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Module 03: Global Mesh Controls

Introduction to ANSYS Meshing

1 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. February 14, 2018

 Overview

In this lecture we will learn:

• Introduction to Global Mesh Controls
• Defaults
• General Sizing Controls & Advanced Size Functions
• Global Inflation

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 Preprocessing Workflow

Preprocessing
Meshing
and Solution

Geometry
Import / Geometry
Creation Cleanup /
Modifications

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 Mesh Process & Course Plan
Global
Controls
Module 3

Meshing Core Local

Methods Skills Controls
Module 2 Module 1 Module 4

Mesh
Quality
Module 5
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 Global Mesh Controls (1)
• Global mesh controls are used to make
global adjustment in the meshing
strategy, which includes sizing functions,
inflation, smoothing, defeaturing,
parameter inputs, assembly meshing…
• Minimal inputs
– Automatically calculates global element sizes
based on the smallest geometric entity
– Smart defaults are chosen based on physics
preference
• Makes global adjustments for required
level of mesh refinement
• Advanced Size Functions for resolving
regions with curvatures and proximity Smart defaults !
of surfaces

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 • Display
• Change Mesh color by quality metrics
Global Mesh Controls (2) • Physics Based Settings
• Physics and Solver Preferences
• Element midside nodes
• Global Mesh Sizing Controls
• Relevance and Relevance Center
• Advanced Size Functions
• Smoothing and Transition
• Span Angle Center
• Curvature Normal Angle
• Proximity Accuracy and Cells Across Gap
• Inflation
• Inflation Option, Inflation Algorithm
• Collision Avoidance
• Maximum Angle, Fillet Ratio, Smoothing
• Assembly Meshing
• Activation of CutCell/Tetrahedrons Meshing
• Advanced
• Numer of CPUs for Parallel Part Meshing
• Shape Checking
• Mesh strategy for patch conforming mesher
• Validation of the patch independent topology
• Defeaturing
• Pinch based
• Automatic Mesh Based
• Statistics
• Mesh statistics, Quality criteria
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 Global Mesh Controls (3)

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 Defaults • Five options under “Physics Preference”
– Mechanical, Nonlinear Mechanical, Electromagnetics, CFD and explicit
• Three options under “Solver Preference” when CFD is selected
– Fluent, CFX and Polyflow
• Mesh setting defaults are automatically adjusted to suit the
“Physics Preference” and “Solver Preference”
• Assembly Meshing is active only when Physics Preference is
CFD and Solver Preference is Fluent

The Nonlinear Mechanical Physics

Preference Option has been added
in R17.0 and may results in higher
mesh quality for FEA users

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 Sizing: Size Function

• Controls the growth and distribution of mesh in important

regions of high curvature or close proximity of surfaces
• Five Options:
– Adaptive
– Proximity and Curvature
– Curvature
– Proximity
– Uniform
• When CutCell Meshing is active with ‘Proximity’ or ‘Proximity
and Curvature’, Proximity Size Function Sources control is
displayed to specify the regions of proximity between “Edges”,
“Faces” or “Faces and Edges” in the computation of Proximity
Size Function (SF)
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 Sizing: Sizing Function Examples

SF: Adaptive SF: Curvature SF: Proximity

• The edges are meshed with global • Determines the Edge and Face sizes • Controls the mesh resolution on proximity
Element Size based on Curvature Normal Angle regions in the model
• Then the edges are refined for • Finer Curvature Normal Angle creates • Fits in specified number of elements in the
curvature and 2D proximity finer surface mesh narrow gaps
• At the end, corresponding face and • Transition of cell size is defined by • Higher Number of Cells Across Gap creates
volume mesh is generated Growth Rate more refined surface mesh
• Transition of cell size is defined by • Transition of cell size is defined by Growth
Transition Rate

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 Sizing: Element Size
Element Size (only available when the size function is set to Adaptive)
• Element size used for the entire model
– This size will be used for meshing all edges, faces and bodies
• Default value based on Relevance and Initial Size Seed
– User can input required value as per geometry dimensions

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 Sizing: Min and Max Size
(only available when the size function is not set to Adaptive)
• Min Size
– Minimum element size that the size function will generate
– Some element sizes may be smaller than this size depending on the edge length
• Max Face Size
– Maximum face size that the size function will generate
– Not supported by CutCell meshing
• Max Size
– Maximum element size that can be grown in the interior of volume mesh
Mouse Pointer serves to estimate
mesh sizes

Min Size

Max Face Size

Min Size ≤ Max Face Size ≤ Max Size Max Size
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 Sizing: Growth Rate
• Define the ratio between sizes of adjacent cells
(only available when the size function is not set to Adaptive)
– On surfaces and inside the volumes Growth Rate = 1.1 Growth Rate = 1.2 (Default)

