---
type: concept
title: "Abaqus Analysis Procedures"
complexity: advanced
domain: computational-mechanics
created: 2026-05-29
updated: 2026-05-29
address: c-000055
aliases:
  - Abaqus procedures
  - ABAQUS analysis procedures
tags:
  - concept
  - finite-element-method
  - nonlinear-analysis
  - abaqus
status: current
related:
  - "[[Abaqus Theory Manual]]"
  - "[[Abaqus-Analysis-User-s-Guide-Volume-I|Abaqus Analysis User's Guide Volume I]]"
  - "[[Abaqus-Analysis-User-s-Guide-Volume-II|Abaqus Analysis User's Guide Volume II]]"
  - "[[ABAQUS]]"
  - "[[Nonlinear Finite Element Analysis]]"
  - "[[Static Equilibrium Equation Solvers]]"
  - "[[Direct Time Integration Methods]]"
  - "[[Finite Element Eigenproblem Solvers]]"
  - "[[Abaqus Job Execution Workflow]]"
  - "[[Abaqus Resource and Parallel Execution]]"
  - "[[Abaqus Output Database and Results Files]]"
  - "[[Abaqus General and Linear Perturbation Steps]]"
  - "[[Abaqus Nonlinear Solution Control]]"
  - "[[Abaqus Multiphysics Coupling and Co-simulation]]"
sources:
  - "[[Abaqus Theory Manual]]"
  - "[[Abaqus-Analysis-User-s-Guide-Volume-I|Abaqus Analysis User's Guide Volume I]]"
  - "[[Abaqus-Analysis-User-s-Guide-Volume-II|Abaqus Analysis User's Guide Volume II]]"
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---

# Abaqus Analysis Procedures

## Definition

Abaqus analysis procedures are the high-level solution workflows that define which finite element equations are solved, how they are incremented, and which solver strategy is used for static, dynamic, stability, coupled-field, and special-purpose analyses.

## How It Works

For nonlinear equilibrium, ABAQUS/Standard generally solves residual equations with Newton iteration. Each increment linearizes the equations about the current state, solves a tangent system for a correction, updates the solution, and checks force residuals and correction sizes for convergence.

The manual also covers modified and quasi-Newton strategies, automatic time or load incrementation, cutbacks when convergence fails, and specialized procedures such as Riks-type postbuckling, direct and modal dynamics, harmonic response, heat transfer, diffusion, pore pressure, coupled fluid-solid response, piezoelectric response, substructuring, submodeling, fracture mechanics, and design sensitivity analysis.

The user guide adds the execution-facing side of procedure choice: procedure keywords appear inside analysis steps, are checked by syntax or data-check runs, and determine which output, restart, and resource patterns matter for the job.

Volume II of the user guide expands the procedure catalog in detail: static, buckling, postbuckling, quasi-static, cyclic and fatigue, implicit and explicit dynamics, steady-state dynamics, modal procedures, heat transfer, thermal-stress, fluid, electromagnetic, pore-fluid, mass diffusion, acoustic, Aqua, and annealing procedures. It also distinguishes general steps from linear perturbation steps.

## Why It Matters

The procedure determines the mathematical problem more strongly than the element mesh alone. A shell or solid model can behave very differently under static equilibrium, implicit dynamics, explicit dynamics, eigenvalue extraction, postbuckling path following, or coupled thermal-stress analysis.

## Connections

- [[Nonlinear Finite Element Analysis]] supplies the residual, tangent, increment, and convergence framework.
- [[Static Equilibrium Equation Solvers]] covers the algebraic solve at each static or nonlinear iteration.
- [[Direct Time Integration Methods]] covers transient procedures and the implicit/explicit time-stepping contrast.
- [[Finite Element Eigenproblem Solvers]] covers modal, frequency, and buckling extraction procedures.
- [[Abaqus Job Execution Workflow]] is where procedure definitions become runnable jobs.
- [[Abaqus Resource and Parallel Execution]] explains the memory and parallel settings that differ by procedure.
- [[Abaqus General and Linear Perturbation Steps]] explains how step class affects state propagation and result interpretation.
- [[Abaqus Nonlinear Solution Control]] explains convergence and increment control inside nonlinear procedures.
- [[Abaqus Multiphysics Coupling and Co-simulation]] covers the coupled-procedure and solver-coupling paths.

## Sources

- [[Abaqus Theory Manual]]
- [[Abaqus-Analysis-User-s-Guide-Volume-I|Abaqus Analysis User's Guide Volume I]]
- [[Abaqus-Analysis-User-s-Guide-Volume-II|Abaqus Analysis User's Guide Volume II]]