10.

12 Overview of 2D free meshing

You can use 2D Mesh to generate a mesh of linear or parabolic triangular or quadrilateral elements on selected surfaces. 2D elements are also commonly
known as shell or plate elements. You can use 2D Mesh to create a mesh of elements on selected surfaces. For example, you can use 2D Mesh to generate
a mesh on a midsurface model, such as the midsurface of a bracket shown below.

For some models, such as midsurface models, a 2D mesh alone on the surfaces is sufficient to perform an analysis. However, on other types of models, you
may need to generate a 3D mesh on the body as well. In those cases, you may want to create a 2D mesh on selected surfaces first. Then, when you
generate the 3D mesh, the software uses the existing 2D elements to as a starting point from which to create (seed) the 3D elements through the body.
With 2D Mesh, the software automatically generates a free (unstructured) mesh on your geometry. Free meshes are flexible and allow you to
automatically mesh complicated geometry with little user input. However, if the analysis you are performing requires a more regular mesh, you can:

Choose the Attempt Free Mapped Mesh option in the 2D Mesh dialog box to have the software create a mapped-like mesh within the context of
an overall free mesh. These types of meshes are known as free mapped meshes and are quadrilateral dominant (they may contain some triangular
elements). See Understanding free mapped meshes for more information.
Use the options in the Attempt Quad Only list to create a mesh that either contains only quadrilateral elements or that contains a minimum of
triangular elements.
Use the 2D Mapped Mesh command instead to create a structured mesh on your entire model. See 2D mapped meshing for more information.
Defining 2D meshes on fillets and cylinders
When you create a 2D mesh on a model, you may want to create a mesh on the fillet and cylindrical surfaces using different criteria, such as a different
element size, than you use for the rest of the geometry. With a 2D mesh, you can use the Fillet Faces and Cylinder Faces selection methods in
conjunction with options in the 2D Mesh dialog box to control the mesh on fillets and cylinders.

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With 2D Mesh, when you use the Fillet Faces or Cylinder Faces selection methods, if the software detects any surfaces that meet the specified criteria
(which you define in the Smart Selector Options dialog box), it displays additional options in the 2D Mesh dialog box.

With fillets, you can use the Elements per 90 deg option to control the number of elements the software generates along each 90 segment of
the fillet.
With cylinders, you can use the Elements per 90 deg option to control the number of elements the software generates along each 90 segment of
the cylinder. You can also use the Element Size along Cylinder Height option to control the size of elements generated along the cylinder's axis.
For more information on these selection methods, see Select fillet faces, Select cylinder faces, and Smart Selector Options dialog box.
You can also create a Fillet or Cylinder type of Mesh Control to create a structured mesh of elements along the length of a fillet or cylindrical surface.
See Fillet mesh controls or Cylinder mesh controls for more information.

Where do I find it?

Application Advanced Simulation
Prerequisite A FEM file as the displayed part and work part
Command Finder
2D Mesh
Menu InsertMesh2D Mesh

10.12.2 Create a 2D free mesh

1. Click 2D Mesh .
2. Select the midsurfaces or faces to mesh.
Note You can use the Method list on the Selection Bar to select the faces. For information on creating a mesh on fillet or cylinder faces using the Fillet
Faces or Cylinder Faces selection methods, see Create a 2D free mesh on fillets or cylinders. For more information on the available selection
methods, see Selection methods.

3. From the Type list, select the type of element to generate. The available types depend upon your specified solver and analysis type.

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4. From the Meshing Method list, select the meshing algorithm to use to generate the mesh. See Understanding the 2D meshing methods for more
information.

5. In the Element Size box, enter a size, or click to have the software calculate an element size. See Understanding the Automatic Element Size
calculation for more information.
Note The element size calculated by Auto Element Size is an estimate based upon certain characteristics of the currently selected geometry. You should
always carefully evaluate your model and use good engineering judgment when determining the element size, regardless of whether you accept the
softwares estimate or specify a different size. This evaluation should consider both the unique features of your model's geometry and the
requirements of your analysis.

6. Use the options in the Mesh Quality Options, Mesh Settings, and Model Cleanup Options groups to specify additional parameters for the mesh.
Note If you are creating a 2D mesh simply to serve as a seed mesh for a tetrahedral mesh, clear the Export Mesh to Solver check box in the Mesh
Settings group.

7. Specify the destination mesh collector:

o Select Automatic Creation to have the software create a new destination mesh collector. This mesh collector uses the default physical
properties and inherits the material properties of the selected geometry.
Note If you did not use a midsurface to generate the 2D mesh, you must edit the mesh collector to specify a physical property table that includes
thickness properties.

o To use an existing mesh collector, clear the Automatic Mode check box and select a collector from the Mesh Collector list.

o To create a new destination collector, clear the Automatic Mode check box and click New Collector
8. Click Preview to view the distribution of nodes along the boundaries of the selected faces. If you are not satisfied with nodal distribution, you can
modify the specified Element Size.
9. Click OK or Apply to generate the mesh.