Growth Rate = 1.3

Mesh size:
GR = 1.1 : 1,263,297 cells
GR = 1.2 : 587,026 cells
GR = 1.3 : 392,061 cells

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 Sizing: Transition
• Controls the rate at which elements grow
• Two level control for transition
– Slow (Default for CFD, Explicit), produces smooth transitions
– Fast (Default for Mechanical and Electromagnetic), produces more
abrupt transitions
• Not available for Cutcell meshing
• Hidden for sheet models, ignored for assemblies containing
sheets, when SF is not set to adaptive
Fast Slow

The ‘transition’ and the

‘span angle center’ (control
explained in the next slide)
do not depend on the
option of the size function
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 Sizing: Span Angle Center
• Controls curvature based refinement for Edges
• Three options and corresponding span angle ranges are
– Coarse: 91° to 60°
– Medium: 75° to 24°
– Fine: 36° to 12°
• Not available for Cutcell meshing
Coarse Medium Fine

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 Inflation
• Used to generate thin cells adjacent to boundaries
• Required for capture of wall adjacent boundary layers
– Resolve viscous boundary layer in CFD
– Resolve thin air gaps in Electromagnetic analysis
– Resolve high stress concentration regions in Structures
• Cells are created by ‘inflating’ from the surface mesh into the
volume (3d) or inflating from the boundary edge onto the face (2d)
• Options to control growth

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 Inflation: Automatic Inflation
• Three options
– None
• Select this for manual inflation settings using local mesh controls
– Program Controlled
All the faces are selected for inflation except:
• Faces with manual inflation defined
• Faces in contact regions
• Faces in symmetry
• Faces that belong to a part or body that has a mesh method defined that
does not support 3D inflation, such as sweep or hex-dominant
• Faces in sheet bodies
• Faces scoped to a Named Selection if the ‘Program Controlled Inflation’ is
kept to the default option ‘Exclude’ in the details of the named selection. If
you change this option to Include, the named selection will not be excluded
– All Faces in chosen Named Selection:
can grow inflation layers from faces grouped in one named selection

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 Inflation: Inflation Options
• Five options:
All available for Patch Conformal (PC ) tets and Assembly meshing

Smooth Transition
Maintains smooth volumetric growth between each
adjacent layer. Total thickness depends on the variation
of base surface mesh sizes (Default)

First Layer Thickness

Maintains constant first cell height throughout

Total Thickness
Maintains constant total height of inflation layer
throughout

First Aspect Ratio

Controls the heights of the inflation layers by defining
the aspect ratio of the inflations that are extruded
from the inflation base

Last Aspect Ratio

Creates inflation layers using the values of the first layer
height, maximum layers, and aspect ratio controls

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 Inflation: Inflation Algorithms
• Two Algorithms
– Post
– Pre
Patch independent meshes
(including Assembly) use Post Post

• First Tet grows then Inflation process starts

• Tet mesh is undisturbed, if the inflation options are altered
• Default option for Patch Independent Tetrahedrons

• Surface mesh is inflated first, then rest of the

volume mesh grows
• Default method for Patch Conforming
Tetrahedrons

Preview Inflation is
Pre
available only with
Pre Algorithm
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 Inflation: Advanced Options
• Collision Avoidance:
– Control to detect proximity regions and adjust the cells in the inflation layer

• None
– Does not check for proximity regions

• Layer Compression (Default for Fluent)

– Compresses inflation layers in the proximity regions
– Maintains the given number of layers in the proximity regions
– May stair-step if needed (will give a warning)

• Stair Stepping (Default for CFX)

– Inflation layers are stair stepped in the proximity regions
– Removing layers locally in steps to avoid collisions as well as bad quality at sharp
corners
When Cutcell meshing is used, both Layer Compression and Stair Steeping algorithms are
used depending on the geometry complexity.

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 Inflation: Collision Avoidance Example

Example Layer Compression Stair Stepping

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 Defeaturing • Removes small geometry features meeting the tolerances using
Pinch or/and Automatic Mesh Based Defeaturing controls in order
to improve the mesh quality.
• Automatic Mesh Based Defeaturing (AMBD) when it is ‘On’,
features smaller than or equal to the value of Defeaturing
Tolerance are removed automatically.
Note: Defeaturing Tolerance can be set maximum up to Global Min Size/2. Use a high value
for Global Min Size and use Local Sizing controls for defining Local Min Sizes smaller than this
value. Defeaturing will respect local min sizes and will clean only those faces/bodies with no
local control. This approach is recommended over Virtual Topology

AMBD Off AMBD On

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 Workshop 3.1 CFD – Global Mesh Controls

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 Workshop 3.1 FEA – Global Mesh Controls

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