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Solid Automeshing a Structure

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Solid Automeshing a Structure

Introduction
This document outlines the general procedure of producing a FE mesh from an imported geometry file. The aim
here is to provide the relevant background information as well as some tools that can help in the efficient
automeshing of a CAD model in solid representation. As the focus here is on the production of the FE mesh, the
other aspects of modelling will be mentioned in passing when relevant.

Solid Automeshing
The solid automeshing approach aims to produce a mesh of tetrahedral elements bounded by the defined
geometry. To do this, we first need to produce a plate mesh that describes the surface boundary of each part
within the geometry. It is possible to produce a suitable plate mesh either through surface automeshing, or
through manual meshing. The former is likely to be more efficient, as it requires minimal input from the user in
deciding the element placement. Triangular shaped elements are generally used for this purpose, as these
usually give better brick element shape.
One important concept in Strand7 solid automeshing is to define enclosed volumes for each part or component
of the geometry. This is generally done by grouping boundary faces into a group either in Strand7 or in the CAD
package, although it is possible to manually select an enclosed plate mesh when automeshing. In this document
we will be focusing on the face grouping approach, as it is the simplest approach in most situations.
For a group of faces defining an enclosed volume, it is a requirement that there be no free edges within the
group; this means that each edge is shared by two and only two faces within the group. Where an edge is
shared by only one face, the surface is not closed, so solid meshing cannot proceed since a bounded volume is
not defined. Where an edge is shared by more than two faces, a T-junction is produced, which means an
ambiguity in the interpretation of the enclosed volume, so again solid meshing cannot proceed. The above
conditions (free edges and T-junctions) can be checked by turning on each group in isolation, and inspecting the
Face Free Edges and Face T-Junctions based on the group display.
In some situations, it may be possible that the faces within a group are well-defined such that no free edges or Tjunctions are formed, but the resultant plate surface mesh may show either or both of the above issues after
surface automeshing. This is likely due to the Surface Automesher options used to generate the mesh being
unsuitable, and a different set of options is required to address to this issue.
It should be noted that, when planning to solid automesh a model, the goals of the analysis should also be
formulated at the same time. This will give some guidance during the modelling stage as to the assumptions and
simplifications that can be made with the geometry. For example, if the structure consists of bolts and similar
connections and the main goal of the analysis is to examine the global response, then these parts can be left out
from the CAD geometry, and then modelled using appropriate entities in Strand7 to simulate the connection
details. This will reduce both the effort spent on automeshing, and the model size (hence shorter run times).

Meshing Procedure
The general meshing procedure involves four main steps. We start by importing the CAD model into Strand7,
and give the model a suitable unit system. Then we modify the geometry within Strand7 to produce a suitable
starting point for the automeshing. This is the step where the majority of the modelling time and effort will be
spent. Afterwards, we will produce a plate mesh from the geometry using the Surface Automesher module, and
examine the suitability of the plate mesh. Finally we will produce a solid brick mesh using the Solid Automesher
module, and examine the suitability of the brick mesh.

Model Description
For the demonstration of the meshing procedure, we will be using the geometry of a roller frame assembly. It is
noted here that other possible modelling approaches may be more efficient than the direct solid automeshing
approach, although it demonstrates the common issues experienced by the user in solid automeshing. Hence
the model is suitable for demonstration of the modelling procedure described above.

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Solid Automeshing a Structure

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In the CAD model of the solid geometry representation of the structure, it is observed that all components of the
structure are defined as separate groups made up of faces forming enclosed volumes. There are also a number
of narrow faces that represent detailed features of the model. These faces may cause meshing issues if the size
control is inappropriate. Also it can be observed that a number of bolts and similar connectors are modelled as
solids, and these will also be automeshed as brick elements.

Geometry Manipulation
The first step in the solid automeshing process is the
import of the geometry into Strand7, which is usually a
simple enough procedure. It is a good practice to
examine the approximate dimension of the imported
geometry in the CAD File Units dialog, to identify that
the correct model length unit is used for the model.

Figure 1: CAD File Units dialog is displayed after importing a

geometry file.

