AM 12 Appendix A

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The document discusses various mesh quality metrics like skewness and aspect ratio as well as considerations for mesh quality in solvers like FLUENT and CFX. It also talks about factors affecting mesh quality and strategies to improve it.

Some of the mesh quality metrics discussed are skewness, aspect ratio, Jacobian ratio, warping factor, parallel deviation and maximum corner angle.

Factors that can affect mesh quality mentioned are CAD issues, mesh resolution and distribution, meshing method, and inflation.

Appendix A Mesh Quality

ANSYS Meshing Application Introduction

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Appendix A: Mesh Quality

Overview
Mesh Quality Metrics in ANSYS Meshing
Skewness Aspect Ratio Worst Element

Training Manual

M h Q lit C Mesh Quality Considerations f th FLUENT S l id ti for the Solver


General Considerations Impact of Mesh Quality on the Solution

Mesh Quality Considerations for the CFX Solver Factors Affecting Mesh Quality
CAD Issues Mesh Resolution and Distribution Meshing Method Inflation I fl ti CAD Cleanup Virtual Topology Pinch Controls Pi h C t l Sensible Mesh Sizings and Inflation Settings General Recommendations

Strategies to Improve Mesh Quality

Workshop A.1 Virtual Topology for an Auto Manifold Workshop A.2 FLUENT and CFX Mesh Quality Metrics A2 Q alit
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Appendix A: Mesh Quality

Mesh Quality Metrics in ANSYS Meshing


Mesh Metrics are available under Mesh Options to set and review mesh metric information and to evaluate mesh quality Different physics and different solvers have different requirements for mesh quality

Training Manual

Mesh metrics available in ANSYS Meshing include:


Element Quality Aspect Ratio Jacobian Ration Warping Factor Parallel Deviation Maximum Corner Angle g Skewness
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Appendix A: Mesh Quality

Mesh Quality Metrics


Skewness
Two methods for determining skewness: 1. Based on the Equilateral Volume deviation: Skewness = optimal cell size cell size optimal cell size p Applies only to triangles and tetrahedra Default method for tris and tets

Training Manual

optimal (equilateral) cell

actual cell

2. Based on th d i ti f 2 B d the deviation from a N Normalized li d Angle deviation:

circumsphere

Skewness = maxmax e , e min min 180e e Where e is the equiangular face/cell (60 for tets and tris, and 90 for quads and hexas) Applies to all cell and face shapes pp p 0 Used for prisms and pyramids Perfect
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max

1 Worst
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Appendix A: Mesh Quality

Mesh Quality Metrics


Aspect Ratio
Aspect for generic triangles and quads is a function of the ratio of longest side to the shortest side of the reconstructed quadrangles (see User Guide for details) Equal t 1 (id l) f an equilateral t i E l to (ideal) for il t l triangle l or a square

Training Manual

aspect ratio = 1

high-aspect-ratio quad

aspect ratio = 1

high-aspect-ratio triangle

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Appendix A: Mesh Quality

Mesh Quality Statistics in ANSYS Meshing


The min, max, averaged and standard deviation for the selected mesh metric are shown for the surface mesh (after Preview Surface Mesh generation) and g ) for the volume mesh (after Preview Inflation layer or Generate Mesh generation) The worst elements can be highlighted using the Show Worst Elements under the Mesh object in the Tree Outline

Training Manual

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Appendix A: Mesh Quality

Mesh Quality Considerations for FLUENT

Training Manual

FLUENT requires high quality mesh to avoid numerical diffusion Several Mesh Quality Metrics are involved in order to quantify the quality, however the skewness is the primary metric The aspect ratio and cell size change mesh metrics are also very important I worst scenarios and depending on th solver used (d In t i dd di the l d (density b it based or d pressure based) FLUENT can tolerate poor mesh quality. However some applications may require higher mesh quality, resolution and good mesh distribution The location of poor quality elements helps determine their effect Some overall mesh quality metrics may be obtained in Ansys Meshing under th St ti ti object d the Statistics bj t Additional mesh quality metrics may be retrieved in FLUENT GUI under Mesh/Info/Quality from the menu, or using the TUI commands mesh/quality h/ lit
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Appendix A: Mesh Quality

