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---
type: concept
title: "Abaqus User-Defined Elements"
complexity: advanced
domain: computational-mechanics
created: 2026-06-01
updated: 2026-06-01
address: c-000114
aliases:
- Abaqus UEL
- Abaqus UELMAT
- Abaqus VUEL
- user element
tags:
- concept
- finite-element-method
- abaqus
- user-subroutines
- element-formulation
status: current
related:
- "[[Abaqus-Analysis-User-s-Guide-Volume-IV|Abaqus Analysis User's Guide Volume IV]]"
- "[[Abaqus User Subroutines and Utility Routines]]"
- "[[Abaqus User-Defined Material Behavior]]"
- "[[Finite Element Program Implementation]]"
- "[[Abaqus Element Selection and Formulation]]"
sources:
- "[[Abaqus-Analysis-User-s-Guide-Volume-IV|Abaqus Analysis User's Guide Volume IV]]"
source_refs:
- source: "[[Abaqus-Analysis-User-s-Guide-Volume-IV|Abaqus Analysis User's Guide Volume IV]]"
raw_path: ".raw/AbaqusAnalysisUserGuide4/"
raw_files:
- "AbaqusAnalysisUserGuide4_112.md"
- "AbaqusAnalysisUserGuide4_113.md"
- "AbaqusAnalysisUserGuide4_111.md"
md_indices:
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- 111
match: "heuristic-heading-keyword"
confidence: high
---
# Abaqus User-Defined Elements
## Definition
Abaqus user-defined elements let analysts implement custom element formulations through user subroutines rather than selecting a built-in element type.
## How They Work
In Abaqus/Standard, user elements can be implemented through `UEL`; `UELMAT` can access Abaqus material behavior from inside the element. In Abaqus/Explicit, `VUEL` supplies the explicit user-element contribution. The user defines the element type key, active nodal degrees of freedom, number of nodes, coordinate requirements, properties, state variables, loads, mass behavior, and element contributions.
User-defined element output must generally be stored as solution-dependent state variables. User elements can use node-based surfaces in limited contact roles, but they do not behave like built-in elements in all contact and import workflows. Standard-to-Explicit or Explicit-to-Standard import does not transfer user-element state automatically.
## Why It Matters
User-defined elements are the extension point for research formulations and specialized discretizations. They are powerful, but the analyst becomes responsible for element residuals, tangents or stable increments, state storage, loading, and numerical robustness.
## Connections
- [[Abaqus User Subroutines and Utility Routines]] supplies the general compiled-extension workflow.
- [[Abaqus User-Defined Material Behavior]] is the material-level counterpart to user elements.
- [[Finite Element Program Implementation]] provides the broader element-residual and assembly context.
- [[Abaqus Element Selection and Formulation]] explains the built-in element decision space that user elements extend.
## Sources
- [[Abaqus-Analysis-User-s-Guide-Volume-IV|Abaqus Analysis User's Guide Volume IV]]