Chapter 9 Meshing 1

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 2
Section 9.1
Pneumatic Fingers
Problem Description

Unit: mm.

80

5
1

2

5.1
4

3

3.2

1
(19.2)
Plane of
symmetry.
Chapter 9 Meshing Section 9.1 Pneumatic Fingers 3
Techniques/Concepts

Mesh Metric: Skewness

Hex Dominant Method

Sweep Method

MultiZone Method

Section View

Nonlinear Simulations

Line Search

Displacement Convergence
Chapter 9 Meshing Section 9.2 Cover of Pressure Cylinder 4
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 5
Section 9.3
Convergence Study of 3D Solid Elements
Problem Description

100 mm

10 mm
[1] The beam is
made of steel.
[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.
Chapter 9 Meshing Section 9.3 Convergence Study of 3D Solid Elements 6
Element Shapes
[1] hexahedron.
[2] Tetrahedron.
[4] Perpendicular
prism.
[3] Parallel prism.
Chapter 9 Meshing Section 9.3 Convergence Study of 3D Solid Elements 7
0.60
0.64
0.68
0.72
0.76
0 3000 6000 9000 12000 15000
T
i
p

D
e
f
l
e
c
t
i
o
n

(
m
m
)
Number of Nodes
Lower-Order Elements
[1] Lower-order
tetrahedron.
[2] Lower-order
perpendicular
prism.
[3] Lower-order
parallel prism.
[4] Lower-order
hexahedron.
Chapter 9 Meshing Section 9.3 Convergence Study of 3D Solid Elements 8
0.746
0.747
0.748
0.749
0.750
0.751
0.752
0 2000 4000 6000 8000 10000
T
i
p

D
e
f
l
e
c
t
i
o
n

(
m
m
)
Number of Nodes
Higher-Order Elements
[1] Higher-order
tetrahedron.
[2] Higher-order
perpendicular prism.
[3] Higher-order
parallel prism.
[4] Higher-order
hexahedron.
Chapter 9 Meshing Section 9.3 Convergence Study of 3D Solid Elements 9
0.746
0.747
0.748
0.749
0.750
0.751
0.752
0 2000 4000 6000 8000 10000
T
i
p

D
e
f
l
e
c
t
i
o
n

(
m
m
)
Number of Nodes
Hexahedra
[2] Higher-order
hexahedron.
[1] Lower-order
hexahedron.
Chapter 9 Meshing Section 9.3 Convergence Study of 3D Solid Elements 10
0.600
0.640
0.680
0.720
0.760
0 2000 4000 6000 8000 10000
T
i
p

D
e
f
l
e
c
t
i
o
n

(
m
m
)
Number of Nodes
Tetrahedra
[1] Lower-order
tetrahedron.
[2] Higher-order
tetrahedron.
Chapter 9 Meshing Section 9.3 Convergence Study of 3D Solid Elements 11
0.66
0.68
0.70
0.72
0.74
0.76
0 2000 4000 6000 8000 10000
T
i
p

D
e
f
l
e
c
t
i
o
n

(
m
m
)
Number of Nodes
Parallel Prisms
[2] Higher-order
parallel prism.
[1] Lower-order
parallel prism.
Chapter 9 Meshing Section 9.3 Convergence Study of 3D Solid Elements 12
0.66
0.68
0.70
0.72
0.74
0.76
0 2000 4000 6000 8000 10000
T
i
p

D
e
f
l
e
c
t
i
o
n

(
m
m
)
Number of Nodes
Perpendicular Prisms
[2] Higher-order
perpendicular prism.
[1] Lower-order
perpendicular prism.
Chapter 9 Meshing Section 9.3 Convergence Study of 3D Solid Elements 13
Guidelines

Never use lower-order tetrahedra/triangles.

Higher-order tetrahedra/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/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 higher-
order hexahedra-dominant or quadrilateral-dominant mesh.