Mesh Quality Requirements for FLUENT


The most important mesh metrics for Fluent are:
Skewness Aspect Ratio Cell Size Change (not implemented in Ansys Meshing)

Training Manual

Poor mesh quality may For all/most applications: lead to inaccurate solution and/or slow For Skewness: convergence For Hexa, Tri and Quad: it should be less than 0.8 For tetrahedra: it should be less than 0 9 0.9 Some applications may For Aspect Ratio: require even lower skewness than the It should be less than 40, but this depends on suggested value the flow characteristics More than 50 may be tolerated at the inflation layers

For Cell Size Change:


It should be between 1 and 2.
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Appendix A: Mesh Quality

Skewness and the Fluent Solver

Training Manual

High skewness values are not recommended Generally try to keep maximum skewness of volume mesh < 0.95. However this value is strongly related to type of physics and the location of the cell FLUENT reports negative cell volumes if volume mesh contains degenerate cells. Classification of the mesh quality metrics based on skewness:
0-0.25 0 0 25 0 25 0 50 0.25-0.50 very good 0 50 0 80 0.50-0.80 good 0 80 0 95 0.80-0.95 acceptable 0 95 0 98 0.95-0.98 bad 0 98 1 00* 0.98-1.00* Inacceptable*

Excellent

* In some circumstances the pressure based solver in Fluent can handle meshes containing a small percentage of cells with skewness ~0.98.

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Appendix A: Mesh Quality

Impact of the Mesh Quality on the Solution


Example
Mesh 1
(max,avg)CSKEW=(0.912,0.291) (max,avg)CAR=(62.731,7.402)

Training Manual

VzMIN-90ft/min VzMAX600ft/min

Large cell size change

(max,avg)CSKEW=(0.801,0.287) (max,avg)CAR=(8.153,1.298)

Mesh 2

VzMIN-100ft/min VzMAX400ft/min 400ft/min

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Appendix A: Mesh Quality

Mesh Quality Considerations for CFX


Mesh quality requirements are somewhat different for the CFX solver than for the FLUENT solver due to the difference in the solver structure for the two codes

Training Manual

Fluent uses a a cell-centered scheme, in which the fluid flow variables are allocated at the center of the computational cell, and the mesh-element is the same as the solver-element CFX employs a vertex-centered scheme for which the fluid flow variables are stored at the cell vertex, and the solver-element or control volume is a dual of the mesh-element. This means that the vertex of the meshelement is the center of the solver element solver-element

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Appendix A: Mesh Quality

Mesh Quality Considerations for CFX


The CFX solver calculates 3 important measures of mesh quality at the start of a run and updates them each time the mesh is deformed
Mesh Orthogonality Aspect Ratio Expansion Factor
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+ | Mesh Statistics | +--------------------------------------------------------------------+ Domain Name: Air Duct Minimum O th Mi i Orthogonality A l [d lit Angle [degrees] ] = 20 4 ok 20.4 k Maximum Aspect Ratio = 13.5 OK Maximum Mesh Expansion Factor = 700.4 ! Domain Name: Water Pipe Minimum Orthogonality Angle [degrees] = 32.8 ok Maximum Aspect Ratio = 6.4 OK Maximum Mesh Expansion Factor = 73.5 ! Global Mesh Quality Statistics : Minimum Orthogonality Angle [degrees] = 20.4 ok Maximum Aspect Ratio = 13.5 OK Maximum Mesh Expansion Factor = 700.4 !

Training Manual

Good
(OK)

Acceptable
( ) (ok)

Questionable
(!)

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Appendix A: Mesh Quality

Mesh Orthogonality in CFX

Training Manual

Orthogonality measures alignment of: ip-face normal vector, n, & node-to-node vector, s.

