Simulation items management#
Simulations#
The Simulations command
allows to build interactively input files
for the Zsim module (see the Zmat user manual for a complete reference
on this program). The simulation results can then be used to define
comparisons with experimental results to drive the optimization module.
Note that simulations can be launched either from this dialog, or from the Variables Panel.
Simulations management dialog#
The main dialog is shown in the following figure. The selection tree on
the right allows to select simulation items
to apply appropriate
commands on.
Add sim command#
This command may be used to create a new simulation item
in the
database by opening the Add
/Mod simulation dialog
(see add_sim).
Mod sim command#
This command edits the selected simulation item
. By hitting the
Mod sim command
, the user opens the
Add
/Mod simulation dialog
that allows to change the definition
of the item (see add_sim).
Cop sim command#
This command creates a new simulation item
, by copying the
informations contained in the selected simulation item
. The new item
can then be edited by means of the Mod sim
command
.
Del sim command#
This command deletes from the database all the simulations items
selected in the Simulation items selection tree
.
Run command#
This command launches all the simulations selected in the
Simulation items selection
tree
using the Zsim module.
Sel/Clear command#
This command clears all selections in the
Simulation items selection tree
.
Refresh command#
This command updates the Simulation items selection tree
with the
informations contained in the Update simulations dialog
that allows
by means of the Anisothermal
variables dialog
to create new
simulation items
.
Plot command#
This command draws all output curves defined in the simulation items
selected in the Simulation items selection tree
. Plots are tiled in
the graphics area across the X-Y plane, as shown in the following
figure.
Set mat command#
This command may be used to set the material file of several simulations
at the same time, by opening the Set material dialog
shown in the
next figure.
By hitting the Go command
, the material file selected in the
Material file selection
box
becomes the material file assigned
to all the selected simulation items
. The Cancel
button closes
the Set material dialog
.
Cancel command#
This command closes the Simulations management dialog
without
further modification to the database.
Add/Mod Simulation dialog#
This dialog is used to create or modify simulation items
that will
be run using the Zsim module. Typically the following informations are
needed to define valid simulations :
The material behavior, defined in a material file containing values of material coefficients.
The simulation loading, defined by setting the evolution of components of the strain and stress tensors and external parameters (eg. temperature for anisothermal tests) against time. Mixed strain/stress loadings are allowed by Zsim.
The simulation output (stress/stress components, material internal variables, external parameters …) that will be stored in ASCII files.
Various plots that can be defined from the simulation output results to check the material response under the prescribed loading.
The dialog is shown in the next figure.
The name of the simulation item
can be modified in the Name
textfield. The default name assigned at creation should be changed to
something more meaningful to the user. The selection box at the top of
the dialog is filled with the names of all template files loaded in the
application, and attached to design variables
as described in the
Variables management chapter. Assigning a material behavior
to the simulation item
is done by selecting a particular file in
this list.
Those template files are the basis of the mechanism that links the
variables
and their current values to the simulation items
:
when a simulation is launched, the material file selected in the
Material file selection box
is updated with the current values of
the variables
database.
The user can define the initial time of the simulation by filling the
Initial time
textfield command that may be used to define a non-zero
tbeg starting time for the loading sequence, in which case the time
values entered in the table of each load block will be incremented by
the tbeg value entered. Note that the initial time is automatically
filled from the first defined time of the first load block.
Insert before
mode is chosen, each
created load block will be inserted before the selected load block. If
the Insert
after
mode is chosen, each created load block will
be inserted after the selected load block. Default is Insert after
mode.Add load block command#
This command opens the Define load block dialog
that allows to
specify manually the simulation loading (see Simulations/Define load block).
Add load block from exp command#
This command opens the Define load block from experiment dialog
that
allows to use an experiment item
available in the database to define
the simulation loading (see Simulations/Define load block from exp).
Mod load block command#
This command opens the Define load block dialog
corresponding to the
selected load block, that allows to manually modify the simulation
loading (see Simulations/Define load block).
Copy command#
This command copies the selected load block (without suppressing it).
