Straight from the users manual:
Strain output
The total strain E is composed of the elastic strain EE, the inelastic strain IE, and the thermal strain THE. The inelastic strain IE consists of the plastic strain PE and the creep strain CE.
For geometrically nonlinear analysis Abaqus/Standard makes it possible to output different strain measures as well as elastic and various inelastic strains. The various total strain measures (integrated strain measure E, nominal strain measure NE, and logarithmic strain measure LE) are described in “Conventions,” Section 1.2.2. The default strain measure for output to the data (.dat) and results (.fil) files is E. However, for geometrically nonlinear analysis using element formulations that support finite strains, E is not available for output to the output database (.odb) file, and LE is the default strain measure.
Stress and strain measures
The stress measure used in Abaqus is Cauchy or “true” stress, which corresponds to the force per current area. See “Stress measures,” Section 1.5.2 of the Abaqus Theory Guide, and “Stress rates,” Section 1.5.3 of the Abaqus Theory Guide, for more details on stress measures.
For geometrically nonlinear analysis, a large number of different strain measures exist. Unlike “true” stress, there is no clearly preferred “true” strain. For the same physical deformation different strain measures will report different values in large-strain analysis. The optimal choice of strain measure depends on analysis type, material behavior, and (to some degree) personal preference. See “Strain measures,” Section 1.4.2 of the Abaqus Theory Guide, for more details on strain measures.
By default, the strain output in Abaqus/Standard is the “integrated” total strain (output variable E). For large-strain shells, membranes, and solid elements in Abaqus/Standard two other measures of total strain can be requested: logarithmic strain (output variable LE) and nominal strain (output variable NE).
Logarithmic strain (output variable LE) is the default strain output in Abaqus/Explicit; nominal strain (output variable NE) can be requested as well. The “integrated” total strain is not available in Abaqus/Explicit.