After importing the model into Strand7, it is typical to start the geometry manipulation by performing a default
geometry clean on the entire structure. This can clean up the geometry to form a simpler representation, for
example mend any small gaps and eliminate extra vertices. If you require some features to be kept from the
cleaning process, for example, maintaining some vertex locations, you can perform the relevant operations
before cleaning.

Figure 2: The imported geometry after one default geometry clean. No significant changes to the geometry are observed.

The next step is typically the grafting of edges onto the adjacent faces. For a complex geometry such as this, it is
likely that the faces of some adjacent parts are not aware of each other. This will produce an incompatible mesh
when the faces are automeshed. The default grafting option should locate most, if not all, of the interfaces, and
perform the required geometry update to reflect the changes.

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After these operations, it is a good time

to inspect the geometry. This involves
the examination of each solid group and
adjacent surfaces to identify whether
further operations are required. To
examine the free edges and junctions in
each group, we can turn on one group at
time via the Global/Group dialog, and
set the Free Edge display mode to
Display only in the Display Options
dialog
(View/View
Options/Free
Edge/Based on).

Figure 3: The Free Edge options in the View Options dialog. Here we
change to the highlighted option.

In this particular model we can see that all of the groups are defined by enclosed faces. In some instances we
can see locations where the grafting process produced compatible edges, but still left the intermediate region
without deletion. In another instance, we have found that the face within one group was deleted. In the above
and other similar situations, the user has to make appropriate changes to the geometry to form a suitable
starting point for automeshing. In the examples discussed above, we need to clean away the extra faces in the
first situation, and copy and graft the missing face from another group in the second situation.

Figure 4: Examples where the face junctions (left) and missing face (right) are detected. These may cause meshing issues if
not addressed.

It is possible that after some major geometry changes, the geometry connectivity information is not complete.
For example, we may have added some construction vertices to facilitate certain operations - the model then
contains extra unnecessary vertices ready to be deleted; or we may have added new sections of geometry to the
model and these new sections are yet to be cleaned or grafted. So we can perform additional cleaning and
grafting operations on the model, and then re-examine the geometry. This process can take a few cycles, until
we are satisfied that the geometry is ready for automeshing.

Surface Automeshing
The surface automeshing step is relatively straightforward, although at this stage of modelling we might need to
revisit the geometry manipulation again. The surface meshing can identify locations that are missed out by our
previous passes or that require additional attention. It is also possible that the surface automesher parameters
are not suitable for our purpose, either by producing elements of poor shape or unable to form a mesh for some
of the faces.
If the automesher produces an unexpected or incompatible mesh, it usually indicates some detail that may have
been missed in the geometry preparation stage. For example, we may have missed out on the additional
internal face or the missing face discussed above. This will now show up in our plate mesh as either an
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incompatible region, where the interface between the parts is now incorrect, or as missing faces, where the
respective groups now show a number of plate free edges. If any similar issues are identified, then it is likely
that the current plate mesh is not suitable for solid meshing. The geometry then has to be updated and remeshed, possibly using the same automesher settings again.

Figure 5: Examples where the ill-defined geometry results in unexpected meshes.

This type of mistake is sometimes difficult to identify, as the mesh issue is likely to be a localised occurrence, and
is likely to be passed over until detailed examination. In other situations, the mesh misalignment may be
overlooked due to good global mesh distribution. Therefore careful mesh examination at this stage would be
beneficial.
If the resultant mesh is unsuitable for solid meshing, it is sometimes related to inappropriate automesher
options. In this example, if a relatively large Maximum Edge Length is used, the resultant mesh may show
regions of elongated triangle elements, or elements that are placed at incorrect locations. It is also possible that
the Maximum Edge Length is larger than the edge lengths on a face, resulting in unmeshable or incomplete
meshed faces. These issues can be addressed by changing the automesher options, for example, reducing the
Maximum Edge Length option or enabling the Skip Transitioning option.

Figure 6: An example where the surface automesher produces unsuitable elements. The left figure shows plate free edges
and the right figure shows a plate T-junction. This is likely to be related to the fitting of elements between the adjacent
faces, which in this case produces unsuitable elements at the interface.

