Durability & Damage Analysis
Z-post is a versatile post-processing tool designed to handle data from any finite element analysis (FEA). While it was originally created to process results from Zébulon, it has since evolved into a general-purpose application compatible with most major FEA codes.
It includes a wide library of post-processing procedures for efficient treatment of simulation results, with a strong emphasis on fatigue assessment and damage modeling. Z-post works directly on FE output data available at different structural levels—nodes, Gauss points, elements, and across time steps.
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Global and Local Post-Processing
- Global post-processing focuses on entire regions of the mesh at a given time step. Built-in capabilities include spatial averaging (for homogenization or mesh-independent approaches), as well as probabilistic brittle fracture models for metals and ceramics (Weibull, Beremin, Batdorf, etc.).
- Local post-processing is based on variable histories at nodes or Gauss points. Users can define processing chains that combine elementary operators (max, min, norm, von Mises, trace) with advanced models such as creep, high-cycle fatigue (HCF: Sines, Crossland, Dang Van), or low-cycle fatigue (LCF: Manson-Coffin, Chaboche, SWT, Sehitoglu). Interactions such as creep-fatigue coupling are also supported.
All local computations are fully parallelized for maximum efficiency.
Fatigue Life Prediction
Z-post integrates a wide range of state-of-the-art algorithms for fatigue and creep-fatigue lifetime estimation, reproducing most experimentally observed behaviors:
- Applicable to both LCF and HCF regimes (full S–N curve).
- Multiaxial loading capabilities.
- Consideration of mean stress effects (Haigh diagram, load factor influence on S–N curve).
- Coupling with creep damage to capture frequency effects.
- Support for nonlinear damage accumulation, providing realistic lifetime predictions.
For complex, non-proportional 3D loadings, Z-post offers highly efficient routines for cycle counting and amplitude extraction, including the multiaxial rainflow algorithm.
User Extensibility
Z-post is designed to be open and extendable. Users can enhance its capabilities through:
- Process functions, allowing the direct definition of new models by writing their mathematical expressions in the input file.
- A high-level scripting language based on C++, which provides access to built-in utilities and algebraic objects (ARRAY, LIST, VECTOR, MATRIX, TENSOR, etc.).
- A plug-in mechanism based on the object-oriented architecture of Z-post, supporting an unlimited number of user-defined extensions such as new models, operators, or procedures.