Splitting an edge of a quadrilateral or triangular element

The Edit Mesh toolset allows you to split an edge of a quadrilateral or triangular element into two parts.

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What can I do with the Edit Mesh toolset?

Context:

Select MeshEdit from the main menu bar to split an edge of a quadrilateral or triangular element into two parts. The following figure shows how you can split an edge and then collapse the resulting edge to remove a long narrow triangular element:

When you split a quadrilateral element, Abaqus/CAE creates the edges that will result in the best-shaped elements based on angle measurements. You cannot select which edges Abaqus/CAE will create. However, after Abaqus/CAE splits the edge, you can use the Swap diagonal (tri) tool to change the diagonal; for more information, see Swapping the diagonal of a pair of adjacent triangular elements.

  1. Enter the Mesh module and do one of the following:

    • From the Object field in the context bar, select Assembly.

    • From the Object field in the context bar, select Part and select a part from the list.

  2. From the main menu bar, select MeshEdit.

    Abaqus/CAE displays the Edit Mesh dialog box.

    Tip: You can also display the Edit Mesh dialog box using the tool, located at the bottom of the Mesh module toolbox.

  3. In the dialog box, do the following:

    1. In the Category field, select Element.
    2. From the Method list, select Split edge (tri/quad).

  4. From the menu in the prompt area, select the method that you will use to determine the location of the split along the edge. You can choose either midpoint or picked location.

  5. If you chose midpoint to determine the location, select the edge to split. You can select only a single edge.

    Abaqus/CAE highlights the edges it will insert to split the selected edge at the midpoint.

  6. If you chose picked location to determine the location, click on the edge at the location of the desired split.

    Abaqus/CAE highlights the edges it will insert to split the selected edge at the picked location.

  7. From the prompt area, click Split Edge.

    Abaqus/CAE splits the edge and prompts you to select the next edge to split.

    Tip: If you make a mistake while splitting element edges, click Undo in the Edit Mesh dialog box to undo the split.

  8. Repeat the above steps as often as necessary to split additional edges.

  9. When you have finished splitting edges, click mouse button 2 or the cancel button in the prompt area to exit the procedure.