Select Mesh
Edit from the main menu bar to reverse the surface normals of selected shell elements. The elements can be either quadrilaterals or triangles. During the procedure to reverse the surface normals, Abaqus/CAE displays the part using the shaded render style, and the front and back faces of each shell element appear in different colors. If you change the direction of the surface normal in a region, Abaqus/CAE does not change the orientation of prescribed conditions or named surfaces applied to that region.
To reverse surface normals:
Enter the Mesh module.
From the Object field in the context bar, select Part and select an orphan mesh part from the list of parts. This tool is available only for working on an orphan mesh part.
From the main menu bar, select MeshEdit.
Abaqus/CAE displays the Edit Mesh dialog box.
Tip:
You can also display the Edit Mesh dialog box using the 
tool, located at the bottom of the Mesh module toolbox.
In the dialog box, do the following:
In the Category field, select Element.
From the Method list, select Flip Normal.
Abaqus/CAE displays the part using the shaded render style. The front of each element is colored brown, and the back of each element is colored purple.
From the prompt area, choose the selection method and select the shell elements whose normals you want to reverse. For more information, see “Selecting the elements to edit,” Section 64.6.11.
When you have finished selecting elements, select Done from the prompt area.
From the prompt area, select a method for reversing the surface normal:
Click Flip all to reverse the normal of all selected elements.
Click Select normal to change the normals of the selected elements so that they point in the same direction as the normal of a reference element that you specify.
If you chose Select normal in the previous step, do the following:
In the viewport, select the reference element.
In the prompt area, click OK.
Abaqus/CAE changes the normals of the selected elements so that they point in the same direction as the reference element normal.
Tip: If you make a mistake while reversing surface normals, click Undo in the Edit Mesh dialog box to undo the change. Abaqus/CAE restores the original surface normals for the selected elements.
Repeat the previous steps as often as necessary to change additional surface normals.
Toggle Highlight conflicting edges in the prompt area to display or hide a yellow border between connecting elements that have conflicting normals.
Click mouse button 2 to exit the procedure.
Abaqus/CAE reverts to the render style that was selected prior to starting the procedure to reverse the surface normals.
