Element Types
Stress/Displacement Elements
- C3D4
-
4-node linear tetrahedron
- C3D4H
-
4-node linear tetrahedron, hybrid with linear pressure
- C3D5
-
5-node linear pyramid
- C3D5H(S)
-
5-node linear pyramid, hybrid with constant pressure
- C3D6(S)
-
6-node linear triangular prism
- C3D6(E)
-
6-node linear triangular prism, reduced integration with hourglass control
- C3D6H(S)
-
6-node linear triangular prism, hybrid with constant pressure
- C3D8
-
8-node linear brick
- C3D8H(S)
-
8-node linear brick, hybrid with constant pressure
- C3D8I
-
8-node linear brick, incompatible modes
- C3D8IH(S)
-
8-node linear brick, incompatible modes, hybrid with linear pressure
- C3D8R
-
8-node linear brick, reduced integration with hourglass control
- C3D8RH(S)
-
8-node linear brick, reduced integration with hourglass control, hybrid with constant pressure
- C3D8S(S)
-
8-node linear brick, improved surface stress visualization
- C3D8HS(S)
-
8-node linear brick, hybrid with constant pressure, improved surface stress visualization
- C3D10
-
10-node quadratic tetrahedron
- C3D10H(S)
-
10-node quadratic tetrahedron, hybrid with constant pressure
- C3D10HS(S)
-
10-node general-purpose quadratic tetrahedron, hybrid with linear pressure, improved surface stress visualization
- C3D10M
-
10-node modified tetrahedron, with hourglass control
- C3D10MH(S)
-
10-node modified tetrahedron, with hourglass control, hybrid with linear pressure
- C3D15(S)
-
15-node quadratic triangular prism
- C3D15H(S)
-
15-node quadratic triangular prism, hybrid with linear pressure
- C3D20(S)
-
20-node quadratic brick
- C3D20H(S)
-
20-node quadratic brick, hybrid with linear pressure
- C3D20R(S)
-
20-node quadratic brick, reduced integration
- C3D20RH(S)
-
20-node quadratic brick, reduced integration, hybrid with linear pressure
- CSS8(S)
-
8-node linear solid shell brick, incompatible modes, with assumed strain
Active Degrees of Freedom
1, 2, 3
Additional Solution Variables
The constant pressure hybrid elements have one additional variable relating to pressure, and the linear pressure hybrid elements have four additional variables relating to pressure.
Element types C3D8I and C3D8IH have 13 additional variables relating to the incompatible modes.
Element type C3D10HS has four additional variables relating to pressure that are activated automatically for a given element once the material exhibits behavior approaching the incompressible limit.
Element types C3D10M and C3D10MH have three additional displacement variables.
Element type CSS8 has seven additional variables relating to the incompatible modes.
Stress/Displacement Variable Node Elements
- C3D15V(S)
-
15 to 18-node triangular prism
- C3D15VH(S)
-
15 to 18-node triangular prism, hybrid with linear pressure
- C3D27(S)
-
21 to 27-node brick
- C3D27H(S)
-
21 to 27-node brick, hybrid with linear pressure
- C3D27R(S)
-
21 to 27-node brick, reduced integration
- C3D27RH(S)
-
21 to 27-node brick, reduced integration, hybrid with linear pressure
Active Degrees of Freedom
1, 2, 3
Additional Solution Variables
The hybrid elements have four additional variables relating to pressure.
