getNormal(...)
This method returns the normal direction for the element face.
Required arguments
- faceIndex
- The value of faceIndex is 0 for a shell element and can range from 0 to 5 for a solid element.
Optional arguments
- stepName
- Name of the step.
- frameValue
- A Double specifying the value at which the frame is required. frameValue can be the total fime or frequency.
- match
- A SymbolicConstant specifying which frame to return if
there is no frame at the exact frame value. Possible values are
CLOSEST, BEFORE,
AFTER, and EXACT. The default value
is CLOSEST.
When match=CLOSEST, Abaqus returns the closest frame. If the frame value requested is exactly halfway between two frames, Abaqus returns the frame after the value.
When match=EXACT, Abaqus raises an exception if the exact frame value does not exist.
Return value
A tuple of 3 floats representing the unit normal vector. If the element face is collapsed such that a normal cannot be computed, a zero-length vector is returned.
Exceptions
- If the exact frame is not found:
- OdbError: Frame not found.
- If the step name is not found:
- OdbError: Step is not present in the ODB.
- If frameValue is not provided and stepName is empty:
- frameValueOdbError: stepName should be specified with frameValue.