Eulerian mesh motion is a technique that allows you to reduce the size of an Eulerian mesh for certain models, thereby improving the performance of the analysis. In some cases the Eulerian domain at the beginning of an analysis does not sufficiently capture the deformations in the model by the end of the analysis. Some typical examples include:
An airbag where the inflator gas is modeled as an Eulerian material: the gas initially occupies a small region, but the region quickly expands as the airbag inflates.
A projectile impact analysis where the projectile is modeled as an Eulerian material: the projectile initially occupies a region that is far from its ultimate destination.
In such cases it is possible to adjust the size and location of the Eulerian domain during the analysis so that it always captures a part or material of interest. By default, an Eulerian mesh is rigid and fixed in place; but enabling Eulerian mesh motion allows the Eulerian elements to scale and translate during the analysis. Eulerian mesh motion can follow the deformation of an Eulerian material instance (as shown in Figure 28–10) or a Lagrangian surface (as shown in Figure 28–11). The behavior of Eulerian mesh motion is described in detail in “Eulerian mesh motion,” Section 14.1.3 of the Abaqus Analysis User's Guide.
In Abaqus/CAE Eulerian mesh motion is defined as a boundary condition in the Load module. Restrictions can be imposed on the scaling and translation of the Eulerian mesh as part of the boundary condition definition. For more information about creating Eulerian mesh motion boundary conditions, see “Defining an Eulerian mesh motion boundary condition,” Section 16.10.22.
