The COSMOS Companion

Understanding COSMOS Accuracy Meshing and Convergence

Volume 103

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What is the COSMOS Companion?

The COSMOS Companion is a series of short subjects to help design engineers build better products with SolidWorks Analysis Video presentations and accompanying exercises A tool for Continuous Learning on your schedule Pre-recorded videos are accompanied by a more detailed webcast with Q & A
Download videos and review webcast schedule at:
http://www.cosmosm.com/pages/news/COSMOS_Companion.html

It is not an alternative to instructor-led introductory training

We highly recommend you take a course with your local reseller to build a solid knowledge base

Mesh Basics - Solids

Solid models are filled (Meshed) with Solid Elements with a Tetrahedron shape A basic (draft) tetrahedron has four (4) corner Nodes

Mesh Basics - Surfaces

Shell elements model thin structures more efficiently Shell elements are Triangles A basic (draft) triangle has three (3) corner nodes

Mesh Basics Nodes & Elements

A Finite Element solution calculates the displacement of the nodes first and the resulting strain in the attached elements second Calculating the deformed mesh when a structure is in equilibrium is the key to an accurate FEA solution Mesh quality in a nutshell The initial mesh must represent the initial shape of the model and be flexible enough to capture the deformed shape at equilibrium The deformed shape at small features where stresses can be expected to change greatly must be captured even more accurately to calculate these stresses.

Mesh Basics Nodes & Elements

Draft vs. High Quality Elements

Draft Quality Linear Edges 3 Nodes

High Quality Parabolic Edges 6 Nodes

Draft Quality Linear Edges 4 Nodes

High Quality Parabolic Edges 10 Nodes

Mesh Basics Nodes & Elements

The calculated shape of an element edge is limited by its order
Draft = Linear = Order High = Parabolic = 2nd Order 1st

F l1 l0

Therefore, curvature, either initial or calculated, must be approximated with straight facets in a draft mesh and 2nd order segments in a high quality mesh The difference between the ideal curvature and the modeled curvature is called Discretization Error

Does Size Matter?

Generally speaking, with more elements in a mesh, the solution is more precise:
There are more nodes that are available for calculating response and thus the solution is more precise More elements means smaller elements so discretization error is minimized

The practical limit where further mesh size reductions add no benefit to the solution can be found in the Convergence process A converged mesh for a given geometry is dependent upon the applied loads and restraints

Does Size Matter?

Same Part and Load Magnitude Different Converged Mesh

Load magnitude is not a factor in convergence for a linear study

Convergence in COSMOSWorks
COSMOSWorks provides 3 techniques for converging a model
Automatic h-adaptive Automatic p-adaptive Manual h-adaptive (None)

These can accessed in the Study Properties under the Adaptive tab

Convergence in COSMOSWorks
Automatic h-Adaptive
Only available for single part static studies Reduces mesh size in areas where calculated strain energy error (More on this later) is high Can coarsen (increase mesh size) in regions where strain energy error is low Target Accuracy defines the error threshold that causes a refinement loop Default of 98% is still fast Accuracy Bias
Set to Local if your response is dominated by localized stress hot spots Set to Global if you are more interested in overall part stiffness, not stress If you arent sure, leave at Default

Works with Draft or High Quality meshes

Does it matter if you are assured an accurate solution? Who said you are assured an accurate solution?

Convergence in COSMOSWorks
H-adaptive convergence using Draft Quality elements:

13.6mm

3.4mm

75.6 MPa 44.0 MPa

= 42%

Convergence in COSMOSWorks
H-adaptive convergence using High Quality elements:

13.6mm

3.4mm

82.1 MPa 79.3 MPa

= 3%

Convergence in COSMOSWorks
Automatic p-Adaptive
Only available for static studies but does work with bonded assemblies No contact Default convergence criteria tracks changes in Total Strain Energy RMS Displacement and Von Mises Stress criterion dont typically improve solution Default settings usually sufficient and Max P-Order and # of Loops rarely needed Must use High Quality starting mesh Mostly insensitive to starting mesh size Jacobian (Distortion) errors frequent No feedback on location

Convergence in COSMOSWorks
P-adaptive convergence using High Quality elements:

13.6mm

3.4mm

Local 1.0mm Global 5.0 mm

83.8 MPa

102 MPa

80.0 MPa

Convergence in COSMOSWorks
What is a P-element?
P-Elements: Y = A + BX +CX2 + DX3 + + ZXn H-Elements: Yn = AnX + Bn

Draft Quality Elements 1st Order (Linear) Edges High Quality Elements 2nd Order Edges P-Elements Up to 5th Order Edges Can capture more deformation with larger elements but are more computationally intensive than h-elements

Convergence in COSMOSWorks
Recommendations:
For single parts:
Use h-adaptivity, high quality elements and the default mesh size

For bonded assemblies:

Use p-adaptivity, high quality elements and default mesh size. If a Jacobian error occurs, a second run with a different initial mesh size is warranted to avoid erroneous high stresses

For assemblies with connectors and/or contact:

Use traditional Manual h-element convergence Mesh with default element size high quality Apply initial mesh control to ensure conformity to undeformed geometry Use local mesh control to achieve convergence where required

Manual Convergence Checking

Relative Convergence
How much does stress change with successive studies having incrementally refined meshes Use refinements of 2:1 with each pass so change is meaningful Watch for distortion if local mesh size << global mesh size

10 mm 66 MPa

5 mm 68 MPa

5 / 2 mm 71 MPa

3 / 1 mm 80 MPa

3 / .5 mm 80 MPa

=3%

=4%

=12%

=0%

Von Mises Stress (MPa)

80 =21%

70

60

10

5/2

3/1

3 / 0.5

Manual Convergence Checking

Contour Quality
Stress contours in continuous geometry should be continuous Use Discrete Fringe Option (Plot Settings) to better see discontinuity or jaggies Not an absolute test of convergence but can show areas to check Plotting element edges with results can show how they impact resultsthey shouldnt.