Orthogonality Factor = ns, >1/3 desirable Orthogonality Angle = 90-acos(ns), >20 desirable 90 acos(n s), >20 Are these different than Max/Min Face Angles in CFD Post? YES!
Face angles correspond to angles between edges One can have an acceptable Face Angle and an unacceptable Orthogonality Angle if an element is skewed in two directions

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Appendix A: Mesh Quality

Mesh Expansion Factor in CFX

Training Manual

Expansion factor measures how p poorly the nodal p y position corresponds p to the control volume centroid

Mesh Expansion Factor ratio of largest to smallest element volumes surrounding a node node, <20 is desirable The Mesh Expansion Factor is essentially identical to the Element Volume Ratio in CFD Post

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Appendix A: Mesh Quality

Mesh Aspect Ratio in CFX

Training Manual

Aspect ratio measures how stretched a control volume is

Aspect Ratio = maximum of the ratio of largest to smallest ip-areas for each element surrounding a node, <100 i d i bl 100 is desirable The Aspect Ratio is very similar to the Edge Length Ratio in CFD Post

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Appendix A: Mesh Quality

Significance of Mesh Quality in CFX


Why is geometrical mesh quality important? Sources of discretisation error
non-orthogonality introduces errors in flux approximations large mesh expansion introduces errors in storage and source approximations

Training Manual

Amplification of discretisation error


corrections to reduce errors caused by non-orthogonality can create unphysical influences

Difficulties solving linearised equations


large aspect ratios require use of more significant digits (i.e. (i e use of double precision solver)

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Appendix A: Mesh Quality

Factors Affecting Mesh Quality


CAD Issues
Small edges, sharp edges and faces Small gaps/passages between edges and faces Unconnected geometry entities

Training Manual

CAD i issues need t d to be fixed to avoid this

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Appendix A: Mesh Quality

Factors Affecting Mesh Quality


Mesh Resolution and Distribution
Geometry with abrupt changes, discontinuities and/or small gaps may require more resolution, and Mesh distribution where appropriate to be able to predict p physical conditions

Training Manual

Inappropriate resolution and distribution di t ib ti may l d lead to large cell size change, aspect ratio and/or skewness

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Appendix A: Mesh Quality

Factors Affecting Mesh Quality


Type of Size Function
Inappropriate usage (or no usage at all) of Advanced Size Functions (ASF) may lead to poor mesh quality Use Curvature ASF for geometries with ith dominant curvature features Use Proximity ASF for geometries with gaps or narrow components Use Curvature and Proximity ASF in geometries having a combination of these features

Training Manual

ASF may be used to avoid this !

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Appendix A: Mesh Quality

Factors Affecting the Mesh Quality


Meshing Method

Training Manual

Inappropriate usage of Meshing Method (Automatic, Tetrahedrons, Sweep, MultiZone and CFX-Mesh) may lead to large skewness The selection of the Meshing Method depends on the geometry and application It is a good practice to use Show the Sweepable Bodies under the Mesh object in the Tree Outline Many applications may take advantage of Patch Conforming and Sweep Meshing Method

A relatively good mesh in terms of ma ske ness max skewness, however the average and standard deviation are large

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Appendix A: Mesh Quality

Factors Affecting Mesh Quality


Inflation
Inappropriate:
Surface mesh quality Choice of the inflation surfaces Inflation Option p Inflation algorithm (layer compression or stair-stepping) Inflation parameters Advanced Inflation Options

Training Manual

Affected Inflation

may lead to poor mesh quality!

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Appendix A: Mesh Quality

Strategies to Improve Mesh Quality


CAD cleanup
Use CAD or DM to:
Simplify the geometry Merge small edges Merge the faces in order to reduce the number n mber of faces Avoid narrow faces Keep volume gaps only where important Decompose the geometry Remove unnecessary geometries Add geometries Repair the geometry

Training Manual

After split edge/Project edge/merge face in DM

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Appendix A: Mesh Quality

Strategies to Improve Mesh Quality


Virtual topology
Use VT in order to simplify details at geometry level in AM Can be added under Model object in the Tree Outline Mesh may be improved by creating virtual edges/faces If the resulting surface mesh is distorted consider fixing the geometry issue in DM or CAD

Training Manual

After virtual merging of narrow face with wide face

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Appendix A: Mesh Quality

Strategies to Improve Mesh Quality


Pinch Controls
Allow to remove small features (small edges or narrow faces) at the mesh level Intended for Patch-Conforming Tetrahedral Method When it is defined the small features are pinchedout from the mesh when pinch criteria are met

Training Manual

Pinch locations are detected automatically with Pinch Controls under Mesh object in the Tree Outline

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Appendix A: Mesh Quality

Strategies to Improve Mesh Quality


Sensible Mesh Sizings and Inflation Settings

Training Manual

The minimal size decreased 2X in order to fit the narrow geometry. As a result the mesh quality has been improved. Local face sizing may also be used

