Surface and edge proximity settings with 2D Mesh from Facets

In the 2D Mesh from Facets dialog box or in the 3D Tetrahedral Mesh dialog box when the Surface Meshing Method is set to Mesh from Facets, you can use settings to control the refinement of the surface mesh in the vicinity of gaps between surfaces and edges.

About the Surface Proximity Based Size Variation option

You can select the Surface Proximity Based Size Variation check box to have the software vary the refinement of the 2D surface mesh in regions close to gaps between surfaces or facets.

• The software refines the mesh (decreases the element size) more in areas where the distance between the surfaces is smaller.

• The software refines the mesh less in areas where the distance between the surfaces is greater.

When you select the Surface Proximity Based Size Variation check box, you can use the Number of 3D Elements Between Surfaces option to specify a target number of 3D elements to create in gaps between two surfaces when you later generate a 3D mesh on the volume. This option can also affect the refinement of the surrounding surface mesh.

In general, the software creates 3D elements that have the same element edge length as the elements in the 2D surface mesh. In some cases, as you increase this value, the software may decrease the size of the elements in the 2D surface mesh in the vicinity of the gap. For each point on a surface, the software computes the distance to the closest surface. It then divides that distance by the Number of 3D Elements Between Surfaces value that you specify to compute an appropriate local element length.

For example, consider a point on a face that lies 4mm from the closest surface. The Number of 3D Elements Between Surfaces value is 2.

• If the Target Element Size for the overall mesh is larger than 2mm, then the software creates elements around that point with a local size of 2mm.

• If the Target Element Size for the overall mesh is smaller than 2mm, then the software creates elements around that point with the overall mesh size.

The size and number of 3D elements that the software creates may vary from the target Number of 3D Elements Between Surfaces value that you specify. For example:

• The software may create fewer 3D elements than you the value that you specify. For example, if you specify a value of 3, and the software can fill the gap with 2 elements, then the software creates 2 elements only.

• When the software generates the 3D elements, the elements follow the surface element size close to the surface of the body. However, the software may create 3D elements that are larger in the orthogonal direction to the surface.

About the Edge Proximity Based Size Variation option

You can select the Edge Proximity Based Size Variation check box to have the software vary the refinement of the 2D surface mesh based on the proximity between edges within a surface. If you select this check box, the software varies the refinement of the 2D mesh as follows to facilitate the creation of 2D elements in the gaps between the edges:

• The software increases the mesh refinement (decreases the element size) in areas where the distance between the edges is smaller.

• The software decreases the mesh refinement in areas where the distance between the surfaces is greater.

When you select the Edge Proximity Based Size Variation check box, you can use the Number of 2D Elements Between Surfaces option to specify a target number of 2D elements to create in gaps between two surfaces during the 2D meshing process. This option can also affect the refinement of the surrounding surface mesh.

In general, the software creates 2D elements that have the same element edge length as the elements in the 2D surface mesh. In some cases, as you increase this value, the software may decrease the size of the elements in the 2D surface mesh in the vicinity of the gap. In other cases, the software may create fewer 2D elements than the value that you specify. For example, if you specify a value of 3, and the software can fill the gap with 2 elements, then the software creates 2 elements only.

Where do I find it?

Application	Pre/Post
Prerequisite	A FEM file as the displayed part and work part
Command Finder	2D Mesh from Facets 3D Tetrahedral Mesh

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Surface and edge proximity settings with 2D Mesh from Facets, Simcenter 3D 2021.1 Series

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