I'm struggling with finding the mesh stack orientations in Abaqus 2021 in a 2D mesh. I'd like to get them via a python script but there is no direct function. Does anayone know where this information is saved or how the meshing module defines the orientation in a 2D quadrilateral mesh? The Abaqus CAE can display arrows showing the stack direction (see image), so this information should exist anywhere.
Display of mesh stack orientation in Abaqus
I've looked for some dependencies within the element labels or element face labels, but didn't find any pattern. The manual says that Abaqus uses a "reference face" for defining the orientation. But I think this isn't valid for 2D meshes.