Complete workflow for coupled thermomechanical analysis. Use when user mentions thermal stress, thermal expansion, or temperature causing deformation.
Analyze problems where temperature and mechanical response interact. Use for thermal stress, expansion-induced deformation, and high-temperature structural components.
Natural language triggers:
Route elsewhere:
/abaqus-thermal-analysis/abaqus-static-analysisBefore starting coupled analysis:
Ask if unclear: "Does mechanical deformation affect the temperature field?"
| Scenario | Coupling Type | Approach |
|---|---|---|
| Heat causes stress, no feedback | One-way | Sequential coupling |
| Friction or plastic work generates heat | Two-way | Fully coupled |
| Large deformation changes heat path | Two-way | Fully coupled |
| Simple thermal expansion | One-way | Sequential is simpler |
Decision rule: If only temperature affects stress -> Sequential. If deformation affects temperature -> Fully coupled.
Material must include BOTH sets:
Mechanical: E (Young's modulus), nu (Poisson's ratio)
Thermal: k (conductivity), alpha (expansion coefficient), T_ref (reference temperature)
For transient: Also need cp (specific heat) and rho (density)
Typical steel values (SI-mm units):
Fully Coupled (simultaneous):
CoupledTempDisplacementStepSequential (thermal first, then structural):
HeatTransferStepStaticStepThermal BCs: Temperature, heat flux, convection, or radiation
Mechanical BCs: Fixed supports (prevent rigid body motion)
| Element | Description | Use |
|---|---|---|
| C3D8T | 8-node coupled brick | General coupled |
| C3D8RT | Reduced integration | Faster, watch hourglassing |
| C3D10MT | 10-node tet | Complex geometry |
For sequential: Use standard thermal elements (DC3D8) then structural elements (C3D8R).
Key variables to request:
If requirements unclear, ask:
After setup, verify:
| Problem | Likely Cause | Solution |
|---|---|---|
| Large/unrealistic thermal strain | Wrong alpha units | alpha should be ~1e-5/K for metals |
| Zero thermal stress | Missing Expansion property | Add material.Expansion() |
| Non-convergence | Large temperature change | Reduce time increments or deltmx |
| No thermal expansion effect | Wrong element type | Use coupled elements (C3D8T not C3D8) |
| Cannot import ODB | Path or step name wrong | Verify ODB exists and step name matches |
/abaqus-thermal-analysis - Thermal-only (heat transfer without stress)/abaqus-static-analysis - Structural-only (no thermal effects)/abaqus-field - Import temperature fields from external sources/abaqus-material - Material property definitions/abaqus-step - Analysis step configurationFor API syntax and code examples, see: