Generating a Results Image

You can display graphic images of the results of your analysis. Many different types of images can be generated for an analysis case, depending on the results that are written to the output database, which in turn depend on the field output requests made prior to the analysis. The available Abaqus result values depend on the step type, as described in Requesting Results. Deformation images display the shape of your model according to the values of a nodal result such as displacement. Contour (iso-value) images display analysis result values such as displacement, stress, or strain at a particular step and increment of your analysis as colored lines or bands. Symbol images display the magnitude and direction of vector or tensor results at a particular step and increment of your analysis. Text images display result values at a particular step and increment of your analysis as text labels.

Results images are saved when you save the analysis document that contains them. If you attach a new output database file to the analysis document, the images are deactivated. When you activate an image, it is validated against the current output database; if the results in the image do not match the results found in the output database, an error message is displayed. If you make changes to the model that do not affect the mesh, the results images will be considered valid regardless of whether or not they match the loads and boundary conditions in the analysis document.

Note:  If Abaqus adjusts the undeformed nodal coordinates at the start of the analysis for connection purposes (in either contact or fastened connections), these coordinates are not adjusted in CATIA. Therefore, images of displacements reflect the original undeformed coordinates and do not take into account any initial nodal adjustments.

After you create a new results image, you can customize its display using settings in the Image Edition dialog box. For simulations that include steady-state dynamics analysis, you can use the Complex options to display the following component values in a results image: real part, imaginary part, modulus, phase, and modulus with phase.

You can save any results image you create as a new template for future results images in your analysis. To save a results image as a template, right-click the image in the Specification Tree, select Save As New Template, then specify a name for the image template in the Save as new template dialog box. The image templates you define become selectable in the Available Images options in the Abaqus Image Generation dialog box.

This task shows you how to generate images from the results in an Analysis Case Solution.

  1. Select the Analysis Case Solution object or one of its Step objects in the specification tree for which you want to see results, and click the Generate Results Image icon .

    Tip:  Alternatively, you can right-click on the Analysis Case Solution object or one of its Step objects in the specification tree for which you want to see results and select Generate Results Image from the menu that appears. You can also use the icons in the Image toolbar to instantly create deformed mesh , von Mises stress , displacement , stress , and element energy density images, skipping the remaining steps in this procedure.

    The Abaqus Image Generation dialog box appears with a list of the results available for the specified step or analysis. By default, the current increment is set to the last increment of the step or analysis. The Abaqus solver units settings that were used at the time that the output database was attached are displayed. If the solver units do not match the units used to run the analysis, the result values and images will be incorrect. The Abaqus solver units are displayed for reference; units conversion occurs only when the Abaqus input file is written and when the results are attached. For more information, see Configuring an Abaqus Analysis.

  2. To select the step increment for which you want to generate the image, click Current Increment in the Abaqus Image Generation dialog box, select the increment number in the Increments dialog box that appears, and click OK to close the Increments dialog box.

    Note:  Only the increments for which results exist in the output database file are available.

  3. Select the type of image you wish to generate from the list of Available Images.

  4. If you want to create an image for one or more display groups or mesh parts in your model, click in the Generate Image On field, then select the display groups and mesh parts for which you want to create an image. The following types of display groups and mesh parts are eligible for selection in a generated image:

    • Display groups comprised of element sets or surfaces, but not display groups comprised of node sets.

    • Structural mesh parts, but not connection mesh parts. Connection mesh parts are components that are meshed with connection element types such as CONN3D2, which include springs and dashpots, virtual parts, couplings, rigid body constraints, and analytical rigid surfaces.

    As you select display groups and mesh parts, Abaqus for CATIA V5 updates the Generate Image On field with the number of selected components.

    If you leave this field blank, Abaqus for CATIA V5 creates an image for the whole model.

  5. Click OK.

    The Abaqus Image Generation dialog box disappears, and the image is generated automatically in the main window. A feature for the generated image appears in the specification tree.

  6. To generate additional variations on the images that are listed in the Abaqus Image Generation dialog box, you can edit the images.

    1. Double-click the image object in the specification tree, or right-click on the image object and select Object name>Definition from the menu that appears.

      The Image Edition dialog box appears.

    2. Select the desired options in the Image Edition dialog box.

      As you modify the various options, the image displayed in the main window is updated to reflect your selections.