Chapter 9 Meshing

Chapter 9
Meshing
9.1
Step-by-Step: Pneumatic Fingers 9.2
More Exercise: Cover of Pressure Cylinder 9.3
More Exercise: Convergence Study of 3D Solid Elements 9.4
Review

Chapter 9 Meshing

Section 9.1 Pneumatic Fingers

Section 9.1
Pneumatic Fingers
Problem Description
Plane of symmetry.

3 3.2

Unit: mm.

(19.2) 1 5 2

80

4 5.1

Chapter 9 Meshing

Section 9.1 Pneumatic Fingers

Techniques/Concepts
Mesh Metric: Skewness Hex Dominant Method Sweep Method MultiZone Method Section View Tools>Freeze Create>Slice Nonlinear Simulations

Line Search Displacement Convergence

Chapter 9 Meshing

Section 9.2 Cover of Pressure Cylinder

Section 9.2
Cover of Pressure Cylinder
Techniques/Concepts

Patch Conforming Method Patch Independent Method

Chapter 9 Meshing

Section 9.3 Convergence Study of 3D Solid Elements

Section 9.3
Convergence Study of 3D Solid Elements
Problem Description
[2] The width of the beam is 10 mm. A uniform load of 1 MPa applies on the upper face of the beam. [3] We will record the vertical tip deection.

[1] The beam is made of steel.

10 mm

100 mm

Chapter 9 Meshing

Section 9.3 Convergence Study of 3D Solid Elements

Lower-Order Elements
0.76

0.72 Tip Deflection (mm)

[4] Lower-order hexahedron. [2] Lower-order perpendicular prism. [1] Lower-order tetrahedron.

0.68

[3] Lower-order parallel prism.

0.64

0.60

3000

6000

9000

12000

15000

Number of Nodes

Chapter 9 Meshing

Section 9.3 Convergence Study of 3D Solid Elements

Higher-Order Elements
0.752 0.751 Tip Deflection (mm) 0.750 0.749 0.748 0.747 0.746 [2] Higher-order perpendicular prism. [4] Higher-order hexahedron. [3] Higher-order parallel prism.

[1] Higher-order tetrahedron. 0 2000 4000 6000 8000 10000

Number of Nodes

Chapter 9 Meshing

Section 9.3 Convergence Study of 3D Solid Elements

Hexahedra
0.752 0.751 Tip Deflection (mm) 0.750 0.749 0.748 0.747 0.746 [2] Higher-order hexahedron.

[1] Lower-order hexahedron.

2000

4000

6000

8000

10000

Number of Nodes

Chapter 9 Meshing

Section 9.3 Convergence Study of 3D Solid Elements

Tetrahedra
0.760 [2] Higher-order tetrahedron.

0.720 Tip Deflection (mm)

0.680

0.640

[1] Lower-order tetrahedron.

0.600

2000

4000

6000

8000

10000

Number of Nodes

Chapter 9 Meshing

Section 9.3 Convergence Study of 3D Solid Elements

10

Parallel Prisms
0.76

0.74 Tip Deflection (mm) [2] Higher-order parallel prism.

0.72

0.70 [1] Lower-order parallel prism. 0.68

0.66

2000

4000

6000

8000

10000

Number of Nodes

Chapter 9 Meshing

Section 9.3 Convergence Study of 3D Solid Elements

11

Perpendicular Prisms

0.76

0.74 Tip Deflection (mm)

0.72 [2] Higher-order perpendicular prism.

0.70

0.68

[1] Lower-order perpendicular prism. 0 2000 4000 6000 8000 10000

0.66

Number of Nodes

Chapter 9 Meshing

Section 9.3 Convergence Study of 3D Solid Elements

12

Guidelines
Never use lower-order tetrahedra or triangles. Higher-order tetrahedra or triangles can be as good as other elements as long as the mesh is ne enough. In cases of coarse mesh, however, they perform poorly and are not recommended. Lower-order prisms are not recommended. Lower-order hexahedra and quadrilaterals can be used, but they are not as efcient as their higher-order counterparts. Higher-order hexahedra, prisms, and quadrilaterals are among the most efcient elements so far we have discussed. Mesh your models with these elements whenever possible. If that is not possible, then at least try to achieve a higherorder hexahedra-dominant or quadrilateral-dominant mesh.