OdbMeshElement object

Access

import odbAccess
session.odbs[name].parts[name].elements[i]
session.odbs[name].parts[name].elementSets[name].elements[i]
session.odbs[name].parts[name].nodeSets[name].elements[i]
session.odbs[name].parts[name].surfaces[name].elements[i]
session.odbs[name].rootAssembly.elements[i]
session.odbs[name].rootAssembly.elementSets[name].elements[i]
session.odbs[name].rootAssembly.instances[name].elements[i]
session.odbs[name].rootAssembly.instances[name].elementSets[name]\
.elements[i]
session.odbs[name].rootAssembly.instances[name].nodeSets[name]\
.elements[i]
session.odbs[name].rootAssembly.instances[name].surfaces[name]\
.elements[i]
session.odbs[name].rootAssembly.nodeSets[name].elements[i]
session.odbs[name].rootAssembly.surfaces[name].elements[i]
session.odbs[name].steps[name].frames[i].fieldOutputs[name].values[i]\
.instance.elements[i]
session.odbs[name].steps[name].frames[i].fieldOutputs[name].values[i]\
.instance.elementSets[name].elements[i]
session.odbs[name].steps[name].frames[i].fieldOutputs[name].values[i]\
.instance.nodeSets[name].elements[i]
session.odbs[name].steps[name].frames[i].fieldOutputs[name].values[i]\
.instance.surfaces[name].elements[i]

getNormal

This method returns the normal direction for the element face.

Required arguments

faceIndex: The value of faceIndex is 0 for a shell element and can range from 0 to 5 for a solid element.

Optional arguments

stepName

Name of the step.

frameValue

A Double specifying the value at which the frame is required. frameValue can be the total fime or frequency.

match

A SymbolicConstant specifying which frame to return if there is no frame at the exact frame value. Possible values are CLOSEST, BEFORE, AFTER, and EXACT. The default value is CLOSEST.

When match=CLOSEST, Abaqus returns the closest frame. If the frame value requested is exactly halfway between two frames, Abaqus returns the frame after the value.

When match=EXACT, Abaqus raises an exception if the exact frame value does not exist.

Return value

A tuple of 3 floats representing the unit normal vector. If the element face is collapsed such that a normal cannot be computed, a zero-length vector is returned.

Exceptions

If the exact frame is not found:: OdbError: Frame not found.
If the step name is not found:: OdbError: Step is not present in the ODB.
If frameValue is not provided and stepName is empty:: frameValueOdbError: stepName should be specified with frameValue.

Members

The OdbMeshElement object can have the following members:

label: An Int specifying the element label.
type: A String specifying the element type.
sectionCategory: A SectionCategory object specifying the element section properties.
connectivity: A tuple of Ints specifying the element connectivity. For connector elements connected to ground, the other node is repeated in the connectivity data. The position of the ground node cannot be ascertained. This is a limitation. It is important to note the difference with MeshElement object of MDB where the connectivity is node indices instead of node labels.
instanceNames: A tuple of Strings specifying the instance names for nodes in the element connectivity.
instanceName: A String specifying the instance name.