Figure 1
shows how a planar view cut can be used to cut through a contour plot of a
gearbox model in
the Visualization module.
Figure 1. Planar view cut through a contour plot of a gearbox model. Top, left
to right: the model below the cut, on the cut, and above the cut; bottom: the
entire model.
- View cut shapes
-
You can create view cuts based on a plane. In
the Visualization module
you can also create view cuts based on the following shapes:
The types of shapes for view cut creation are illustrated in
Figure 2.
Figure 2. View cuts based on planar, cylindrical, spherical, and isosurface
shapes.
For isosurface cuts the result values are computed as described in
Understanding how contour values are computed,
for line- and banded-type contours. By default,
Abaqus/CAE
applies an averaging threshold of 100% for isosurface cuts to insure the
continuous display of results at the cut location. You can apply an averaging
threshold less than 100% by toggling off Override primary variable
averaging when you create the isosurface cut.
Abaqus/CAE
then applies the averaging threshold specified in the
Averaging options in the Result
Options dialog box; for more information, see
Controlling result averaging.
Cuts along the X-, Y-, and
Z-planes are created by default.
Note:
Isosurface view cuts offer slightly different functionality and behavior
than isosurface-type contour plots. An isosurface view cut always reflects the
results of the primary variable that was active when the view cut was created;
you cannot change the variable for which an isosurface view cut displays
results. By contrast, isosurface-type contour plots always display data from
the currently selected primary variable for your session. Because each
isosurface view cut is tied to a single variable, you can investigate the
locations where two isosurface view cuts intersect if you display multiple
isosurface view cuts that are based on different output variables.
- Displaying the cut
section
-
To display the cut section of your model, you activate a cut and choose
whether to display the model on the cut, above the cut, and/or below the cut,
as illustrated in
Figure 1.
The cut itself is never visible. For planar cuts the portion of the model below
the cut is defined as that part located on the negative side of the plane
(relative to the orientation of the normal to the plane). For cylindrical and
spherical cuts the portion of the model below the cut is defined as that part
located at radii less than the radius of the cut shape. For an isosurface cut
the portion of the model below the cut is defined as that part located at
isovalues less than the specified isovalue. By default,
Abaqus/CAE
displays the model on and below the cut. In
the Visualization module,
you can display the model above the cut and the model below the cut at the same
time; in all other modules, only one of these display options is available at a
time.
- Plot
options
-
You can select different plot options for the portions of the model below
the cut, on the cut, and above the cut; for example, in
Figure 2
some portions of the model are displayed with translucency activated, while
others are displayed with no translucency.
- Displaying multiple
view cuts (Visualization module only)
-
Only one cut can be active (used to display the model in the current
viewport) at a time in modules other than
the Visualization module;
in
the Visualization module,
however, you can display multiple view cuts at once. In addition, in
the Visualization module
you can activate view cuts on undeformed, deformed, contour (texture-mapped
only), symbol, or material orientation plots. For symbol and material
orientation plots,
Abaqus/CAE
displays symbols and material orientation triads at all integration points for
each element included in the view, even if the element is partially cut.
- Animation of view
cuts (results data only)
-
Plots with an active view cut can be animated for output database data in
the Visualization module;
the view cut will be updated for each animation frame. View cuts cannot be
activated on tessellated contour plots; swept, shrunk, or extruded plots; or
highly refined plots (medium, fine, or extra fine).
- Results
caching
-
By default,
Abaqus/CAE
caches the result values used to generate images of a cut model in memory to
improve performance. However, you can disable results caching for cut fields to
decrease memory usage if necessary; see
Controlling results caching,
for more information.
- Following the
deformation
-
For plots of the deformed model, you can choose to have the cut follow the
deformation; i.e., the cut surface will be calculated relative to a reference
frame, and the cut deformation will match the deformation of the model.
- Repositioning view
cuts
-
You can reposition cuts on your model: planar cuts can be rotated or
translated, while the other cut shapes can only be translated.
- View Cut
Manager
-
You can select a cut (either active or inactive) in the View Cut
Manager to position, edit, copy, rename, or delete it. Selecting a
cut in the manager is not the same as activating the cut. A cut can be both
selected and active, unselected and active, or selected and inactive; and you
can display or hide a free body cut for the currently displayed view cut if it
is active. You can specify free body options that are common to all view cuts
or that are specific to a particular view cut.
Figure 3
shows an example of the information displayed in the view cut manager in
the Visualization module;
in other modules, the free body display and cut-specific options are not
included in this dialog box.
Figure 3. The View Cut Manager dialog box in
the Visualization module.
- Resultant forces
and moments on view cuts (results data only)
-
For view cuts of output database data in
the Visualization module
you can also display the resultant forces and moments, and you can compute
these values based on a display group, an element set, or the entire model. You
can display the resultant force and moment on a view cut only for solid
geometry, shell sections, or beam sections; for shell sections and beam
sections the output database must include section force
(SF) and section moment
(SM) output for resultant forces and moments
to be displayed.
Abaqus/CAE
does not support display of resultant forces and moments on view cuts for
axisymmetric models. You can display the resultant force and moment on a view
cut for any of the displayed view cuts in your session.
Abaqus/CAE
updates the resultant force and moment vectors and summation point as you
reposition the view cut or animate the model.
By default,
Abaqus/CAE
displays vectors on the view cut only, showing the resultant force and moment
across the view cut. However, you can also display a series of vectors that
show resultant force and moment data at regular intervals in your model. This
series of resultant force and moment vectors can run through the entirety of
your model or within a user-specified region.
- XFEM-based view cut
components (results data only)
-
Abaqus/CAE
automatically creates and displays a view cut when you open an output database
containing a crack calculated by the extended finite element method
(XFEM). The view cut displays the model at the
isosurface where the value of the signed distance function is zero, which
corresponds with the surface of the XFEM
crack. Boundary conditions are not displayed while an
XFEM crack view cut is active.
The tools in the View Cut Manager operate as follows
for XFEM cracks:
-
The below cut
check box displays the entire model, except for the
XFEM crack.
-
The on cut
check box displays the isosurface where the value of the signed
distance function is zero, which corresponds with the surface of an
XFEM crack.
-
The above cut
check box is not used by an
XFEM crack.
- Optimization-based
view cut components (results data only)
-
Abaqus/CAE
automatically creates and displays a view cut when you open an output database
created by an optimization process, for both topology and shape optimizations.
By default, the view cut displays the model at the isosurface where the value
of the material property is zero, which corresponds with elements that have a
density and stiffness close to zero and consequently play an insignificant role
in the strength of the model. Boundary conditions are not displayed while an
optimization view cut is active.
The tools in the View Cut Manager operate as follows
for optimizations:
-
The below cut
check box displays the material that has a property less than
the value of the slider. By default, this is the material that is not
contributing to the strength of the model.
-
The on cut
check box displays the isosurface where the material has a
property equal to the value of the slider.
-
The above cut
check box displays the material that has a property greater than
the value of the slider. By default, this is the material that continues to
contribute to the strength of the model.
- Consideration for
small faces
- A view cut may display inconsistent
results if the area of one or more faces of the part is less than 1E–6 because
faceting of such small faces is not
possible.
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