
Abaqus/Explicit is an explicit-dynamic finite-element solver that is well-suited to simulate brief transient dynamic events such as consumer electronics drop tests, automotive crashes, and ballistic impacts. The ability of Abaqus/Explicit to effectively handle severely nonlinear behavior such as contact makes it very attractive for the simulation of many quasi-static events, such as rolling of hot metal and slow crushing of energy absorbing structures. Abaqus/Explicit is designed for production environments, so ease of use, reliability, and efficiency are key ingredients in its architecture. Abaqus/Explicit is supported within the Abaqus/CAE modeling environment for all common pre- and post-processing.
Abaqus/Explicit may be coupled with Abaqus/Standard. A simulation that starts in Abaqus/Standard can be continued in Abaqus/Explicit and vice versa. This import functionality allows Abaqus/Explicit to be applied to those portions of the analysis that are well-suited to an explicit-dynamic solution technique while Abaqus/Standard may be applied to those portions of the analysis more suitable for an implicit solver.
Abaqus/Explicit analysis types include:
- Nonlinear dynamic stress analysis
- Acoustics
- Multi-physics procedure for thermal/structural simulation
- Discrete Element Method (DEM) for particle simulations
- Coupled Eulerian-Lagrangian simulation
- Smooth Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH)
Abaqus/Explicit element types include:
- Linear solid elements for stress analysis
- Quadratic tetrahedral elements for stress analysis
- Structural elements: shell elements, beam elements, truss elements, membrane elements
- Elements for coupled thermal/structural simulations
- Special elements for modeling
- A wide range of kinematic behaviors
- Spot welds
- Adhesive connections
Abaqus/Explicit material models include:
- Linear elasticity and viscoelasticity
- Nonlinear viscoelasticity
- Isotropic and kinematic plasticity
- Damage and fracture mechanics models
- Low-density, rate-dependent foam
- Equation of state including non-Newtonian fluids and ideal gases


Multiphysics with Abaqus
The Abaqus product suite has significant capabilities that are used to solve multiphysics problems. Fully integrated as core Abaqus functionality these multiphysics capabilites have been applied extensively for many engineering applications on products and engineering projects.
From the same model, same element library, same material data, and same load history, an Abaqus structural FEA model can easily be extended to include additional physics interaction.

CZone for Abaqus
CZone can be used for advanced crush simulation of energy-absorbing structures made of laminated composites. CZone can be coupled with the extended Abaqus capabilities to analyse crashworthiness for the automotive and aerospace industry.