ELEMENT ORIENTATION (toggle)

This function enables the user to display element orientation. Beam element orientation is shown by drawing a vector at the first node of the beam toward the element local Y-axis. Shell orientation is shown by drawing an arrow from the first node of an element, toward the second node of an element. Drawing an arrow from the bottom surface towards the top surface shows solid element orientation. This display is useful for picturing the beam orientation and the normal direction of the shell elements (the normal of the shell follows the right hand rule from the first node to the second node).

Note: The clarity of the element orientation display improves when the SHRINK ELEMENTS command is activated.