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10.12.3 Create a 2D free mesh on fillets or cylinders
Tutorial
This step-by-step activity demonstrates how to define a 2D mesh on fillets and then use that mesh to seed a 3D mesh.

1. Click 2D Mesh .
2. In the Selection Bar, select either Fillet Faces or Cylinder Faces from the smart selection method list.

3. The Selection Bar, showing (1) the Type Filter list, (2) the Method list, and (3) the Smart Selector Options button

4. Click Smart Selector Options and use the options in the Smart Selector Options dialog box to specify the criteria for the fillets or cylinders.
See Smart Selector Options dialog box for more information.

5. In the 2D Mesh dialog box, click Select Objects and select the appropriate polygon body.
6. From the Type list, select the element type.
7. From the Meshing Method list, select the meshing algorithm to use to generate the mesh.

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 8. Use the Attempt Free Mapped Meshing check box to control whether the software creates a mapped-like mesh on the fillets and cylinders. See
Understanding free mapped meshes for more information.
9. Define the parameters for the mesh along the fillets or cylinders.
o With fillets, use the Elements per 90 deg option to specify the number of elements to generate along each 90 segment of the fillet.
o With cylinders, use the Elements per 90 deg option to specify the number of elements to generate along each 90 segment of the
cylinder. You can also use the Element Size along Cylinder Height to control the size of the elements generated along the cylinder's axis.
10. Specify the destination mesh collector:
o Select Automatic Creation to have the software create a new destination mesh collector. This mesh collector uses the default physical
properties and inherits the material properties of the selected geometry.
Note If you did not use a midsurface to generate the 2D mesh, you must edit the mesh collector to specify a physical property table that includes
thickness properties.

o To use an existing mesh collector, clear the Automatic Creation check box and select a collector from the Mesh Collector list.

o To create a new destination collector, clear the Automatic Creation check box and click New Collector
11. Click Preview to view the nodal distribution along the boundaries of the fillet or cylinder. If you are not satisfied with the node number and
location, you can modify the Elements per 90 deg and Elements along Cylinder Height values.
12. Click OK or Apply to generate the mesh.
13. Use the 2D Mesh command to generate a mesh on the remaining surfaces in the model. See Create a 2D free mesh for more information

10.12.4 Understanding the 2D meshing methods

The Meshing Method option on the 2D Mesh dialog box lets you control the algorithm the software uses to generate the mesh.

Subdivision meshing method

With the Subdivision meshing method, the software uses a recursive subdivision technique to generate the mesh on the selected faces. With recursive
subdivision, the software repeatedly divides and then subdivides the selected geometry to create the mesh. With this method, once the software has
generated the initial set of elements, it then performs a series of cleaning and smoothing operations to improve the overall quality of the mesh.

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 Example of a surface meshed with the Subdivision method
Paver meshing method
With the Paver meshing method, the software uses a hybrid technique to generate the mesh on the selected faces. With the Paver method, the software
combines a paving technique with a recursive subdivision technique to produce more structured, boundary conforming free meshes with good quality. This
hybrid approach allows the software to create a more structured mesh around the surface's outer boundary as well as around any interior holes (or
loops) while still generating a free mesh on the rest of the surface.
With the Paver method, the exact process the software follows to generate the mesh differs slightly depending upon the type of elements you are using in
your mesh.

If your mesh contains only triangular elements, the software creates as many layers of structured elements as possible around the surface's outer
boundary as well as around any interior loops. It continues to create layers of structured elements until they begin to intersect or interfere with each
other. The software then uses a recursive subdivision approach to generate the mesh on the remaining portion of the surface.
If your mesh contains only quadrilateral elements or a mix of quadrilateral and triangular elements, the software first generates a single layer of
structured elements around the surface's outer boundary and two layers of structured elements around any interior loops. The software then uses a
recursive subdivision approach to generate the mesh on the remaining portion of the surface.

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 Example of a surface meshed with the Paver method

10.12.5 Understanding free mapped meshes

The Attempt Free Mapped Meshing option on the 2D Mesh, 3D Tetrahedral Mesh, and 3D Swept Mesh dialog boxes let you create a mapped-like mesh
within the context of a free mesh. These types of meshes are known as free mapped meshes. With a free mapped mesh, the software tries to create
mapped meshes on all four-sided surfaces as well as on any cylinders.

Advantages of free mapped meshes

Free mapped meshes are useful because they give you some of the flexibility of a free mesh while providing a more structured, mapped appearance. The
following graphic shows an example of the difference between a free mesh of quadrilateral elements (A) and a free-mapped mesh of quadrilateral
elements (B). Notice how the free mapped mesh is much more regular.

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Understanding free mapped creation
With a free mapped mesh, the software creates the mapped-like appearance by adjusting the node count on the surface to ensure that there is an equal
number of nodes along the edges. In some cases, one of the edges of a surface may already be meshed because it lies adjacent to an existing mesh on
another surface. If one or more edges on a face is already meshed, the software tries to insert nodes on the edge with the highest number of nodes to
adjust the node count. The software never removes nodes to adjust the node count.