Coupled Temperature-Displacement Elements
- C3D4T
-
4-node linear displacement and temperature
- C3D6T(S)
-
6-node linear displacement and temperature
- C3D6T(E)
-
6-node linear displacement and temperature, reduced integration with hourglass control
- C3D6HT(S)
-
6-node linear displacement and temperature, hybrid with constant pressure
- C3D8T
-
8-node trilinear displacement and temperature
- C3D8HT(S)
-
8-node trilinear displacement and temperature, hybrid with constant pressure
- C3D8RT
-
8-node trilinear displacement and temperature, reduced integration with hourglass control
- C3D8RHT(S)
-
8-node trilinear displacement and temperature, reduced integration with hourglass control, hybrid with constant pressure
- C3D10T
-
10-node triquadratic displacement, trilinear temperature in Abaqus/Standard; 10-node triquadratic displacement and temperature in Abaqus/Explicit
- C3D10HT(S)
-
10-node triquadratic displacement, trilinear temperature, hybrid with constant pressure
- C3D10MT
-
10-node modified displacement and temperature tetrahedron, with hourglass control
- C3D10MHT(S)
-
10-node modified displacement and temperature tetrahedron, with hourglass control, hybrid with linear pressure
- C3D20T(S)
-
20-node triquadratic displacement, trilinear temperature
- C3D20HT(S)
-
20-node triquadratic displacement, trilinear temperature, hybrid with linear pressure
- C3D20RT(S)
-
20-node triquadratic displacement, trilinear temperature, reduced integration
- C3D20RHT(S)
-
20-node triquadratic displacement, trilinear temperature, reduced integration, hybrid with linear pressure
Active Degrees of Freedom
1, 2, 3, 11 at corner nodes
1, 2, 3 at midside nodes of second-order elements in Abaqus/Standard
1, 2, 3, 11 at midside nodes of modified displacement and temperature elements in Abaqus/Standard
Additional Solution Variables
The constant pressure hybrid element has one additional variable relating to pressure, and the linear pressure hybrid elements have four additional variables relating to pressure.
Element types C3D10MT and C3D10MHT have three additional displacement variables and one additional temperature variable.
Coupled Thermal-Electrical-Structural Elements
- Q3D4(S)
-
4-node linear displacement, electric potential and temperature
- Q3D6(S)
-
6-node linear displacement, electric potential and temperature
- Q3D8(S)
-
8-node trilinear displacement, electric potential and temperature
- Q3D8H(S)
-
8-node trilinear displacement, electric potential and temperature, hybrid with constant pressure
- Q3D8R(S)
-
8-node trilinear displacement, electric potential and temperature, reduced integration with hourglass control
- Q3D8RH(S)
-
8-node trilinear displacement, electric potential and temperature, reduced integration with hourglass control, hybrid with constant pressure
- Q3D10M(S)
-
10-node modified displacement, electric potential and temperature tetrahedron, with hourglass control
- Q3D10MH(S)
-
10-node modified displacement, electric potential and temperature tetrahedron, with hourglass control, hybrid with linear pressure
- Q3D20(S)
-
20-node triquadratic displacement, trilinear electric potential and trilinear temperature
- Q3D20H(S)
-
20-node triquadratic displacement, trilinear electric potential, trilinear temperature, hybrid with linear pressure
- Q3D20R(S)
-
20-node triquadratic displacement, trilinear electric potential, trilinear temperature, reduced integration
- Q3D20RH(S)
-
20-node triquadratic displacement, trilinear electric potential, trilinear temperature, reduced integration, hybrid with linear pressure
Active Degrees of Freedom
1, 2, 3, 9, 11 at corner nodes
1, 2, 3 at midside nodes of second-order elements in Abaqus/Standard
1, 2, 3, 9, 11 at midside nodes of modified displacement and temperature elements in Abaqus/Standard
Additional Solution Variables
The constant pressure hybrid element has one additional variable relating to pressure, and the linear pressure hybrid elements have four additional variables relating to pressure.
Element types Q3D10M and Q3D10MH have three additional displacement variables, one additional electric potential variable, and one additional temperature variable.
Diffusive Heat Transfer or Mass Diffusion Elements
- DC3D4(S)
-
4-node linear tetrahedron
- DC3D5(S)
-
5-node linear pyramid
- DC3D6(S)
-
6-node linear triangular prism
- DC3D8(S)
-
8-node linear brick
- DC3D8R(S)
- 8-node linear brick, reduced integration, hourglass control
- DC3D10(S)
-
10-node quadratic tetrahedron
- DC3D15(S)
-
15-node quadratic triangular prism
- DC3D20(S)
-
20-node quadratic brick
Active Degrees of Freedom
11
Additional Solution Variables
None.
Forced Convection/Diffusion Elements
- DCC3D8(S)
-
8-node
- DCC3D8D(S)
-
8-node with dispersion control
Active Degrees of Freedom
11
Additional Solution Variables
None.
