Partition a cell by cutting it with a plane; the plane will pass completely
through the cell. Use one of the following three methods to define the cutting
plane:
Select a point on the cutting plane; then pick an edge or datum axis
that defines the normal to this plane, as shown in
Figure 1.
Figure 1. Defining the cutting plane with a point and a normal.
Select three distinct and noncolinear points, as shown in
Figure 2.
Figure 2. Defining the cutting plane with three points.
Select an edge and a point along the edge; the cutting plane will be
normal to the edge at the selected point, as shown in
Figure 3.
Figure 3. Defining the cutting plane with an edge and a point.
Figure 4. Partitioning a cell using a datum plane.
Extend face
Partition a cell by cutting it with a shell, where the shell is the extended
geometry of a face, as shown in
Figure 5.
The face being extended can be planar, cylindrical, conical, or spherical. For
detailed instructions, see
Using the extended face method to partition cells.
Figure 5. Partitioning a cell using an extension of a face.
Extrude/Sweep edges
Partition a cell by sweeping selected edges (that form the sweep profile) along a selected path
(known as the sweep path). You can select any number of edges to be swept, although all
the edges must lie on the same plane and must belong to the same part instance.
Use either of the following two methods to define the sweep path:
Create a straight partition through the cell by extending the sweep
profile infinitely in a direction parallel to a selected straight edge or datum
axis that acts as a sweep path; the partition is created where the swept
edge(s) pass through the selected cell, as shown in
Figure 6.
The sweep path must be straight and perpendicular to the set of edges being
swept.
Figure 6. Sweeping a profile along a direction.
Create a straight or curved partition through the cell by extending the
sweep profile along or parallel to a selected edge. The partition extends only
as far as the selected edge; and the partition is created where the swept
edge(s) pass through the selected cell, as shown in
Figure 7.
The sweep path must begin in the plane containing the edges to be swept, and
its tangent must be perpendicular to the same plane.
Partition a cell by dividing it with a surface patch formed from a loop of
connected edges. The edges can be curved or straight, must be connected, and
must belong to the same part as the cell to be partitioned. In addition, the
patch must pass completely through the cell. Choose from the following methods
to define the patch:
Select
Edges
You can choose from the following methods to select the edges that form the
N-sided patch:
Loop
Select a single edge, and allow
Abaqus/CAE
to search for a continuous loop of connected edges that will partition the
cell, as shown in
Figure 8.
The resulting patch can have any number of edges.
Figure 8. Allowing
Abaqus/CAE
to define a patch after selecting an edge.
Edges
Manually select the edges that will partition the cell. You can select any
number of edges, and the selected edges must form a closed loop.
Select Corner
Points
Select three, four, or five points that define the corners of the patch. If
two of the points are connected by an existing edge, the resulting partition
will follow the curve of the edge, as shown in
Figure 9.
The points must be on the boundary edges of the cell being partitioned.
Partition a selected cell by sketching a partition with the Sketcher, as
shown in
Figure 10.
In most cases you will sketch on a datum plane that intersects the selected
cell. You can also select an existing face on which to sketch and draw the
sketch outside the boundaries of the face.
Abaqus/CAE
creates the partition wherever the sketch intersects the cell.
Figure 10. Partitioning a cell using the Sketcher.
Define cutting plane
Use datum plane
Extend face
Extrude/Sweep edges
Use n-sided patch
Sketch planar partition