Summary

The History Access module offers a fluent interface for retrieving history data from ODB files. The Python module is provided at the end of this post, along with a video tutorial demonstrating multiple usage examples.

 

Introduction

With the increasing number of Machine Learning projects being executed by the SIMULIA Services HUB, we identified the need for a simple and robust way to access history data when post-processing multiple ODB files.

To meet this need, we developed a new Abaqus Python module offering an alternative interface to the existing API. 
Our aim was to create an intuitive tool that supports flexible filtering and makes the code easy to read and understand.

The video below demonstrates the fluent interface in action:

Code Example

# Import the necessary modules.
import odbAccess
from historyAccess import HistoryAccess

# Open the ODB file and create the HistoryAccess object.
odb = odbAccess.openOdb(path=r'C:/temp/Circuit.odb', readOnly=True)
ha = HistoryAccess(odb)

# Extract the "MISES" output for element "637" in the "PACKAGING-1" instance.
ha.name('MISES').instance('PACKAGING-1').element(637).fetch()

The last line of code is all that is needed to search the database and extract the required history output. Note that the returned object contains additional metadata beyond the X and Y values, allowing for further processing if necessary.

The module currently offers 10 different filters (e.g., name, step, region) and includes auxiliary functions to assist with plotting, exporting, and post-processing.

Additional details about the methods and usage examples are available in the ReadMe file included with the module, as well as in the video tutorial provided below.

Tutorial

Files