You use the Property module to create a skin reinforcement on the face of a three-dimensional part or along the edge of an axisymmetric part. You use the Mesh module to assign an element type to a skin reinforcement. When you are prompted to select the regions to be assigned element types, you must select the selection filter tool that appears in the prompt area and then select Skins from the list of objects to filter.

You can use skin reinforcements in a coupled structural-acoustic analysis. If the acoustic medium adjoins a structure then structural-acoustic coupling occurs at the interface. It is recommended that you use surface-based tie constraints to enforce the coupling; however, if you are conducting a structural-acoustic submodeling analysis where the acoustic domain forms the submodel, you must line the interface portion of the submmodel boundary with acoustic-structural interface (ASI) elements to enforce the coupling. You can line the inteface with ASI elements by creating a skin at the interface and assigning ASI elements to the skin. For detailed information about using skins to create ASI elements on geometry and orphan meshes, see the ABAQUS Online Support System, which is accessible through the MY ABAQUS section of the ABAQUS Home Page at www.abaqus.com.