This type of issue is generally readily detectable, as the Strand7 Automesher Log will record the error types and
locations of occurrence. The setting adjustment can sometimes be challenging due to the competing
requirements of defining a mesh with reasonable element sizes whilst at the same time keeping the number of
elements down to a reasonable level. In some cases, geometry modifications can be performed to give a good
mesh quality with a relatively small number of elements.

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Solid Automeshing a Structure

In this model, we will be using the

Tri3 elements for surface meshing,
and use the Face Number as the
Target type to give us a way to
better interpret the geometry we
are looking at. Here we will be
using a Maximum Edge Length of 6
mm, which corresponds to the
thickness of most of the members.
The Skip Transitioning option is also
useful in this case, as it will avoid
element clustering around short
edges. The resultant plate mesh is
shown below, and is suitable for
solid meshing after checking for the
issues discussed above.

Software

Figure 7: Surface Automesher options used for this example.

Figure 8: The plate mesh after surface automeshing. The plate element boundary is not displayed, as the mesh is dense.

Solid Automeshing
After the surface automeshing is completed, we can progress to the solid automeshing. The issues related to
solid automeshing are mainly the definition of the plate mesh and the grouping to define the solids.
The suitability of the plate mesh is generally easy to
assess as the solid automesher will generally stop if
any related issues are identified. The issue here may
be related to the plate mesh only, as the geometry can
be well-defined, but the element fitting may not
capture the required shape. An example in this case
can be found around the tip of fillets where the two
elements at the tip share the common edge on the
interior side. This causes a junction to form within the
plate mesh, which stops the solid mesher from
completing in this region.

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Figure 9: An example of ill-defined geometry resulting in

improper mesh at the corner. In this case, the vertex on the
curved face terminates before the vertex on the straight
face. This can be addressed by modifying the geometry in
the CAD package, or simply deleting the offending plate
elements.

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It is sometimes possible, as in the above situation, that the plate mesh can be manually modified without
remeshing the entire model. In the above case, a simple solution is to delete the elements that are causing the
junctions. This does not change the model geometry much, so we can avoid remeshing the entire structure. In
this and similar situations, the mesher may continue to execute for other portions of the structure and report
after completion the groups that are not meshed.
In other situations, the mesher may not start due to improper group definitions that cause difficulties in the
volume interpretation for the mesher. For example, if the missing face discussed previously is not reproduced,
then the mesher may report improper mesh definition, and may terminate early. If this is the case, then mesh
modification is required to fix up the cause (for example, replace the missing face and remesh the group).
For this example, the Tetra4
elements are used as the target,
and Coarse internal mesh is used to
try and reduce the number of
elements used in the final mesh. Of
the other options, we have to
enable the Groups as solids option
to account for the solid groups that
we have defined. The final mesh is
shown below.

Figure 10: The Solid Automesher options used in this example.

Figure 11: Final brick mesh, showing the brick Facet Outline.

Further Discussion
It can be seen from the previous discussion that successful solid automeshing of a complicated structure can be
challenging. Although little modelling assumptions are required for this approach as compared to surface
automeshing, the examination of the groups can be time-consuming. Therefore some degree of geometry
familiarity is beneficial.
Another modelling challenge related to the solid automeshing is the joining of physically separated parts. In this
model, we can identify that the attachment plate for the wheel is separate from the frame structure by a
physical gap. This type of gap can be difficult to join using elements, as the geometry of the interfaces can be

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Solid Automeshing a Structure

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very different. The best way to approach this is to add in the interface as new geometry in the CAD package,
where the shape of the interface is compatible with the existing members, and can be meshed conveniently in
Strand7.
Alternatively, a combination of interface elements and appropriate attachment entities (e.g. attachment links)
can be created manually by the user in Strand7. This can give a reasonable approximation to the structural
shape as well as the interface stiffness, depending on the assigned entities.

Figure 12: One attempt to merge the gap between the brick meshes. The geometry is displayed to demonstrate the original
gap. The next step can be creating additional brick elements to join up the gap.

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