You can define named sets of time points that describe all of the moments during an analysis when you want to request that ABAQUS write field output or history output data. By requesting output at specified time points, you can create an irregular sampling that focuses on gathering data during the critical points in your analysis.
The Create Time Points dialog box provides two methods for defining sets of time points. You can specify each time point by entering every value individually on its own line in the table portion of the dialog box. Alternatively, you can select Specify using delimiters to define several ranges of time with a different increment that defines the sampling rate in each range. For example, you can create a time point every 0.1 seconds for the time range between 0 and 1, then change the increment to 0.05 for the time range between 1 and 2. The individual and time range definition methods are mutually exclusive; you cannot, for example, add individual time points to a series of time points specified by the time ranges method.
Note: You can also import a set of time points either individually or using time ranges into a model database from an ASCII file. Once the data are imported, you can edit those time points.
The Create Time Points dialog box presents a set of time points data in a tabular format. You can modify these sets by adding, removing, and clearing rows of data or by editing individual data points or time ranges. Once you create a set of time points, you can edit its contents or copy, rename, or delete the set. If you rename or delete a set of time points for which you have requested field or history output, ABAQUS/CAE issues an error message.
To create a set of time points:
Open the Create Time Points dialog box.
From the main menu bar, select Output
Time PointsCreate.
Enter a name for this set of time points, and click OK.
The Edit Time Points dialog box appears.
To read time point data from an ASCII file, perform the following steps:
Click mouse button 3 in the table portion of the dialog box; then choose Read from File from the list that appears.
The Read Data from ASCII File dialog box appears.
Click Select, and use the ASCII File Selection dialog box to navigate to the file you want to import. Click OK when you have the file selected.
If desired, you can modify the starting location in the time points table for the data import. By default, the starting row and column values for the import are both equal to 1; modify either value if you want to customize the imported data with additional rows and columns of values.
Click OK to import the values into the time points table.
Select one of the two time point definition methods:
To define time points individually, enter a time point in row 1, and then add a new row and time point for every additional time point in the set. Individually entered time points must be entered in sequential order.
To specify time points using delimiters, select Specify using delimiters, and then enter the starting time, ending time, and increment for each series of time points that you want to create. See “Entering tabular data,” Section 3.2.7, for more information about tabular data entry.
Click OK to save your set of time points.
