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📘 InsertCohesive – Cohesive Element Automatic Insertion Tool

Automatically insert zero-thickness cohesive elements into Abaqus INP models

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🚀 1. Project Overview

InsertCohesive is a lightweight and efficient C++ tool designed for automatically inserting zero-thickness cohesive elements into Abaqus .inp files.

It supports both 2D (CPS3 / CPE3) and 3D (C3D4) finite element models, and is suitable for users working on:

• Concrete meso-scale simulation
• Interface fracture
• Composite delamination
• Random aggregate modeling
• Micro-structure modeling requiring ITZ (Interfacial Transition Zone)

This tool can run independently from the command line or integrate seamlessly into an Abaqus Python plugin.

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✨ 2. Features

✔ Automatic cohesive element insertion

• Based on shared faces between solid elements
• Zero-thickness cohesive elements are generated automatically
• Clean and consistent element numbering

✔ Supports 2D & 3D Abaqus models

Dimension	Supported Element	Cohesive Element Inserted
2D	CPS3 / CPE3	COH2D3
3D	C3D4	COH3D6

✔ Command-line executable & DLL interface

• Direct .exe execution
• DLL callable from Abaqus Python
• Supports callback for GUI log printing

✔ Clean and readable output

• Generates new INP file with cohesive elements

• Names follow pattern:

  NewOutput_<original>.inp
  

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📦 3. Installation

Build with Visual Studio (Windows)

1. Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/seven777f/InsertCohesive.git
cd InsertCohesive

2. Open the .sln file in Visual Studio 2022

3. Select:

Release x64

4. Build the solution. Executable will appear in:

/Release/InsertCohesive.exe

DLL will appear in:

/Release/InsertCohesiveDll.dll

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🖥 4. Command-Line Usage

Syntax

InsertCohesive.exe <InpName> <SetName> <2D/3D>

Example

InsertCohesive.exe model.inp ALL 3D

Argument Description

Argument	Meaning
<InpName>	Input INP filename (must be inside InpFolder/)
<SetName>	The node/element set where cohesive insertion is applied
<2D/3D>	Model dimension mode

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📂 5. Directory Structure

InsertCohesive/
│
├── InpFolder/           # Input Abaqus INP files
├── OutputFolder/        # Generated cohesive INP files
│
├── Tools.cpp / Tools.h  # Core insertion logic
├── ToolFor2D.cpp        # 2D cohesive insertion
├── ToolFor2D.h
├── Tools2.cpp / Tools2.h
│
├── InsertCohesiveDll.dll  # DLL for Python plugin
├── InsertCohesive.exe     # Executable
│
├── kernel/               # Abaqus plugin kernel
└── python/               # Abaqus GUI plugin

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🔌 6. Using the DLL in Abaqus Plugins

Example (Python 2.7):

dll = ctypes.CDLL("InsertCohesiveDll.dll")

dll.Insert2D_C.argtypes = [ctypes.c_char_p, ctypes.c_char_p, ctypes.c_char_p]
dll.Insert2D_C.restype  = ctypes.c_char_p

result = dll.Insert2D_C("Job.inp", "ITZ_Set", "3D")
print(result)

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📘 7. Example Output

After running:

InsertCohesive.exe Job.inp ITZ 3D

Output:

[Success] Cohesive insertion completed: NewOutput_Job.inp

Generated file:

OutputFolder/NewOutput_Job.inp

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⚠️ 8. Limitations

• Only supports CPS3 / CPE3 / C3D4 (linear triangular and tetrahedral elements)
• Does not currently support quadratic elements (e.g., C3D10)
• Requires all faces to match cleanly and mesh to be fully connected
• Large models may require significant memory

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❤️ 9. License & Use Terms

This software is free for personal and academic use, but commercial use is prohibited without written permission.

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📞 10. Contact Author

If you want to report bugs, request features, or collaborate:

Contact Author

• QQ: 343947592
• WeChat: hu25199084

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⭐ 11. Acknowledgements

Special thanks to the Abaqus community and open-source contributors for their inspiration.

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