Criteria for sweepable bodies

When you use the 3D Swept Mesh command with either the Multi Body-Infer Target or the Until Target option to sweep a mesh through a solid body, that body must meet certain criteria.

Note:

Before you try to sweep a mesh through a body, you may first need to simplify the body by subdividing it into smaller bodies. You can use the Split Body command to divide a complex body into several smaller, simpler bodies. Additionally, you can use the Check for Sweepable Body option in the Split Body dialog box to interactively preview whether the current body is likely sweepable. See Splitting bodies for more information.

General sweeping criteria for the Multi Body-Infer Target and Until Target options

• The source face must be connected to the target face through the rail edges of the wall faces. However, the source and target faces cannot share any edges.

• When meshing the wall faces, the software honors any existing entities, such as mesh points or edge densities, as long as they do not conflict with each other. If a conflict occurs, the software ignores the entity.

• When meshing the target face, the software does not honor any existing entities, such as mesh points or edge densities.

Additionally, with the Multi Body-Infer Target option:

• The source and target faces must be topologically identical.

• The source and target faces must contain the same number of edges.

Criteria for source faces

• A source face can either be meshed or unmeshed.If the source face is already meshed, the software uses the existing triangular or quadrilateral surface mesh to generate wedge (pentahedral) or hexahedral elements through the solid. The source face can be meshed with either linear or parabolic elements.If the source face is not already meshed, the software first meshes the selected source face with linear quadrilateral elements. The software then uses this mesh to generate wedge or hexahedral elements through the solid. You can use the options in the 3D Swept Mesh dialog box to control the mesh on the source face. See Controlling the mesh on the source and wall faces in a swept mesh through a volume for more information.Note: If the mesh on the source face contains one or more triangular elements, the mesh through the volume will contain wedge elements.

• If your source face is unmeshed, but the target face is meshed, the software swaps the designated source face with the target face. It then uses the mesh on the target face to control the swept mesh. Similarly, if your source face is unmeshed but the target face shares a mesh mating condition with another face, the software swaps the designated source face with the target face.

• If both the source and target faces are meshed, the software compares the meshes to see whether they are identical. If the meshes are identical, the software sweeps the mesh through the volume. If they are not identical, the software cannot sweep the mesh.

• A source face can either be planar or non-planar.

Criteria for wall faces with the Multi Body-Infer Target and Until Target options

The topology of wall faces can also impact whether or not the software can generate a swept mesh on a body. In general:

• The wall faces themselves should be mapped meshable. If you cannot use the 2D Mapped Meshing command to generate a mapped mesh on a wall face, the software will probably not be able to sweep a mesh through that body.

• Wall faces should be perpendicular to the specified source face. If the wall faces are parallel to the source face, the software will probably not be able to sweep a mesh through that body.

In some cases, if the software cannot generate a swept mesh on a body because of wall face issues, you can try selecting a different face as the source face. For example, consider the following simple body:

If you select the source and target faces as shown below, the software is unable to sweep a mesh through the body. Notice that some of the wall faces are parallel to the source face.

However, if you select the source face as shown here, the software is able to sweep a mesh through the body. Notice that now the wall faces are perpendicular to the source face.

Criteria for bodies that contain cylindrical extrusions

You can use 3D Swept Mesh to sweep a mesh through a body that contains a cylindrical extrusion (hole). If a body contains a cylindrical extrusion, the software automatically splits that cylinder by creating a polygon edge along its length. Cylinders must be split for the software to be able to sweep the mesh.

How do I

Create a 3D swept mesh through a body (Multi Body-Infer Target and Until Target)

Learn more

Automatically sweeping a mesh from a source face

Multi Body-Infer Target and Until Target meshes

Controlling the mesh on the source and wall faces in a swept mesh through a volume

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Criteria for sweepable bodies, Simcenter 3D 2021.1 Series

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