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
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
• 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

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

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

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

0.76

0.72
Tip Deflection (mm)

[4] Lower-order
hexahedron.
0.68
[2] Lower-order [3] Lower-order
perpendicular parallel prism.
prism.
0.64
[1] Lower-order
tetrahedron.
0.60
0 3000 6000 9000 12000 15000
Number of Nodes
Chapter 9 Meshing
Section 9.3 Convergence Study of 3D Solid Elements
8

Higher-Order Elements

[3] Higher-order
parallel prism.
0.752

0.751
Tip Deflection (mm)

0.750 [4] Higher-order

hexahedron.
0.749 [2] Higher-order
perpendicular prism.
0.748

0.747 [1] Higher-order

tetrahedron.

0.746
0 2000 4000 6000 8000 10000
Number of Nodes
Chapter 9 Meshing
Section 9.3 Convergence Study of 3D Solid Elements
9

Hexahedra

0.752

0.751
Tip Deflection (mm)

0.750
[2] Higher-order
hexahedron.
0.749

0.748
[1] Lower-order
hexahedron.
0.747

0.746
0 2000 4000 6000 8000 10000
Number of Nodes
Chapter 9 Meshing
Section 9.3 Convergence Study of 3D Solid Elements
10

Tetrahedra

0.760

[2] Higher-order
0.720
Tip Deflection (mm)

tetrahedron.

0.680

0.640 [1] Lower-order

tetrahedron.

0.600
0 2000 4000 6000 8000 10000
Number of Nodes
Chapter 9 Meshing
Section 9.3 Convergence Study of 3D Solid Elements
11

Parallel Prisms

0.76

0.74
Tip Deflection (mm)

0.72 [2] Higher-order

parallel prism.

0.70

[1] Lower-order
0.68 parallel prism.

0.66
0 2000 4000 6000 8000 10000
Number of Nodes
Chapter 9 Meshing
Section 9.3 Convergence Study of 3D Solid Elements
12

Perpendicular Prisms

0.76

0.74
Tip Deflection (mm)

0.72
[2] Higher-order
0.70 perpendicular prism.

0.68 [1] Lower-order

perpendicular prism.

0.66
0 2000 4000 6000 8000 10000
Number of Nodes
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.