2D free meshing

You can use 2D Mesh to generate a mesh of linear or parabolic triangular or quadrilateral elements on selected surfaces. 2D elements are also commonly known as shell or plate elements. You can use 2D Mesh to create a mesh of elements on selected surfaces. For example, you can use 2D Mesh to generate a mesh on a midsurface model, such as the midsurface of a bracket shown below.

For some models, such as midsurface models, a 2D mesh alone on the surfaces is sufficient to perform an analysis. However, on other types of models, you may need to generate a 3D mesh on the body as well. In those cases, you may want to create a 2D mesh on selected surfaces first. Then, when you generate the 3D mesh, the software uses the existing 2D elements to as a starting point from which to create (“seed”) the 3D elements through the body.

Specifying the parameters that control the mesh generation

With 2D Mesh, the software automatically generates a free (unstructured) mesh on your geometry. Free meshes are flexible and allow you to automatically mesh complicated geometry with little user input. However, if the analysis you are performing requires a more regular mesh, you can:

• Use the options in the Meshing Method list to specify the algorithm to use to generate the mesh. See Understanding the 2D meshing methods for more information.

• Choose the Attempt Free Mapped Mesh option in the 2D Mesh dialog box to have the software create a mapped-like mesh within the context of an overall free mesh. These types of meshes are known as “free mapped” meshes and are quadrilateral dominant (they may contain some triangular elements). See Understanding free mapped meshes for more information.

• Use the options in the Attempt Quad Only list to create a mesh that either contains only quadrilateral elements or that contains a minimum of triangular elements. See Quadrilateral only meshing for more information.

• Use the 2D Mapped Mesh command instead to create a structured mesh on your entire model. See 2D mapped meshing for more information.

Defining 2D meshes on fillets and cylinders

When you create a 2D mesh on a model, you may want to create a mesh on the fillet and cylindrical surfaces using different criteria, such as a different element size, than you use for the rest of the geometry. You can create a Fillet or Cylinder type of Mesh Control to create a structured mesh of elements along the length of a fillet or cylindrical surface. See Fillet mesh controls or Cylinder mesh controls for more information.

Where do I find it?

Application	Pre/Post
Prerequisite	A FEM file as the displayed part and work part
Command Finder	2D Mesh
Menu	Insert→Mesh→2D Mesh

Quick links

Command reference

Pre/Post video examples

Bulk Entry Descriptions

Simcenter 3D tutorials

Browse Simcenter 3D help by product area

2D free meshing, Simcenter 3D 2021.1 Series

© 2020 Siemens

window.mainLanguage="en_US"

window.delivId=""

window.projectId=""

MathJax.Hub.Config({ TeX: { extensions: ["autoload-all.js"] }, tex2jax: { displayMath: [ ] }, "SVG": { scale: 125 } });