# Section controls

 Section controls in Abaqus/Standard: choose the hourglass control formulation for most first-order elements with reduced integration; define the distortion control for C3D10HS elements; select the hourglass control scale factors for all elements with reduced integration; and select the choice of element deletion and the value of maximum degradation for cohesive elements, connector elements, elements with plane stress formulations (plane stress, shell, continuum shell, and membrane elements) with constitutive behavior that includes damage evolution, any element that can be used with damage evolution models for ductile metals, and any element that can be used with the damage evolution law in a low-cycle fatigue analysis. Section controls in Abaqus/Explicit: choose the hourglass control formulation or scale factors for all elements with reduced integration; define the distortion control for solid elements; select the scale factors for the drill stiffness of shell elements or deactivate the drill stiffness for small-strain shell elements S3RS and S4RS; select an amplitude for ramping of any initial stresses in membrane elements; select the kinematic formulation for hexahedron solid elements; select the accuracy order of the formulation for solid and shell elements; select the scale factors for linear and quadratic bulk viscosity parameters; specify the size of the particle tracking box for discrete element method (DEM) analyses and smoothed particle hydrodynamic (SPH) analyses; specify the formulation and additional control parameters for SPH analyses; and select the choice of element deletion and the value of maximum degradation for elements with constitutive behavior that includes damage evolution; control the activation of the "improved" element time estimation method for three-dimensional continuum elements and elements with plane stress formulations. In Abaqus/CAE section controls are specified when you assign an element type to particular mesh regions and are referred to as element controls. The following topics are discussed:
 Related Topics In Other Guides *SECTION CONTROLS *HOURGLASS STIFFNESS Element type assignment

ProductsAbaqus/StandardAbaqus/ExplicitAbaqus/CAE