Understanding how contours are rendered

Contour values are drawn on element faces using one of two methods: texture mapping or tessellation. Texture mapping is a high-performance rendering method that essentially lays an image of the contour values (the texture) over an image of the model, similar to the process of wrapping a present. Tessellation is a method of transforming arbitrary contour values into repeating patterns of distinct shapes, such as triangles or simple polygons; the shape values are computed face by face and can take a long time for large models. Texture mapping is the default and preferred method and will maximize the performance of Abaqus/CAE. Although certain graphics adapters do not support texture mapping properly, Abaqus/CAE can emulate texture mapping in software. However, line-type and isosurface contours, the display of contour edges, shrinking elements about their centroid, and contours on CAXA or SAXA elements are supported only by the tessellation method.