An Abaqus/CAE model contains the following kinds of objects:

• parts

• materials and sections

• assembly

• sets and surfaces

• steps

• loads, boundary conditions, and fields

• interactions and their properties

• meshes

A model database can contain any number of models so that you can keep all models related to a single problem in one database. (For more information, see “What is an Abaqus/CAE model database?,” Section 9.1.) You can open multiple models from the model database at the same time, and you can work on different models in different viewports. The viewport title bar (if visible) displays the name of the model associated with the viewport. The model associated with the current viewport (indicated by a red border) is called the current model, and there is only one current model. Figure 9–1 shows two viewports displaying two different models (high-speed and low-speed) in the same model database (crankshaft.cae); the current viewport in Figure 9–1 is displaying the high-speed model.

You use the Model Manager or the Model menu items from the main menu bar to create and manage your models. You use the Model list located in the context bar to switch to a different model in the current model database.

You can create a copy of a model within a model database; in addition, you can copy the following objects between models:

• Sketches

• Parts (part sets are also copied)

• Instances

• Materials

• Sections (including connector sections)

• Profiles

• Amplitudes

• Interaction properties

You can also import a model from another model database file, which creates a full copy of the model in the current model database. For more information, see “Importing a model from an Abaqus/CAE model database,” Section 10.5.1.

Abaqus/CAE checks that your model is complete when you submit it for analysis. For example, if you request a dynamic analysis, you must specify the density of the materials so that the mass and inertia properties of the model can be calculated. If you did not provide a material density in the Property module, the Job module reports an error; for more information, see “Monitoring the progress of an analysis job,” Section 19.2.6.

In some modules Abaqus/CAE does not support functionality from Abaqus/Standard, Abaqus/Explicit, or Abaqus/CFD that you may want to include in the analysis. You may be able to add such functionality by using the Keywords Editor to edit the Abaqus keywords associated with a model. Select ModelEdit Keywordsmodel name from the main menu bar to start the Keywords Editor. (You can review the keywords supported by Abaqus/CAE by selecting HelpKeyword Browser from the main menu bar.)

You can specify that a model uses information from a previous analysis. When you submit the model for analysis, Abaqus/CAE continues the analysis from a selected step. For more information, see “Configuring restart output requests,” Section 14.13.2, and “Restarting an analysis,” Section 19.6.