Understanding how to operate on saved X–Y data objects

You can derive new X–Y data by operating on previously saved X–Y data objects. You define your new data by building a mathematical expression. The expression can include the names of previously saved X–Y data objects, built-in functions, and mathematical operators. An example of an expression might be: currentMax(“XYData-1”)+2.5. Abaqus/CAE evaluates the expression to derive the new X–Y data.

Related Topics
Understanding X–Y data interpolation and extrapolation
Operating on saved X–Y data objects
Using X–Y data operations

To build your expression, you use the Operate on XY Data dialog box. This dialog box lists the data object names and operators available for your expression. You can click to select listed data objects and operators; type values in using the keyboard; and use standard mouse and keyboard editing techniques such as backspace, copy, and paste to configure your expression. The expression can contain any syntactically valid series of supported operations. The following syntax rules apply:

  • Multiple arguments to a function must be separated by commas.

  • Data object names must be surrounded by quotation marks.

  • Parentheses must be used to group function arguments.

Parentheses can also be used to control mathematical evaluation or for visual clarity. Abaqus/CAE notifies you if your expression contains invalid syntax or cannot be evaluated for mathematical reasons; for example, if evaluation would require dividing by zero.

Tip: When you select multiple variables in the History Output dialog box and click Save As, you can choose to apply one of the more common operators to the X–Y data before saving it.

By default, Abaqus/CAE performs checks to validate the mathematical expressions you create. If your expression includes a large number of X–Y data points, this validation can be time consuming. You can toggle on Skip checks to skip this set of checking procedures.