Chapter 9

Meshing
9.1 Pneumatic Fingers
9.2 Cover of Pressure Cylinder
9.3 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
Plane of
symmetry.

3 3.2 (19.2)
1 Unit: mm.

1
5
2
80 4
5.1
Chapter 9 Meshing Section 9.1 Pneumatic Fingers 3

Techniques/Concepts

• Mesh Metric: Skewness

• Hex Dominant Method
• Sweep Method
• MultiZone Method
• Section View
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

[2] The width of the beam [3] We will

is 10 mm. A uniform load record the
of 1 MPa applies on the vertical tip
[1] The beam is
upper face of the beam. deflection.
made of steel.

10 mm

100 mm
Chapter 9 Meshing Section 9.3 Convergence Study of 3D Solid Elements 6

Element Shapes

[1] hexahedron. [2] Tetrahedron.

[3] Parallel prism.

[4] Perpendicular
prism.
Chapter 9 Meshing Section 9.3 Convergence Study of 3D Solid Elements 7

Lower-Order Elements
Chapter 9 Meshing Section 9.3 Convergence Study of 3D Solid Elements 8

Higher-Order Elements
Chapter 9 Meshing Section 9.3 Convergence Study of 3D Solid Elements 9

Hexahedra
Chapter 9 Meshing Section 9.3 Convergence Study of 3D Solid Elements 10

Tetrahedra
Chapter 9 Meshing Section 9.3 Convergence Study of 3D Solid Elements 11

Parallel Prisms
Chapter 9 Meshing Section 9.3 Convergence Study of 3D Solid Elements 12

Perpendicular Prisms
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 fine 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 efficient as
their higher-order counterparts.
• Higher-order hexahedra, prisms, and quadrilaterals are among the most efficient
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.