The *PARAMETER provides users a lot of flexibility in building and manipulating Abaqus analysis models. This keyword is used in various analysis workflows across different industry verticals.
Currently the *PARAMETER isn't supported by Abaqus CAE. Due to this drawback it becomes difficult for the analyst to visualize the changes in the model when the parameters are tweaked.
A parameter file can contain multiple user-defined input quantities. Substituting each of these quantities manually in the input file can be a very time consuming and tedious process.
The attached script substitutes parameter values in the Abaqus input file and imports it in Abaqus CAE.
While the user is in the Abaqus CAE environment, it also gives the user the option of tweaking the existing parameter values and exporting the modified input file.
Below are the steps that are required to run the script.
- Place the parameter file, Abaqus input file and the python script (parameter_script.pyc) in the same folder
2. Open a fresh session of Abaqus CAE with the working directory pointing to the location of the aforementioned files
3. Run the python script
4. A table listing all the input files in the working directory would come up. Here you would need to select the master input file if there are any references to associated include files. Else you can select the only input file.
5. After selecting the input file a table listing the parameters and associated values will come up. Here you can either change the parameter values or proceed without making any changes.
Two files get created after the script is run. The first file is filename_modified.inp. This file merges input files which references include files and creates a single input file. The second file is filename_modified_updated.inp. This files substitutes the parameter values in the input file
6. Finally you get an option of importing the latest modified input file. Here, you can choose to import the latest modified file or choose not to.
In this way the provided script helps users graphically visualize their parametric models in Abaqus CAE thereby reducing the chance of making any modelling errors.
