Configuring advanced options

You can configure a condition-based bead optimization task.

  1. In the optimization task editor, click the Advanced tab.

  2. Toggle on Growth direction opposite to shell normal to reverse the direction of the nodal displacement that forms the bead.

  3. By default, the direction in which the nodes are moved to form the bead is determined from the stress state of the model at the start of the optimization—the first cycle. Alternatively, you can specify that the optimization determines the direction in which the nodes are moved after every design cycle.

  4. By default, an internally computed value will be used for the bead width. Alternatively, you can specify the absolute value of the width of the bead.

  5. Specify the number of iterations the bead optimization will perform. The number of iterations modifies the step size of the optimization. The default value is 2.

  6. Specify the following Penalty Conditions:

    Minimum stress ratio

    Enter the value of the minimum von Mises stress ratio to prevent Abaqus/CAE from optimizing regions with very low stresses. Abaqus/CAE does not apply bead optimization in the regions where the von Mises stress is less than the value computed from the specified ratio multiplied by the highest von Mises stress in the design area (0.0 < Minimum stress ratio < 1.0). The default value is 0.001.

    Maximum membrane stress ratio

    Enter the value of the maximum membrane stress ratio to prevent Abaqus/CAE from optimizing regions in a predominately membrane, or inplane, stress state (the introduction of a bead in a region under a predominately membrane stress state may make the structure softer).

    Abaqus/CAE does not apply bead optimization in regions where the membrane stress is greater than the constant value computed from the maximum bending stress in the original model divided by the specified ratio (0.0 < Maximum membrane stress ratio). The default value is 1.0.

  7. Specify the following Mesh Smoothing Parameters:

    Curve smooth

    Enter the relative value of the radius defining a region of high curvature.

    The introduction of a bead during the optimization can squeeze nodes together and result in small elements. For even higher degrees of curvature and large bead heights, the nodes can begin to overlap causing the analysis to fail. To prevent the collapse of the mesh, Abaqus/CAE can modify how it moves nodes while creating a bead in a region of high curvature. High curvature is defined as the radius calculated by multiplying the Curve smooth value and the average element edge length in the design area. High values of Curve smooth and, hence, a large radius encompassing many elements, can be computationaly expensive. The default value is five times the average element length.

    Node smooth

    By default, the value for Node smooth is 0.25 × bead width. Alternatively, you can specify the absolute minimum in-plane distance between neighboring nodes during the creation of a bead. Values between 0.0 and 0.5 × bead width are allowed.

    Node smoothing is applied to prevent sudden changes in displacement of neighboring nodes, especially near the boundary between the design area and the rest of the model or where active design variable constraints are restraining the displacement of nodes.