Buckling and Post-Buckling Analysis are crucial topics in the study of ultimate strength in structural mechanics. The files provided below represent a model for the analysis of a steel plate subjected to initial imperfections, which are applied as sinusoidal functions to the nodes of the plate mesh. The result of this analysis is the ultimate strength curve of the plate (average stress vs. average strain).

These files are part of my thesis work, and I believe they offer a clear approach to address this issue and methodology.

The provided files are:

Please find the attached files.

setup.py
meshing.py
maining.py
A.txt

Instructions for Use:
Copy the Files: Copy all the above files into a single folder.
Set the Folder Path in setup.py: Open the setup.py file with a text editor. Modify the file to reflect the correct folder path where the files have been copied.
Save and Execute setup.py: Save the setup.py file and paste the content inside the Abaqus kernel.
File Descriptions:
File A.txt: This file contains the coefficients used to apply the initial imperfections to the plate, which are read in the setup.py file.
File meshing.py: This file deals with the model creation and meshing of the plate.
File maining.py: This file applies the coefficients from A.txt to the mesh and continues with the analysis process.
All modules in these files are clearly separated by comments to make it easier to understand and use.

Customizable Parameters:
In the setup.py file, you can adjust the plate's geometric properties (length, width, thickness) as well as other parameters such as mesh size.
In the maining.py file, boundary conditions can also be modified.
Additionally, sections of these files can be copied and pasted directly into Abaqus for use.

Analysis Method:
The analysis is performed using Riks Analysis. You can view the settings for this analysis method in the Step module of Abaqus. In this method, instead of applying a load, displacement is applied to one face of the plate, and the supporting force on the opposite face is computed.

Ultimately, the applied force is divided by the cross-sectional area to calculate the average stress, and the displacement is divided by the length of the plate to compute the average strain.

The average stress corresponds to the normal stress, and the average strain corresponds to the normal strain. A plot of the variation of these two parameters with respect to each other is generated.