Manual Convergence Checking

Error Estimates
Energy Error Norm plots indicate the difference in stress between adjacent elements. Ideallyno difference Not an absolute test of convergence but high error in areas of concern should be investigated Excellent way to compare the convergence level between design iterations. If the error estimate in a region being optimized is kept consistent, results comparison should be valid

Edit Definition
10 mm Global Mesh 3 / 0.5 mm Global / Local Mesh

Manual Convergence Checking

Nodal vs. Elemental Results
Nodal results show the averaged result at each node based on the stress from the adjacent elements Elemental results show the nominal stress calculated for each element Ideally, there should be very little difference.

Elemental Results

Nodal Results

COSMOSWorks Options - Mesh

Mesh Quality
Use Draft on large models only when doing Trend Studies. Otherwise, use High Quality when stress magnitudes are important Only use Alternate Mesher if Standard fails and other techniques for correction fail No impact on accuracy More points = more stringent quality checks No good data to support tightening this Automatic Transition mesher automatically applies mesh controls to small features, holes, fillets, and other fine details of your model
Can create larger models but a good option if you arent diligent about convergence checking

Mesher Type

Jacobian Check

Mesh Control

Smooth Surface mesher slightly relocates the boundary nodes to improve the initial mesh Meant to aid meshing problems If this kicks in, mesh is probably doomed and requires manual interaction No impact on quality

Automatic Looping

COSMOSWorks Options - Mesh

Added Elements

Automatic Transition Off

Automatic Transition On

Mesh Creation Global Parameters

Mesh Property Manager
Default size selected by program, based on the model volume and surface area Global Size average element size Tolerance defaults to 5% of the global element size

Global mesh size needs to be small enough to provide a good overall stiffness solution
If the global stiffness is incorrect, local results have no chance

Mesh Creation Mesh Control

Mesh Control
Control vertices, edges, faces, and components Parameters
1. Element Size for the selected components
Important when stress on one part is critical
1.

2. Local Mesh Size on selected entities 3. Element Growth Ratio value multiplied by control element size each subsequent layer 4. Number of Layers of Elements number of element layers suggested for growth of element size from control size to global size, if the mesher needs more layers for a smooth transition to grow the element size to the global size it will automatically use more

2. 3. 4.

Mesh Creation Mesh Control

0.2 Global

Mesh Creation Mesh Control

Recommendations: Use Mesh Control to place a refined mesh strategically in your model to improve accuracy without making your mesh overly large Choose a local mesh size 1/3 to 1/2 the global mesh size (or that of the surrounding surfaces) Use the defaults for Ratio and Layers unless there is a compelling reason to change them

Impact of Geometry on Accuracy

Element shape can impact the accuracy of the element and resultant stresses
Recall the Jacobian error in an earlier example

The more an element deviates from the ideal shape, the more error is introduced the element calculates more stiff than it should Element distortion results from placing too large an element into tight curvature or a rapid transition from one size to another The features on your SolidWorks model can affect this

Ideal Triangle or Tri Face Equilateral Triangle

Jacobian = 1

Jacobian >> 1 or Negative

Aspect Ratio = a/b

Impact of Geometry on Accuracy

Sliver Surfaces & Short Edges are most common cause of meshing problems Mesher must respect all edges so surface dimensions much smaller than nominal element size may cause distorted elements

Impact of Geometry on Accuracy

InOther Problems the placement of assembly modeling, parts with respect to each other may cause element distortion

Where possible, use the Incompatible Mesh option in Contact Options

Shell Meshing vs. Solids

Shell Elements are a more efficient way to model thin walled structures How thin is thin?
Thin is not an absolute description If the wall thickness << smallest feature size, shells might be an option Put another way, the area smallest face should be much larger that the area of the feature edge Rule of thumb: If you can model your part with a midsurface and it looks the same as the solid, shells are probably valid

Accuracy local to joints is lost using shells

Shell Meshing vs. Solids

Half Wall Thickness Gap Must be Corrected for Mesh Continuity

T/2

Shell Meshing vs. Solids

This part is a good candidate for a shell model. Would shells be more accurate than solids?
106

0.12

Shell Meshing vs. Solids

Frequency & Static Study Results:
Mode 1 2 3 4 5 6 Solid 1.06 1.64 2.02 4.34 5.13 6.57 Shell 1.33 1.72 2.02 4.34 5.10 6.59

Solids Mode 5

Both Models used 1.0 Global Mesh Size Frequency Studies are good for comparing model stiffness A static bending study shows that the stress response can vary greatly.

Shells Mode 5

Presentation Summary
In this COSMOS Companion unit, we explored the impact of the meshing decisions you make on the accuracy of the solution. In this context, we discussed:
Basic meshing concepts Controlling mesh sizing with local and global controls Convergence and automatic adaptivity options Means to evaluate mesh quality The impact geometry has on mesh quality The choice between shell and solid elements

Examples were presented that showed how important mesh quality and convergence is to making correct interpretations of the results Some recommendations on mesh control and other mesh settings were made. Finally, we emphasized the importance of user involvement in ensuring reliable results. The wrong answers can look a lot like the right answers so your diligence is always required.

Conclusion
For more information
Contact your local reseller for more in-depth training or support on mesh and solution accuracy. Review the on-line help for a more detailed description of the features discussed Attend, or better yet, present at a local COSMOS or SolidWorks user group.
See http://www.swugn.org/ for a user group near you