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Appendix A: Mesh Quality

Strategies to Improve Mesh Quality


General Recommendations

Training Manual

A volume mesh may be considered inacceptable if it satisfies one or more the following conditions:
Very high skewness for FLUENT meshes(> 0.98) Degenerate cells (skewness ~ 1) High Hi h aspect ratio cells t ti ll Negative volumes

Cell Quality can be improved by:


I Improving surface mesh quality i f h lit Moving mesh nodes CAD to fix geometric problems such as sharp angles, small edges, merge faces unite and/or decompose the geometries Clean-up tools in DM to simplify the geometries and their entities Different methods, global and local sizings and parameters in the ANSYS Meshing Application Pinch Controls in the ANSYS Meshing Application to avoid small features Virtual topology in the ANSYS Meshing Application in order to simplify the geometry
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Appendix A: Mesh Quality

Miscellaneous
If the model contains multiple parts or bodies the mesh metric information can be shown by highlighting them under the Geometry object in the Tree Outline The Body of Influence (BOI) technique may be used also to control the mesh quality and appropriate local resolution More advanced mesh statistics including histograms can be exhibited by FE Modeler Mesh Metrics in FEM Different mesh quality metrics can also be viewed in CFD Post

Training Manual

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Workshop A.1 p
Virtual Topology for an Auto Manifold

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Appendix A: Mesh Quality

Goals

Training Manual

This workshop uses the manifold geometry from workshop 5.2. Recall that this geometry contains many problematic small faces and sharp angles.

In workshop 5.2, the Patch Independent method was used to produce a good quality mesh without modifying the geometry. In this workshop Virtual Topology will be used to remove the p p gy problematic g geometry and then the y default Patch Conforming meshing method will be used.
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Appendix A: Mesh Quality

Starting the Project


1. 2. 3. 4.

Training Manual

Launch ANSYS 12.0 Workbench Click on Component Systems in the Toolbox on the LHS of the main panel Double click the Mesh option to add it to the Project Schematic In the Project Schematic right-click on Geometry and select Import Geometry > Browse. Select the file Auto-Manifold.agdb

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Named Selections

Training Manual

5. Next, make sure that Named Selections will be brought into Meshing: 6. Right-click on cell A2 and then select Properties 7. Ensure Named Selections is checked, and the Named Selection Key is blank 8. Close the Properties window

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Appendix A: Mesh Quality

Edit the Mesh


9. Edit the Mesh (cell A3)
The Meshing window will open Select the Body selection icon from the toolbar

Training Manual

10. Start by suppressing the fluid region and meshing the solid: y pp g g g

Select the inner fluid region, so that it is highlighted in green, and then right-click and select Suppress Body S B d

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Appendix A: Mesh Quality

Mesh Settings
11. Select Mesh from the Outline tree 12. In the Details view set the Physics Preference to CFD

Training Manual

The assumption here is that heat transfer will be solved in the solid region p g using a CFD solver

13. Expand the Sizing section in the Details view and set:
Span Angle Center = Medium Min Size = 1.0 mm Max Ma Face Si e = 10 0 mm Size 10.0 Max Tet Size = 10.0 mm

14. Right-click on Mesh in the Outline tree and select P i t d l t Preview S f Surface Mesh
Since the body is not sweepable, the Patch Conforming method will be applied by default
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Appendix A: Mesh Quality

Examine the Mesh

Training Manual

The Patch Conforming method meshes each individual surface. This produces a poor quality mesh on some surfaces in this geometry. Examine the surface mesh and look for regions of poor mesh quality. By switching between G Geometry and Mesh in the O Outline tree relate regions of f poor mesh quality to the underlying surface geometry. Some examples are shown here:

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Appendix A: Mesh Quality

Adding Virtual Topology

Training Manual

Virtual Topology allows you to merge adjacent surfaces, removing undesirable surface geometry feature and producing a higher quality mesh 15. Right-click on Model (A3) in the Outline tree and select Insert > Virtual Topology

A Virtual Topology entry is added to the Outline tree In the Details view note that the Behaviour is set to Low