Coupled Thermal-Electrical Elements
- DC3D4E(S)
-
4-node linear tetrahedron
- DC3D6E(S)
-
6-node linear triangular prism
- DC3D8E(S)
-
8-node linear brick
- DC3D10E(S)
-
10-node quadratic tetrahedron
- DC3D15E(S)
-
15-node quadratic triangular prism
- DC3D20E(S)
-
20-node quadratic brick
Active Degrees of Freedom
9, 11
Additional Solution Variables
None.
Pore Pressure Elements
- C3D4P(S)
-
4-node linear displacement and pore pressure
- C3D4PH(S)
-
4-node linear displacement and pore pressure, hybrid with linear pressure
- C3D6P(S)
-
6-node linear displacement and pore pressure
- C3D6PH(S)
-
6-node linear displacement and pore pressure, hybrid with constant pressure
- C3D8P(S)
-
8-node trilinear displacement and pore pressure
- C3D8PH(S)
-
8-node trilinear displacement and pore pressure, hybrid with constant pressure
- C3D8RP(S)
-
8-node trilinear displacement and pore pressure, reduced integration
- C3D8RPH(S)
-
8-node trilinear displacement and pore pressure, reduced integration, hybrid with constant pressure
- C3D10P(S)
-
10-node triquadratic displacement, trilinear pore pressure
- C3D10PH(S)
-
10-node triquadratic displacement, trilinear pore pressure, hybrid with constant pressure
- C3D10MP(S)
-
10-node modified displacement and pore pressure tetrahedron, with hourglass control
- C3D10MPH(S)
-
10-node modified displacement and pore pressure tetrahedron, with hourglass control, hybrid with linear pressure
- C3D20P(S)
-
20-node triquadratic displacement, trilinear pore pressure
- C3D20PH(S)
-
20-node triquadratic displacement, trilinear pore pressure, hybrid with linear pressure
- C3D20RP(S)
-
20-node triquadratic displacement, trilinear pore pressure, reduced integration
- C3D20RPH(S)
-
20-node triquadratic displacement, trilinear pore pressure, reduced integration, hybrid with linear pressure
Active Degrees of Freedom
1, 2, 3 at midside nodes for all elements except C3D10MP and C3D10MPH, which also have degree of freedom 8 active at midside nodes
1, 2, 3, 8 at corner nodes
Additional Solution Variables
The constant pressure hybrid elements have one additional variable relating to the effective pressure stress, and the linear pressure hybrid elements have four additional variables relating to the effective pressure stress to permit fully incompressible material modeling.
Element types C3D10MP and C3D10MPH have three additional displacement variables and one additional pore pressure variable.
Coupled Temperature–Pore Pressure Elements
- C3D4PT(S)
-
4-node trilinear displacement, pore pressure, and temperature
- C3D4PHT(S)
-
4-node trilinear displacement, pore pressure, and temperature; hybrid with linear pressure
- C3D6PT(S)
-
6-node trilinear displacement, pore pressure, and temperature
- C3D6PHT(S)
-
6-node trilinear displacement, pore pressure, and temperature; hybrid with constant pressure
- C3D8PT(S)
-
8-node trilinear displacement, pore pressure, and temperature
- C3D8PHT(S)
-
8-node trilinear displacement, pore pressure, and temperature; hybrid with constant pressure
- C3D8RPT(S)
-
8-node trilinear displacement, pore pressure, and temperature; reduced integration
- C3D8RPHT(S)
-
8-node trilinear displacement, pore pressure, and temperature; reduced integration, hybrid with constant pressure
- C3D10MPT(S)
-
10-node modified displacement, pore pressure, and temperature tetrahedron, with hourglass control
- C3D10PT(S)
-
10-node triquadratic displacement, trilinear pore pressure, and temperature
- C3D10PHT(S)
-
10-node triquadratic displacement, trilinear pore pressure, and temperature; hybrid with constant pressure
Active Degrees of Freedom
1, 2, 3, 8, 11
Additional Solution Variables
The constant pressure hybrid elements have one additional variable relating to the effective pressure stress to permit fully incompressible material modeling.
Element type C3D10MPT has three additional displacement variables, one additional pore pressure variable, and one additional temperature variable.
