31.1.1 What is a seam?

A seam defines an edge or a face in your model that is originally closed but can open during an analysis. Abaqus/CAE places overlapping duplicate nodes along a seam when the mesh is generated. A seam cannot extend along the boundaries of a part and must be embedded within a face of a two-dimensional part or within a cell of a solid part. After you create a seam, you can determine its crack properties using a contour integral analysis. Because a seam modifies the mesh, you cannot create a seam on a dependent part instance.

Figure 31–1 shows a seam on the face of a planar part and the effect of applying a tensile load to the model. The duplicate nodes along the seam are independent of each other and are free to move.

Figure 31–1 A seam embedded in a face.

Figure 31–2 shows a similar analysis of a seam embedded in a solid part. The seam was created by partitioning the solid with a sketch drawn on a datum plane.

Figure 31–2 A seam embedded in a cell.

For detailed instructions, see “Creating a seam,” Section 31.1.2, .