You can partition a face with a curve normal to two edges that bound the face. The edges need not be contiguous, but they must bound the face and subtend an angle less than 180 degrees, as shown in the following figure:
You first select the face to partition and then select one of two methods to define the position of the partition along the two edges; ABAQUS/CAE draws a Bézier curve connecting the two points. You can locate the partition along the selected edges by either:
Entering a parameter value between zero and one, where zero represents the start vertex of the edge and one the end vertex. This method allows you to precisely position the partition anywhere along the edges. In addition, you can subsequently modify the partition using the Feature Manipulation toolset to edit the two parameters that you entered to locate the partition.
Clicking the midpoint or a datum point along the edge. If you use this method to position a curved partition, you will not be able to modify the partition later.
To partition a face using the curved path method:
From the main menu bar, select Tools
Partition.
The Create Partition dialog box appears. ABAQUS/CAE displays prompts in the prompt area to guide you through the procedure.
Tip:
You can also use the curved path method to partition a face using the 
tool, located with the partition face tools in the module toolbox. For a diagram of the partition tools in the toolbox, see “Using the Partition toolset,” Section 44.2.
From the Type radio buttons at the top of the dialog box, choose Face.
The Method list displays the methods that you can use to partition a face.
From the list of methods, select Curved path normal to 2 edges and click Apply.
Select the face to partition.
ABAQUS/CAE highlights the selected face.
From the buttons in the prompt area, select one of the following methods to locate the curve:
Enter Parameter
Pick
Select any of the edges bounding the selected face.
Tip:
If you are unable to select the desired edges, you can change the selection behavior by clicking the selection options tool 
in the prompt area. For more information, see “Using the selection options,” Section 6.3.
ABAQUS/CAE highlights the selected edge.
Do one of the following:
If you selected the Enter Parameter method, enter a value between zero and one. An arrow on the selected edge indicates the direction of increasing parameter value.
If you selected the Pick method, click the midpoint or a datum point along the selected edge.
Select a second edge that bounds the face and repeat the previous step. The angle subtended by the two selected edges must be less than 180 degrees.
In the prompt area, click Create Partition.
ABAQUS/CAE creates the partition.
