Abaqus AWI Plug-in Explained: Step-by-Step Workflow for Welding Simulation

- December 05, 2025

Welding simulations are inherently complex, as they require accurate geometric representation, multiple weld passes, temperature-dependent nonlinear material behavior, and carefully defined thermal and structural boundary conditions. Capturing all of these details typically demands significant time and effort from the user.

In this blog, we will provide an overview of the AWI plug-in user subroutine and its integration with the Abaqus Legacy framework for welding simulation.

AWI Plugin

The AWI plug-in is designed to leverage the capabilities already present in Abaqus Legacy for welding simulation. It employs a sequentially coupled procedure, beginning with a thermal analysis that computes the temperature field during welding Process. This analysis uses the Goldak heat-source model to approximate the heat flux generated by the welding torch.

The computed temperatures are subsequently transferred to a structural model to evaluate the residual stresses and distortions produced by the welding process. Element activation is utilized in the structural analysis as well as Thermal analysis.

AWI Tree & its Workflow

AWI Plug-ins Tree

Step 1: Model Creation

In this step, the user initializes a new model that will be used for the welding analysis.

Step 2: Material Modification

Here, the user selects and prepares the materials used in the welding simulation, including both base material and weld filler material. For each material, the melt temperature and cutoff temperature must be defined. Once at least one material is fully specified, this step will be marked as complete.

Step 3: Part Selection

The user selects the parts that contain welds and defines the regions corresponding to the base material. For this step to be marked complete, the next two sub-steps (Steps 4 and 5) must also be finished. Once all regions are assigned to either base material (Step 3) or weld material (Step 5), and the element types have been specified (Step 4), the step is considered complete.

Step 4: Mesh Assignment

This sub-step is used to assign the element types for the thermal analysis and structural analysis. The thermal element type can be modified here, and the structural element type must be specified.

Step 5: Weld Creation

In this step, the user defines welds and their associated weld beads. Initially, the icon indicates that the part still has unassigned regions. Once all regions are assigned to either base material or weld regions, and weld beads are defined for each weld, the step is marked complete.

Step 6: Default Controls Assignment

Here, the user specifies default values for welding controls, including:

Time incrementation parameters
Goldak heat flux parameters
Film and radiation boundary conditions

After these values are submitted for the first time, the step is flagged as completed.

Step 7: Step Creation

This step involves creating the welding steps and specifying which welds (and weld beads) will be deposited in each step. A step is considered complete when the following parameters are completed.

Every weld bead has been assigned to a welding step
Weld pass definitions have been specified
Time incrementation settings have been defined

Step 8: Weld Pass Definition

Torch movement parameters, Goldak parameters, and torch orientation (normal vectors) are specified for each weld bead.

Step 9: Time Incrementation

The time incrementation settings for each welding step are defined here.

Step 10: Job Creation

The final step involves configuring job controls, such as output frequency and job names. After submission, AWI generates both the thermal and structural input decks. The thermal input deck is ready to run immediately. However, the structural model may require additional user-defined loads and boundary conditions created outside the AWI environment.

Note :- (In our next blog we can be able to discuss an example using AWI in a detailed manner)

Search This Blog

EGS India | Official Blog