Inside Abaqus 2023
- Aug 7
- 3 min read
Updated: Aug 14
The Abaqus 2023 release brings a wide set of usability, performance, and modeling improvements, particularly for coupled multiphysics, nonlinear materials, and dynamic analyses. Many of the enhancements originally introduced via 2022 Fix Packs are now part of the core release.
This post summarizes the most relevant changes for engineering workflows across CAE, materials, solvers, substructures, and co-simulation. Use it as a guide to identify which new features matter for your models.
Improved Inspection and Pre-Processing Tools in Abaqus/CAE
Friction point: Measuring geometric distances between complex groups of entities in assemblies was inefficient.
Solution: Abaqus/CAE now includes an Advanced Distance Query tool that calculates the minimum distance between two groups of objects (e.g., nodes, elements, faces), not just single pairs. This improves geometry checks for contact setup and component clearances.
Other Notable CAE Enhancements:
Define crush stress material behavior in Abaqus/Explicit, including velocity factors.
Specify Valanis–Landel hyperelasticity and orthotropic material properties with tension–compression asymmetry in plane stress.
Add thermal expansion coefficients to kinematic coupling constraints.
Assign structural damping types to connectors in addition to viscous damping.
Simulation Performance and Solver Efficiency Improvements
Friction Point: Large-scale dynamic models often suffer from long runtimes or inconsistent convergence in coupled scenarios.
Solution: Several solver optimizations reduce time-to-solution for frequency-based, transient, and coupled analyses.
Key Updates:
Dynamic Analysis
Performance gains in random response and steady-state dynamic output (nodal and element results).
Expanded support for residual modes in natural frequency extraction.
SPH conversion defaults to uniform background grid, improving stability.
Multiphysics Co-Simulation
New acceleration methods (Aitken, Anderson, Broyden) improve convergence for tightly coupled solvers.
Restart file synchronization now supported between solvers.
Substructure Modeling
Use absolute paths to locate substructure database files.
Residual modes can be added to the basis to capture high-frequency behavior.
Improved performance for retained eigenmodes with incomplete DOFs.
Field Mapping
Import external history-dependent fields for Abaqus/Explicit.
Additional field types and mapper controls now available.
Updates for Electrochemical and Battery Modeling
Friction Point: Fully coupled thermal-electrochemical-structural simulation was previously limited or required workarounds.
Solution: Abaqus 2023 includes new capabilities tailored for battery simulations:
Fully coupled thermal–electrochemical–structural–pore pressure analysis now available.
Butler–Volmer surface-based interactions supported directly.
Abaqus/Standard now handles electrical interface fluxes relevant to rechargeable battery fields.
Default electrical/thermal contact conductance behavior updated for more realistic modeling at interfaces.
Material Modeling: New Hyperelastic, Viscoelastic, and Multiscale Support
Friction Point: Previous versions lacked support for advanced anisotropic hyperelasticity and frequency-dependent damping.
Solution: Material library updates now support:
Holzapfel–Ogden and Kaliske anisotropic hyperelastic models (useful for myocardium or reinforced polymers).
Valanis–Landel now supported in both Abaqus/Standard and Abaqus/Explicit.
Frequency-domain viscoelasticity for orthotropic and anisotropic behavior.
Multiscale material modeling in Abaqus/Explicit.
Anisotropic yield criteria for Drucker–Prager and crushable foam plasticity.
Element and Contact Enhancements
New thermal fluid pipe and connector elements in Abaqus/Standard.
Define connector hardening behavior based on mode mix (FD02).
Abaqus/Explicit supports reference meshes for 3D solid elements.
Contact Behavior Improvements:
Beam contact now considers true cross-sections.
Rate-dependent general contact with user-controlled slip/separation filtering.
Contact stiffness better handled under mass scaling in Abaqus/Explicit.
Execution, Subroutines, and Output
The abaqus redistadb utility can extract restart data from existing output files.
More analysis types now default to MPI-based parallel execution in Abaqus/Standard.
SIM Results Python API supports SIM document creation/modification.
New output variables: NFORC, RD, and VVF for various use cases.
Extended support for UVARM and VSDVINI user subroutines in more procedures.
Complementary Updates: Isight and Tosca 2023
Isight 2023
Webtop improvements: Better integration with external documentation servers; sim-flow hiding now possible.
Abaqus component: Supports versions 6.14 through 2023.
EDM enhancements: Continuous distributions (e.g., Weibull, Lognormal) now allow threshold definition.
Tosca 2023
Electromagnetic–structural optimization: CST Studio Suite can be used for coupled low- and high-frequency optimization workflows.
Thermal–structural topology optimization: Includes design responses like temperature, heat flux, and energy.
Improved job recovery: Tosca Resume lets you restart prematurely converged runs with updated settings.
New Neuber/Glinka response types added to structural optimization via Abaqus interface.
Takeaway: Is This Update Worth Installing?
If your workflows involve dynamic analysis, co-simulation, battery modeling, or advanced material behaviors, yes. Abaqus 2023 consolidates essential improvements that were spread across Fix Packs and offers more stable, performant simulation options across the board.
Need Help Upgrading or Configuring Abaqus 2023?
Upgrading to Abaqus 2023 can significantly enhance your simulation accuracy and efficiency. If you need help with installation or want tailored support for your specific setup, the 4RealSim team is here to assist. Reach out via our contact form or email us at support@4realsim.com to get started.
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