Quasi-static Analysis with Abaqus/Explicit

Quasi-static analysis is a useful tool for studying systems which undergo very large deformations. While the implicit solver in Abaqus/Standard would seem like the obvious choice due to the globally static response of the system, Abaqus/Explicit is much more efficient for this type of problem.

Consider a rigid punch contacting a deformable plate. The punch is moved at 2.5mm/min, covering a total distance of 12mm. Since explicit dynamics works with very small time increments, the quasi-static problem has to be condensed into a manageable time frame, otherwise the simulation could easily require several million increments to complete.

In this tutorial I will demonstrate how we can model the above experiment using the appropriate techniques which produces good quality results within a reasonable time frame.