Thank you Jim. I have created a simple cylinder model in bending, with a single set of elements around the surface of the cylincer as shown in my figure above (not a DOUBLE layer of elements as I rarely do that). I impose a set of displacements at the midspan of the cylinder. I then ran the analysis in EXPLICIT with NLOC = 0 and NLOC = 1. The results confirm a different flexural stiffness im the two analyses, so I believe that NLOC is working as intended.
The curve A represents NLOC = 0. The curve B represents NLOC = 1. Because the element normals are pointing "out" from the central axis of the cylinder, the effect of NLOC 1 is to move the shell elements inward by one-half the shell thickness, thus reducing the moment of intertia of the cylinder.
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