The fiber orientation of a ply defines the direction fibers lay within that ply. The
ply orientation is typically an integer value between -90 and 90. The fiber
orientation of a ply is a rotation using the right-hand rule about the element’s
normal/thru thickness direction for positive angles.
Orientation is defined relative to the following:
Element material direction
Ply system – if assigned on ply, the material direction is trumped
The orientation applies to all elements in the ply shape. Orientation can
additionally be modified spatially, element by element, using a drape table assigned
to the ply.
The following image shows a ply orientation. Figure 1.