Note that the user is then supposed to select an other load block, to
choose the appropriate Insert before
or Insert after
mode, and
to hit the Paste command
.
Cut command#
This command cuts the selected load block. Note that the user can use this command to simply delete a load block, or to paste it.
Paste command#
This command pastes a previously copied or cut load block. Note that the
user is supposed to have chosen the appropriate Insert before
or
Insert after
mode, and to have selected a load block before.
Define Output command#
This command opens a window containing a selection box filled with all
the output material quantities supported by the behavior selected. A
material file should have been selected beforehand in the
Material file selection box
, otherwise the command returns an error
message. The output generated in the Zsim results files is specified by
selecting the required quantities as illustrated in the next figure.
The Precision
textfield defines the number of digits printed for
floating point values in the ASCII results files (default is 8). The
Clear
button clears the current selection. The Go
button updates
the database with the current selection, while the Cancel
button
closes the Define Output dialog
without further modification to the
database.
Add plot command#
This command adds a new plot item
to the current simulation item
by opening the Add
/Mod plot
dialog
described at Simulations/Define plot .
Mod plot command#
This command edits the plot item
selected in the
Plot items selection box
to allow some modifications. The
Add
/Mod plot dialog
described at Simulations/Define plot is opened with the current
definition of the plot item
.
Del plot command#
This command deletes from the simulation item
definition all the
plot items
selected in the Plot items selection box
.
Set names command#
This command assigns to all the defined plots a name constituted by the
name of the simulation item
and the rank of each plot in the
Plot items selection box
.
Go command#
This command updates the database with the definition of the
simulation item
currently edited.
Edit file command#
This command edits the Zsim input file generated automatically by the application from the informations defined in the present dialog. Some Zsim commands can be directly input in this file, and will be preserved each time the file is re-written by the application. In particular, the following commands are only accessed by means of the input file (see the Simulation Chapter in the Zmat manual for a description of the syntax) :
**solver
command*integration
command in the**model
section
Default values are provided for these commands however, such that direct access of the input file is seldom needed.
Run command#
This command launches the simulation currently edited using the Zsim module.
Plot command#
This command draws all curves stored in the plot items
attached to
the current simulation. Plots are tiled in the graphics area across the
X-Y plane.
Cancel command#
This command closes the dialog without further modification to the database.
Define load block dialog#
When this command is activated for the first time the dialog shown in the next figure is opened.
Textfields for entering numerical values that define the loading are
organized in a tabular manner. In this table, the first column always
defines the time, and other columns represent one particular component
of the loading (eg. stress/strain components or external parameters).
Rows in this table can be used to set the loading components to the
value prescribed at the particular time defined in the first cell of the
row. Note that the first time value is expected to be always 0.0, and
that the Initial time
textfield should be used to define a loading
that does not start at 0.0.
The checkboxes at the head of each column allow to activate/deactivate a particular loading component. The default loading corresponds to a 2D simulation (ie. only 11, 22 33 and 12 components of the stress/strain tensors are activated). To allow a 3D simulation the 23 and 13 shear components should be activated in the corresponding checkboxes at the top of the table. Similarly, definition of an anisothermal loading requires activation the param:temperature component in the last column of the dialog. The combo boxes at the head of each column, may be used to choose between a strain (etoij components) or stress (sigij components) control for this particular component.
Checkboxes at the beginning of each line can be used to add or remove a time sequence within the loading definition (the default dialog includes ten possible time sequences, even if only the first two are activated).
Note that, once the loading has been completely defined by clicking on
the Go command
, the next time this dialog will be opened, only
line/columns selected previously will be included in the table. Addition
of new loading components or time sequences is still possible though, by
means of the Add param
or Add row commands
.
Other textfields at the top of the dialog have the following meaning :
the
Segments
textfield defines the number of output points generated in the results files between each values of the time sequence.the
Nb cycles
textfield may be set to a ncyc non-zero value, in which case the time sequence is expected to define a cycle that will be repeated ncyc times. Note that in this case, the time values used to define the sequence are local to the cycle.
Various sub-commands defined in this dialog are described hereafter.
Set col command#
This command sets all cells of the column specified to a given value, as illustrated in the following figure.
