For all elements except the special-purpose stress/displacement elements, the fourth character represents the number of nodes in the element.
| Element Category | Fourth Character | Number of Nodes |
|---|---|---|
| c, f, g, i, m, r, s, t | 1, 2, ..., 9 | 1, 2, ..., 9 |
| c | a | 10 |
| g | a | 12 |
| c | c | 12 |
| c | f | 15 |
| c | i | 18 (16 to 18 variable number of nodes) |
| c | k | 20 |
| c | r | 27 (21 to 27 variable number of nodes) |
| g | r | 18 |
For interface elements this number represents the number of nodes per side of the interface.
a 2 nodes, 3-D slide line along radial planes
b 3 nodes, 3-D slide line along radial planes
For beam and pipe elements this character also indicates the interpolation scheme and whether the element uses a hybrid formulation.
2 2 nodes, linear interpolation
3 3 nodes, quadratic interpolation
a 2 nodes, cubic interpolation
b 2 nodes, cubic interpolation, initially straight
h 2 nodes, hybrid, linear interpolation
i 3 nodes, hybrid, quadratic interpolation
j 2 nodes, hybrid, cubic interpolation
For asymmetric-axisymmetric continuum elements and shells this character represents a combination of the number of nodes and modes.
s Linear (4 or 2 nodes), 1 mode
t Linear (4 or 2 nodes), 2 modes
u Linear (4 or 2 nodes), 3 modes
v Linear (4 or 2 nodes), 4 modes
w Quadratic (8 or 3 nodes), 1 mode
x Quadratic (8 or 3 nodes), 2 modes
y Quadratic (8 or 3 nodes), 3 modes
z Quadratic (8 or 3 nodes), 4 modes