When NORMAL COLOR is toggled on, PLATE NORMAL from DISPLAY OPTIONS at the lower right corner of the screen is used to display the color of the finite element model. The front side is the original color of the part and the reverse side is gray. When NORMAL COLOR is toggled off, PLATE NORMAL from DISPLAY OPTIONS at the lower right corner of the screen is used to display the normal of the finite element model, and an arrow is displayed along the normal of each element. This option can help the user to check the normal inconsistencies in finite element mesh. The operations of NORMAL COLOR and PLATE NORMAL are shown in Figure 7.6.1.

Figure 7.6.1  Parts displayed in different colors in normal directions