16. Right-click 16 Right click on Virtual Topology in the Outline tree and select Generate Virtual Cells
This automatically creates virtual cells using a Low merging strategy. Medium High Medium and High strategies are likely to result in more faces being merged into virtual cells
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Appendix A: Mesh Quality

Virtual Topology

Training Manual

When Virtual Topology is selected in the Outline tree the viewer shows all virtual cells that have been created Examine the new surface geometry and note that most of the problematic faces have been merged to produce a cleaner surface geometry 17. In the Details view change the Behaviour to Medium
Right-click on Virtual Topology in the Outline tree and select Generate Virtual Cells Note that more faces have been merged into virtual cells

18. Try generating virtual cells using the High option for Behaviour
This does not work as well for this geometry as shown to the right

19. Switch back to the Medium option and generate the virtual cells again
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Examine Improved Mesh

Training Manual

20. Re-create the surface mesh and examine the regions that previously showed poor mesh quality
You should find that the surface mesh has been greatly improved

21. There are still some regions where the mesh quality could be improved. The arrows below shows one of these locations.
If you zoom in and examine the geometry here you will find a kink at the edge of the surface

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Appendix A: Mesh Quality

Adding Virtual Cells Manually

Training Manual

22. You can manually add Virtual Cells to improve the mesh further
Pick the Face selection icon from the toolbar Orient the view approximately as shown below (note the X-Y axes) Check that Virtual Topology is selected from the Outline tree Select the four faces shown below, then right-click and select Insert > Virtual Cell

3 1 2

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Appendix A: Mesh Quality

Examining Improved Mesh


23. Re-create the surface mesh and examine the region again
You should find an improved surface mesh

Training Manual

You can continue adding Virtual Cells as necessary g y In some cases the automatic virtual cell creation may merge faces that you do not want to merge. You can delete individual virtual cells by selecting the Virtual Face from below the Virtual Topology entry in the g p gy y Outline tree and right-clicking to delete.

24. 24 Right-click on Mesh and select Generate Mesh to create the final solid mesh
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Appendix A: Mesh Quality

Viewing the Fluid Body


The next step is to create the mesh for the fluid region 25. In the Outline tree expand the Geometry > Part section
Right-click on the first solid and select g Hide Body to hide the solid region Right-click on the suppressed (second) solid and select Unsuppress Body With the second solid selected, in the Details i D t il view expand th G hi l d the Graphical Properties section and set the Transparency to 1

Training Manual

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Appendix A: Mesh Quality

Adding Inflation
26. Select Virtual Topology from the Outline tree

Training Manual

Virtual Cells have already been created on the fluid region from earlier There should be no small surfaces remaining in the model Right click Right-click on Mesh and select Insert > Inflation In the Geometry field you need to select the solid body corresponding to the fluid region from the Viewer then click Apply Once this has been selected click on No Selection in the Boundary field so y that the Apply / Cancel buttons appear

27. Check that the automatic virtual cells look reasonable 28. The next step is to add inflation to the fluid walls

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Appendix A: Mesh Quality

Creating the Fluid Mesh


Now select one of the faces from the model that is not an inlet or outlet Select Extend to Limits from the toolbar t lb as shown: h All the fluid walls should now be selected Click Apply in the Boundary field in the Details view

Training Manual

29. 29 To generate the final mesh right-click on Mesh and select Generate Mesh

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Checking the Mesh Quality


30. Expand the Statistics entry and set the Mesh Metric to Skewness. Note that the Max Skewness is within the acceptable range for the FLUENT solver. 31. If you had generate the mesh without VT, the Max Sk M Skewness would h ld have b been considerably id bl higher

Training Manual

Without Virtual Cells

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Appendix A: Mesh Quality

Fluid Region Mesh

Training Manual

NO VT

VT

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Workshop A.2 p
FLUENT and CFX Mesh Quality Metrics

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Appendix A: Mesh Quality

Goals

Training Manual

This hands on tutorial will demonstrate how the Meshing Application in ANSYS is used to generate a CFD mesh for an internal flow domain The geometry represents portions of an aerospace valve region, decomposed into 3 bodies The goal is to produce a conformal hybrid CFD mesh including hex, pyramid, prism and tetrahedral elements including pinch controls and to examine mesh quality metrics for the Fluent and CFX solver preferences