Acoustic Elements
- AC3D4
-
4-node linear tetrahedron
- AC3D5
-
5-node linear pyramid
- AC3D6
-
6-node linear triangular prism
- AC3D8(S)
-
8-node linear brick
- AC3D8R(E)
-
8-node linear brick, reduced integration with hourglass control
- AC3D10(S)
-
10-node quadratic tetrahedron
- AC3D15(S)
-
15-node quadratic triangular prism
- AC3D20(S)
-
20-node quadratic brick
Active Degrees of Freedom
8
Additional Solution Variables
None.
Poroelastic Acoustic Elements
- C3D4A(S)
-
4-node linear tetrahedron
- C3D6A(S)
-
6-node linear triangular prism
- C3D8A(S)
-
8-node linear brick
Active Degrees of Freedom
1, 2, 3, 8
Additional Solution Variables
None.
Piezoelectric Elements
- C3D4E(S)
-
4-node linear tetrahedron
- C3D6E(S)
-
6-node linear triangular prism
- C3D8E(S)
-
8-node linear brick
- C3D10E(S)
-
10-node quadratic tetrahedron
- C3D15E(S)
-
15-node quadratic triangular prism
- C3D20E(S)
-
20-node quadratic brick
- C3D20RE(S)
-
20-node quadratic brick, reduced integration
Active Degrees of Freedom
1, 2, 3, 9
Additional Solution Variables
None.
Electromagnetic Elements
- EMC3D4(S)
-
4-node zero-order
- EMC3D6(S)
-
6-node zero-order
- EMC3D8(S)
-
8-node zero-order
Active Degrees of Freedom
Magnetic vector potential (for more information, see Boundary Conditions and Boundary Conditions).
Additional Solution Variables
None.
Coupled Thermal-Electrochemical Elements
- QEC3D4(S)
-
4-node linear electric potential in solid, temperature, electric potential in electrolyte, ion concentration, species concentration
- QEC3D6(S)
-
6-node linear electric potential in solid, temperature, electric potential in electrolyte, ion concentration, species concentration
- QEC3D8(S)
-
8-node trilinear electric potential in solid, temperature, electric potential in electrolyte, ion concentration, species concentration
- QEC3D8R(S)
-
8-node trilinear electric potential in solid, temperature, electric potential in electrolyte, ion concentration, species concentration; reduced integration with hourglass control
Active Degrees of Freedom
9, 11, 32, 33, 34 at corner nodes
Additional Solution Variables
None.
Coupled Thermal-Electrochemical-Structural Elements
- QEC3D4(S)
-
4-node linear displacement, electric potential in solid, temperature, electric potential in electrolyte, ion concentration, species concentration
- QEC3D6(S)
-
6-node linear displacement, electric potential in solid, temperature, electric potential in electrolyte, ion concentration, species concentration
- QEC3D8(S)
-
8-node trilinear displacement, electric potential in solid, temperature, electric potential in electrolyte, ion concentration, species concentration
- QEC3D8R(S)
-
8-node trilinear displacement, electric potential in solid, temperature, electric potential in electrolyte, ion concentration, species concentration; reduced integration with hourglass control
Active Degrees of Freedom
1, 2, 3, 9, 11, 32, 33, 34 at corner nodes
Additional Solution Variables
None.
Coupled Thermal-Electrochemical-Structural–Pore Pressure Elements
- QEC3D4(S)
-
4-node linear displacement, electric potential in solid, temperature, electric potential in electrolyte, and ion concentration, and either pore pressure or species concentration
- QEC3D6(S)
-
6-node linear displacement, electric potential in solid, temperature, electric potential in electrolyte, and ion concentration, and either pore pressure or species concentration
- QEC3D8(S)
-
8-node trilinear displacement, electric potential in solid, temperature, electric potential in electrolyte, and ion concentration, and either pore pressure or species concentration
- QEC3D8R(S)
-
8-node trilinear displacement, electric potential in solid, temperature, electric potential in electrolyte, ion concentration, and either pore pressure or species concentration, and reduced integration with hourglass control
Active Degrees of Freedom
1, 2, 3, 9, 11, 32, 33, and either 8 or 34 at corner nodes
Additional Solution Variables
None.