Reduced integration evaluates an element with fewer integration points than full quadrature. Hourglass control adds stabilization to suppress spurious zero-energy deformation modes that reduced integration can introduce.
How It Works
Reduced integration can reduce computational cost and, in some element families, improve accuracy at special strain-sampling locations. It can also soften elements that otherwise become overly stiff in bending-dominated or nearly incompressible situations.
The risk is rank deficiency: some displacement patterns can produce little or no strain energy at the reduced integration points. These patterns appear as hourglass or zero-energy modes. Abaqus controls them by adding artificial stiffness or related stabilization terms so the element remains usable without losing the intended benefits of reduced quadrature.
Why It Matters
Reduced integration is not just a cheaper quadrature rule. It changes the numerical behavior of the element and must be judged together with element topology, mesh distortion, material behavior, contact, and expected deformation mode.
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