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Appendix A: Mesh Quality

Creating a Meshing System


1. Launch ANSYS Workbench from the START menu

Training Manual

2. 2 Click on Component Systems in the Toolbox on the LHS of the WB main panel 3. 3 Double click the Mesh option

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Appendix A: Mesh Quality

Importing the Geometry

Training Manual

4. Right click (RMB) on the Geometry button and select Import Geometry (the question mark on the button goes away once a geometry file is imported)

5. Import the Aero-Valve.agdb file from the tutorial folder 6. Double click on the Mesh button in the Project Schematic to launch the Meshing Application

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Appendix A: Mesh Quality

Geometry

Training Manual

7. The original geometry is a Solid part and the Fluid region was extracted out in DesignModeler (DM). Other operations performed in DM;
A parameter was defined for the position of the valve Some outlet ports were closed One multi-body part was created and a given the name Fluid and the material Fluid Individual bodies were re-named and Named Selection was used to define the Inlet and Outlet Fillets were added to some sharp corners to improve mesh quality

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Appendix A: Mesh Quality

Meshing Options
Physics Preference CFD Mesh Method Automatic Click OK after you make the selection In Units, make sure the setting is mm

Training Manual

8. In the Meshing Options panel select the following meshing options:

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Appendix A: Mesh Quality

Global Mesh Parameters


9. Set global Mesh control parameters:
Click on Mesh to change settings Verify Defaults Physics Preference
CFD

Training Manual

Solver Preference
Fluent or CFX
Fluent is used initially, but results for the CFX setting are also presented

Set Sizing parameters gp Set Use Advanced Size Function


On: Curvature

Set Curvature Normal Angle to 15 S Mi Si to 0 20 mm Set Min Size 0.20 Maintain all other defaults

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Appendix A: Mesh Quality

Inflation and Pinch Parameters


10. Set Inflation 10 S t I fl ti parameters t

Training Manual

Click drop-list for Use Automatic Tet Inflation and select Program Controlled, leave all others as default
Note: Program Controlled Inflation will add inflation on all boundaries that do not have assigned Name Selection. It does not add inflation to Fluid-Fluid interfaces Note: Smooth Transition provides a transition between the inflation layers and the tetrahedral mesh following the specified Growth Rate

Set Maximum Layers to 4 Activate View Advanced Options


Note: Layer Compression is the default Collision Avoidance for Fluent and Stair Stepping is default for CFX

11. Set Pinch control


Note: When edge length or distance between vertices is less than the pinch tolerance, tolerance software will ignore the edge or remove extra vertex during meshing

Set Pinch Tolerance = 0.15 mm Activate Generate on Refresh


Note: Pinch Tolerance should be smaller than Size Function Min Size

12. Set Mesh Metrics to Skewness ( for Fluent)


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Appendix A: Mesh Quality

Pinch Controls
13. Create Pinch control :
Right-Mouse-Button -click in the Tree (RMB (Tree)) Select Create Pinch Controls

Training Manual

10 Pinch Controls are created (Expand the Mesh button to list the pinch controls)

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Appendix A: Mesh Quality

Viewing Pinch Controls


14.View the Pinch Controls
Ctrl Left-Mouse-Button Select the Pinch controls, these will be highlighted in the viewing window

Training Manual

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Appendix A: Mesh Quality

Sweep Method
15. Assign Sweep Method to the inlet and outlet bodies:
Select Mesh button in Tree Select the bodies (as shown below) ( )
Set the Cursor Mode to Body Selection Left-Mouse-Button click (Select) one sweepable body Hold Ctrl key and select the second body

Training Manual

Insert Method
Right-Mouse-Button -click in the graphics window (RMB (Window)) Insert - Method
The Automatic Method form appears Automatic Method

In the Automatic Method form


Select Sweep from the pull down pull-down menu

ANSYS, Inc. Proprietary 2009 ANSYS, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Sweep Method Settings


16. Set Sweep Method controls
Src/Trg Selection;
Select Manual Source Click on the Source Selection Field
This will activate the face picker
Outlet

Training Manual

Hold the Ctrl key and pick both the Inlet and the Outlet face Apply the Selection

Inlet

Additional Settings
Set Free Face Mesh Type; All Quad Set Sweep Num Divs; 20 Set Sweep Bias Type; _ __ ___ __ _ Set Sweep Bias; 4

