The offset mesh tools in the Edit Mesh toolset have many uses in ABAQUS/CAE, as follows:
Continuum shell meshes
You can use the solid offset mesh tool to mesh thin solids that are essentially thickened shells, such as sheet metal, composites, or molded plastic components. The solid offset mesh tool is useful for creating continuum shell elements because ABAQUS/CAE orients the elements consistently in the thickness direction. For more information, see “Meshing parts with continuum shell elements,” Section 21.4.2.
Cohesive elements
You can assign cohesive elements to quadrilateral elements of a two-dimensional model. For three-dimensional models you can use the solid offset mesh tool to generate a layer of cohesive elements on an orphan mesh part. The offset mesh tool generates elements that are oriented consistently with a stack direction that is normal to the thickness direction, and it is a convenient tool for quickly creating a layer of cohesive elements. For more information, see “Embedding cohesive elements in an existing three-dimensional mesh,” Section 21.1.2.
Skin reinforcements
If your skin can be defined as a single layer, creating the skin in the Property module is the preferred approach. However, you can use the shell offset mesh tool to create a skin that uses multiple reinforcement layers. For more information, see “Using offset meshes to create skin reinforcements,” Section 20.3.5.
You can also use the solid offset mesh tool in conjunction with the mesh generation tools in the Mesh module by doing the following:
Create a portion of the mesh in the Mesh module.
Create an orphan mesh part that includes the partial mesh.
Use the solid offset mesh tool with the orphan mesh part to complete the mesh.
You can create sets containing the elements from an offset mesh. You can create a single set that contains the offset elements, or you can create separate sets for each layer of offset elements. In addition, if you are creating a solid offset mesh, you can create surfaces from the top and the bottom of the offset mesh, provided the first layer of elements is not embedded in the original mesh. You can use these sets and surfaces in subsequent procedures to help you select elements from the offset mesh. For example, you can select a set when assigning a section to a layer of offset elements. Similarly, you can select a surface when you tie one side of a layer of cohesive elements to the surrounding bulk material.