their final positions before contact is initiated.
• As a rule if you are adding damping, use *ENERGY PRINT or *ENERGY OUTPUT or
*ENERGY FILE to monitor ALLAE and ALLSE.