In this article, you will learn about some common errors in Abaqus software and how to solve them. Annoying errors that stop the analysis operation and confuse the user after hours of modeling. But the reality is something else. Most of these errors are caused by the forgetfulness or carelessness of the user, and Abaqus is so smart that it does not start the analysis without fixing them. If you stay with us, we will review some of the most important ones.

Covering a wide range of scientific and industrial problems, along with ease of use and reaching accurate and reliable solutions, has made Abaqus one of the most popular finite element software among researchers in the fields of mechanical, structural, metallurgical, electrical, and industrial engineering. Is abacus more than a tool to achieve a goal? A tool that you should not expect to get a correct answer if you give it a wrong input (junk in, junk out). This issue is only part of the requirements of using a powerful software such as Abaqus. It is safe to say that all Abaqus users, from beginners to advanced, have come across errors that have a specific origin and source when solving some problems. In the meantime, professional users always have the ability for comment to fix the errors, but the beginner users who are at the beginning of the learning path need to gain experience in the face of errors.

1- Missing Property Definition error in Abaqus

You should look for the source of this error in the Abaqus Properties module. If you forget to assign a material to your parts in the property module, you will encounter a Missing Property Definition error.

We recommend you to check the Warning tab to know the exact cause of the error; Because if you have not assigned a cross-sectional area to the object in the Property module, you will encounter the same message.

To fix this error, just go back to the Property module and define the appropriate cross section for the piece. Also, you may have defined a cross section like Truss for the desired part, but you didn’t assign the Truss element to it in the Mesh module, so it is necessary to apply this amendment. To fix this error, you have to assign the appropriate element with the desired cross-section to the part in the Mesh module.

2- Time increment required is less than minimum specified

Yes! A very common error that hardly any user has not faced at least once. The origin of this error is numerous, but the most common cause of its occurrence is the loads applied to the part. If the amount of displacement or the force you entered into the part exceeds the allowed range, or the values entered in the Abaqus Load module do not match the mechanical properties defined in the Property module, you will encounter this error message.

3- Too many attempts made for this increment

Is it possible to be an Abaqus user and have not encountered this error? A very annoying error, with multiple origins and very resistant to solving! This error occurs in the Abaqus Static General solver and its main cause is related to the problem solving method in this solver. The process of trial and error in the Newton-Raphson method and the solver’s effort to reach convergence in the solution causes this error to occur during the solution.

According to the explanations given in the previous section, I suggest that you examine the loading range and coordination between the units in the first step. Next, if the problem persists, as a simple solution, you can make the minimum and maximum Time Increment values ​​smaller; But this method usually doesn’t work very well and the solution process will abort again with the same error message.

Since in the case of large deformations, the continuation of the solution leads to the destruction and complete loss of some elements, as a solution, you can make the elements of the mentioned areas smaller or remove the above elements from the analysis using defining a suitable damage criterion. But know that all the above solutions do not work in some cases and the problem remains. I recommend to use Abaqus/Explicit if you are mastered for using it and the problem conditions allow you to do so.

4- No Density has been specified

As I said before, many errors (including this one) are rooted in user error. You must know that if you use the Abaqus/Explicit solver, you will need to define the density for the desired material in the Property module. But if for any reason you forget to enter the density of the material you want, you will encounter the following error. Obviously, according to the above explanations, to fix this error in Abaqus, just go to the Property module and enter the density value.