ANSYS, Inc. Proprietary 2009 ANSYS, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Inflating the Sweep


17. 2D-Inflation on swept bodies:
Pick Faces;
Set the Cursor Mode to Face Selection Select the Inlet and Outlet faces (green) RMB (Window) Insert-Inflation

Training Manual

Pick Edges
Set the Cursor Mode to Edge selection Select four edges surrounding the inlet and outlet faces (marked in red) Apply the selection

Inflation Settings
Set Maximum Thickness: 3.0 mm Maintain all other options

ANSYS, Inc. Proprietary 2009 ANSYS, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Initial Surface Mesh


18. Surface-mesh the model:
Right-click on Mesh and select Preview Surface Mesh
This will provide us with feedback about mesh quality and density

Training Manual

Th Ad The Advanced Size Function creates a very fine mesh in th swept bodies, d Si F ti t fi h i the t b di
We can reduce the size by specifying the edge intervals on the Inlet and Outlet
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ANSYS, Inc. Proprietary 2009 ANSYS, Inc. All rights reserved.

Appendix A: Mesh Quality

Edge Sizing
19. Scoped edge mesh on swept bodies:
Insert Scoped Edge Size ;
Activate edge picker Pick the four edges surrounding the inlet and outlet faces Right-click Right click
Insert ->Sizing

Training Manual

Set Parameters
Ch Change th T the Type
Number of Divisions; 20

Change Behavior; Hard

ANSYS, Inc. Proprietary 2009 ANSYS, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Preview Inflation
20. Check the inflation layer: (Optional)
Right-click on Mesh and select Preview Inflation
View the mesh Statistics, mesh size and max skew is around 310000 and 0.92 respectively We are ready for volume meshing

Training Manual

.
ANSYS, Inc. Proprietary 2009 ANSYS, Inc. All rights reserved. April 28, 2009 Inventory #002645

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Appendix A: Mesh Quality

Volume Mesh with Fluent Settings


21. Mesh the model:
RMB (Tree) select Generate Mesh

Training Manual

Again, check the Statistics for the total element count and Max Skewness which will be around 926000 and 0.92 respectively

.
ANSYS, Inc. Proprietary 2009 ANSYS, Inc. All rights reserved. April 28, 2009 Inventory #002645

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Appendix A: Mesh Quality

Using a Section Plane to View Internal Mesh


22. Create a Section Plane:
Click on the Z-Axis at the lower right corner to orient the model Click the Selection Plane icon Press and hold the left mouse button while moving along the indicated d i di t d red arrow th then release The position of the Section Plane can be adjusted by moving the slider bar

Training Manual

Click on Show Whole Element Reselect the rotation button to adjust the view
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Appendix A: Mesh Quality

Viewing the Worst Elements


23. Rotate the geometry to view the mesh
RMB (Tree) Show Worst Elements
Note the location; far from the main flow field

Training Manual

Tip: Select Wireframe from the View menu to help see the element

ANSYS, Inc. Proprietary 2009 ANSYS, Inc. All rights reserved.

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CFX Solver Preference


24. Using CFX Solver Preference (optional)
Change Solver Preference: CFX RMB (Tree) select Generate Mesh Note the higher Max Skewness for the CFX Solver settings

Training Manual

ANSYS, Inc. Proprietary 2009 ANSYS, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Checking the Quality in FEModeler


25. Check quality in FEModeler (optional)
Meshing application
RMB (Tree) Update Close Meshing Application

Training Manual

Workbench 2
Drag-and-Drop FE Modeler on top f M h i th P j t S h t of Mesh in the Project Schematic ti Double click on Model

FEModeler
RMB (Tree) Insert Mesh Metrics Mesh Metrics - Valve 4 Node Linear Tetrahedron Set Mesh Metric Type: Aspect Ratio
Max aspect ratio is less than 50

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Saving the Project 26.The mesh is now complete


Select File > Close to close FEModeler

Training Manual

In the WB panel select Update In the WB panel select File > Save Project As and give the project a name Exit from ANSYS Workbench by selecting File > Exit

ANSYS, Inc. Proprietary 2009 ANSYS, Inc. All rights reserved.

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