Add param command#
This command adds a new column in the loading table. The column is labeled param by default, and the definition should be changed to something like param:name where name is the name given to the external parameter in the simulation.
Add row command#
This command adds a new row in the loading table.
Go command#
This command updates the loading definition for the current
simulation item
, using the values entered in the dialog.
Cancel command#
This command closes the dialog without updating the loading definition.
Define load block from experiment dialog#
This command is used to define a simulation loading from an
experiment item
created beforehand by means of the
Experiments command
(see Experiments). The dialog is shown in the next figure.
The first column in this dialog is used to define the loading components (eg. stress/strain components or external parameters). The combo boxes can be used to choose between strain (etoij components) or stress (sigij components) control for this particular component. The checkboxes at the beginning of each row allow to activate/deactivate a particular loading component. The default loading corresponds to a 2D simulation (ie. only 11, 22 33 and 12 components of the stress/strain tensors are activated). To allow a 3D simulation the 23 and 13 shear components should be activated in the corresponding checkboxes at the beginning of table rows. Similarly, definition of an anisothermal loading requires activation the param:temperature component in the last row of the dialog.
The second column specifies the name of the experiment item
that
will define the evolution of the loading component during time. A combo
box is filled with all experiments items
defined beforehand by means
of the Experiments command
, and the item required must be selected
from this list. Note that only one experiment item
can be chosen in
this list for the various loading components, but the same experiment
may be assigned to several loading components.
The X value stored in the experiment item
will be used to define the
time sequence.
If a base
or derived item
type is selected (let us recall that
those are used to store X-Y curves) the Y value stored in the item will
define the actual loading component values.
Input in the third column is only needed if a composite
type of
experiment item
is assigned to the loading components (this type of
item can store multi-column data). In this case the column number in the
composite item
should be given in the last column of the dialog for
each loading component attached to the experiment : syntax is $nc
where nc is the rank of the Y value in the composite item
definition.
Example#
In the previous figure the eto11 loading component is assigned by
means of the experiment
item
named lcf1x3_load, ie. the time
sequence and the eto11 values are defined respectively by the X and Y
values stored in this experiment item
. Other loading components
(sig22, sig33 …) are assigned to a null constant value over the
whole time sequence.
Example#
The next figure illustrates the use of a composite experiment item
to define a multiaxial loading. Both the eto11 and eto12 loading
components are defined by means of a composite experiment item
named
biaxial. Within this item, the X values will define the time sequence,
while the Y3
and Y2
values (the third and second Y values stored
in the item, specified as $3 and $2 in the last column of the
dialog) will be used to define the eto11 and eto12 components
respectively.
Segments
textfield defines the number of output points
generated in the results files between each values of the time
sequence stored in the X column of the experiment item
.Go command#
This command updates the loading definition for the current
simulation item
, using the values entered in the dialog.
Cancel command#
This command closes the dialog without updating the loading definition.
Define plot dialog#
This dialog, used to create or modify a plot item
attached to the
current simulation
item
, is shown in the figure hereafter.
The following sub-items are accessed from this dialog.
The name of the plot item defined in the
Name
textfield.The number nc of curves entered in the
History
textfield, corresponding to the more recent simulations, that will be drawn on the same plot. This type of plots is a convenient way to visualize for instance the influence of material coefficients on the simulated response.Example
In this example, three simulations have been performed for increasing values of the initial yield stress R0. Plots of sig11 vs eto11 and the cumulated plastic strain evcum vs time obtained by setting the
History
parameter to 3 are shown in the next figure.
A combo box filled with the
experiment items
defined beforehand by means of theExperiments command
(see Experiments), where a particular item can be selected to be used as a reference curve drawn on the same plot as the simulation curve.Two selection boxes filled with the simulation output components defined by the
Define
Output command
described at Simulations/Define Output. A particular component should be selected to specify the X (left box) and Y (right box) parameters that will be drawn on the plot.
The following sub-commands can be activated from this dialog.
Go command#
This command updates the plot definition using the values entered in the dialog.
Cancel command#
This command closes the dialog without updating the plot definition.