Each restart analysis creates a new output database. Consider the example described in “Restarting after adding more analysis steps to the model,” Section 18.4.5, where you did the following:
Ran an analysis of Job-A that referred to Model-A that contains Step-1 and Step-2. As a result, the output database generated by the analysis, Job-A.odb, contains results from Step-1 and Step-2.
Ran a restart analysis of Job-A-restart that referred to Model-A-restart. Although Model-A-restart contains Step-1, Step-2, and Step-3, the output database generated by the restart analysis, Job-A-restart.odb, contains results from only Step-3.
You can use the Visualization module to create deformed, contour, and symbol plots of field data; however, you can plot the results from only one output database at any time. You must change the output database if you are looking at the results from Step-1 or Step-2 and want to look at the results from Step-3.
If you want to create an animation of results from all three steps, you must combine the two output databases. ABAQUS provides an execution procedure for this purpose. For more information, see “Execution procedure for joining output database (.odb) files from restarted analyses,” Section 3.2.16 of the ABAQUS Analysis User's Manual.
Alternatively, you can create a history plot of a variable over all three steps using the following technique:
Create one X–Y data object for the variable from the original output database—Job-A.odb.
Create a second X–Y data object from the output database generated by the restart analysis—Job-A-restart.odb.
Create an X–Y plot of the two X–Y data objects. Alternatively, you can create a new X–Y data object using the Operate on XY data option, append the first two X–Y data objects, and create an X–Y plot of the result.
You should take care that your X–Y data objects are not referring to the same step. For example, consider the restart analysis described in “Restarting after modifying existing analysis steps,” Section 18.4.6, where you modified an existing step and added a new step before continuing the analysis. The first output database contains data from Step-1 and Step-2. The second output database contains data from a modified Step-2 and the new Step-3. The first X–Y data object that you create should use only the data from Step-1 and should exclude the data from the original Step-2. The second X–Y data object should use the data from the modified Step-2 and the new Step-3.