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Volume Meshing

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Approach

To potentially reduce discretization errors, and to reduce cell count, a "high" quality hex mesh is preferred.

For a hex mesh, complicated geometries (volumes) typically need to be decomposed into simpler ones so that one of the hex meshing schemes can be used. In some instances, some geometries may be too complex and decomposition for hex meshing is impractical or impossible. In these instances use a tet/hybrid mesh.

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Volume Meshing

Volume Meshing Form:

Upon picking a Volume

the combination of the face Types of the volume. In ambiguous cases, GAMBIT chooses the Tet/Hybrid: TGrid combination Hex

GAMBIT will automatically choose a Type based on the solver selected and

Available element/scheme type combinations

Map Submap Tet-Primitive Cooper Stairstep Cooper Tgrid Hex-Core

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Hex/Wedge

Tet/Hybrid

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Volume Meshes - Hex Examples

Hex: Map

Hex: Cooper

Hex: Submap

Hex: Stairstep

Hex: Tet-Primitive

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Hex/Wedge and Tet/Hybrid Examples

Hex/Wedge: Cooper

Tet/Hybrid: Tgrid

Tet/Hybrid: Hex-Core

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Hex Meshing - Map

Map Scheme
Volumes that are mappable by default:

A logical cube All faces map-able (or Submap-able) and mesh is matching
mesh

mesh

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Hex Meshing - Submap

Submap Scheme

Volumes that are Submap-able by default:

All faces map-able or submap-able Topological matching of opposite faces

mesh

mesh

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Hex Meshing - Tet-Primitive

Tet-Primitive scheme

All hex elements in a four-sided (tet) volume Volumes directly meshable using Tet-Primitive scheme

Mesh

Tet Primitive

How the Tet Primitive Scheme works

Connect center points on edges, faces and the volume Map the four sub-volumes
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Hex Meshing - Cooper

The Cooper Scheme, in essence, projects or extrudes a face mesh (or a set of face meshes) from one end of a volume to the other and then divides up the extruded mesh to form the volume mesh.

The projection direction is referred to as the Cooper direction. Faces topologically perpendicular to this direction are called Source faces.

Source faces do not have to be premeshed. In practice, at least one source face must not be meshed and must span across the entire cross section. Side faces must be Mappable or Submappable.
Side Faces

Faces that intersect the source faces are referred to as Side faces.

Source Faces

Cooper direction
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Permissible Cooper Geometries

source faces source faces

source faces

source faces

Volume containing multiple holes Source faces are not parallel to each other
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Multiple source faces and multiple interior loops

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Steps to Use the Cooper Tool

When the Cooper scheme is selected, a source face list box appears in the panel. If GAMBIT chooses the sources faces

Check the source face list and visually check for an intelligent selection If necessary, change the source faces selected by GAMBIT. Manually select the source faces If necessary, manually change the vertex types (discussed in lecture 3) on some of the side faces

If GAMBIT fails to pick a set of source faces

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Getting the Cooper Tool to Work (1)

A

Problem: Mesh on Source Faces A and B can not be projected onto mesh on Source Face C
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Work around: Remove Mesh on Face C. As a general rule, do not premesh all of the source faces.
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Getting the Cooper Tool to Work (2)

A A1 A2

Interior loops

Problem: "Close" interior loops on opposing source Faces A and B The Cooper tool fails if the interior loops (when projected onto a single face) intersect or are "close".
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Work around: Split Face A. Neither of the faces A1 and A2 have interior loops.

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Getting the Cooper Tool to Work (3)

C C2

B A

A1

Problem: No logical cylinder exists: If Faces A and B are source faces, then Face C must be either mappable or submapple. Face C has a void and can only be paved.
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Work around: Split the Volume with a Face. Use Face A1 as one source face for Volume 1 and use Face C2 as one source face for Volume 2.
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How to Make a Volume Cooperable

Three options to cooper a volume:

Manually change the vertex types on the side faces so they are mappable and/or submappable Pick the source faces Enforce the map or submap on the side faces

Example: manually change the vertex types S S S E S E E E E

3 Source Faces

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Tetrahedral/Hybrid Meshing

Tetrahedral/Hybrid Mesh Scheme - TGrid

Automatic - most volumes can be meshed without decomposition. Use boundary layers to create hybrid grids (prism layers on boundaries to capture important viscous effects). Use on volumes that are adjacent to volumes that have been meshed with hex elements will automatically result in a transitional layer of pyramids.
Tet mesh second

Hex mesh first

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Tet/Hybrid Meshing: Troubleshooting

Quality of the tetrahedral mesh is highly dependent on the quality of the triangular mesh on the boundaries.

Initialization process may fail or highly skewed tetrahedral cells may result if there exists:

highly skewed triangles on the boundaries. large cell size variation between adjacent boundary triangles. small gaps that are not properly resolved with appropriate sized triangular mesh.

Difficulties may arise in generation of hybrid mesh.

Cannot grow pyramids from high aspect-ratio faces. Prism and pyramid generation may not work properly between surfaces forming very acute angles.
prism layer low quality pyramid
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acute angle
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Hex - Core Meshing

Tetrahedral/Hybrid Mesh Scheme Hex - Core

Combines Tet/Hybrid mesh with core Cartesian mesh Fewer cells with full automation and geometric flexibility Non Conformal Meshes Created with:

Size Functions Hexcore_Quad_Surface_Split Default (split quads into tri elements)

The number of offset layers (cell layers between wall and hexahedral core) is controlled by the GAMBIT default Hexcore_Offset_Layers.

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Hex Core Meshing : Surface Split

Geometry: Cylinder Edit Default: Mesh.Cartesian.Hexcore_Quad_Surface_Split = 1 (default) or 0
Hex Core
1 (default) Split boundary quad into 2 triangles hanging edges created (NOT allowed in FIDAP) Smooth boundary hexes with larger hexcore 0 Boundary quads are NOT split Pyramid (transition) elements created Boundary hexes not smoothed

Tets

Pyramids

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Assigning Boundary and Continuum Types

The Boundary Type Form

Enter entities to be grouped into single zone in entity list box.

First choose entity type as face or edge. Available types depend on Solver

Select boundary type for zone (entity group).

Name zone if desired. Apply defines zone and boundary type.

Can also modify and delete zone/boundary. External faces/edges are walls Internal faces/edges are interior

By default,

The Continuum Type Form

Similar operation. All continuum zones are by default, fluid.

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FLUENT 5/6 Example: Flow over a Heated Obstacle

Boundary: Name = inlet Type = VELOCITY_INLET

Boundary: Name = outlet Type = PRESSURE_OUTLET

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Continuum: Name = step Type = SOLID

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FIDAP 8: Example: Flow over a Heated Obstacle

Boundary: Name = inlet Type = PLOT

Boundary: Name = outlet Type = PLOT

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Continuum: Name = step Type = SOLID

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Defaults: Example: Flow over a Heated Obstacle

By default, the 4 remaining external faces have the Name and Type: Boundary: Name = wall Type = WALL

By default, the one remaining volume has the Name and Type Continuum: Name = fluid Type = FLUID

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Linear/Quadratic Elements (FIDAP/POLYFLOW USERS ONLY)

General tools

Higher-order elements

For FEM codes (FIDAP and POLYFLOW), the element order can be changed at all three meshing levels Only linear and quadratic elements are directly available A change to quadratic element type at one level will automatically change the element type in other levels The following table presents the most commonly used and recommended quadratic element types for FEM - solvers POLYFLOW FIDAP edge 3-node 3-node face 8-node quad 9-node quad volume 21-node brick 27-node brick

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