Free mapped meshes are quad dominant

With a free mapped mesh, the software creates a quad-dominant mesh, which means that the resulting mesh contains primarily but not exclusively
quadrilateral elements. The software inserts triangular elements only where necessary.
Allowing triangular elements in a free mapped mesh removes the even parity (even number of nodes) requirement of a quadrilateral-only mesh. Removing
the even parity requirement can help avoid situations in which the software cannot adjust the nodes on a neighboring surface.

Limitations of free mapped meshes

The software can only create free mapped meshes on four-sided surfaces and on cylinders. In some cases, the software may not be able to create
a free mapped mesh on a four sided surface. This can occur when a four-sided surface is located in a confined area or when it is adjacent to existing
meshes on other surfaces.
If the boundary of a surface is very skewed, the free mapped meshing technique may actually create a mesh of worse quality than a regular free
mesh. Consequently, the software does not create a free mapped mesh on any surface whose skew angle exceeds 160.

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10.12.6 Understanding free mesh generation
When you create a free (unstructured) mesh of 2D elements, the software uses a recursive subdivision algorithm to generate the mesh on the selected
faces. The process is slightly different for quadrilateral and triangular elements. Both examples use the simplified surface shown below to illustrate this
process:

Free mesh generation with quadrilateral elements

1. The software begins by creating boundary nodes along the perimeter of the surface. The location of these boundary nodes depends on the defined
global element size as well as on any specified local element sizes.

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2. The software then divides the surface in half and creates new nodes along the midline.

3. The software divides the surface again.

4. The software divides the surface once again.

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5. The software divides the surface again and generates the first element (shaded).

6. The software continues to divide the surface and generate elements until the entire surface is filled with elements. It then smooths the entire
mesh.

Note During this process, the software also generates a node for every mesh point as well as for every boundary condition applied to a location on an
edge or a location on a surface.

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Free mesh generation with triangular elements
1. The software begins by creating boundary nodes along the perimeter of the surface. The location of these boundary nodes depends on the defined
global element size as well as on any specified local element sizes.

Note During this process, the software also generates a node for every mesh point as well as for every boundary condition applied to a location on an
edge or a location on a surface.

2. The software generates the elements as shown below. The first element generated is indicated with shading.

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Free mesh generation with elements of different sizes
1. The software begins by generating boundary nodes around the perimeter of the surface. It generates many more boundary nodes in regions where
very small local element sizes are defined.

2. The software generates the elements as shown below. The first element generated is indicated with shading.

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10.12.7 2D Mesh dialog box
Objects to Mesh
Select Objects
Lets you select the faces to mesh.

Element Properties
Specifies the type of 2D element to create, such as linear triangular or linear quadrilateral elements. The types of elements
Type
available depend upon the solver you selected when you created the FEM file.
Mesh Parameters
Controls the algorithm the software uses to create the 2D mesh on the selected geometry.

Choose Subdivision to have the software use a recursive subdivision approach to generate a free, unstructured mesh.
Meshing Method Choose Paver to have the software use a hybrid meshing method to generate a more structured mesh around the outer
boundary and any interior holes and a free mesh on the rest of the geometry.
See Understanding the 2D meshing methods for more information.
Element Size Specifies the target element size for the selected faces.

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 Examines the selected geometry and calculates an estimated element size. The Overall Element Size field updates to show this
element size.

Automatic Element Note The element size calculated by Automatic Element Size is an estimate based upon certain characteristics of the currently
selected geometry. You should always carefully evaluate your model and use good engineering judgment when determining the
Size element size, regardless of whether you accept the softwares estimate or specify a different size. This evaluation should
consider both the unique features of your model's geometry and the requirements of your analysis.

See Understanding the Automatic Element Size calculation.

Edit Mesh Appears when you select an element type that requires the definition of additional properties.
Associated Data
Opens the Mesh Associated Data dialog box where you can define solver-specific properties for the elements. The software applies
these properties uniformly to all the elements in the mesh.
Attempt Free Controls whether the software attempts to create a mapped-like mesh within the context of a free mesh. These types of meshes are
Mapped Meshing known as free mapped meshes. See Understanding free mapped meshes for more information.
If you clear the Attempt Free Mapped Meshing check box, lets you control whether the software tries to generate a mesh that
contains only quadrilateral elements:

Off - Allow Triangles: The software creates a quadrilateral mesh that also contains some triangular elements. This type of
mesh is called a quadrilateral dominant mesh.

Attempt Quad Only On - Zero Triangles: The software creates a mesh that does not contain any triangular elements at all. With this option, if
the software cannot create a mesh with only quadrilateral elements, it does not generate a mesh at all.
On - Single Triangle: The software creates a mesh that contains, at most, a single triangular element per selected face. With
this option, the software only inserts a triangular element if it cannot establish nodal parity (an even number of nodes) along the
boundary of a face.
For more information, see Quadrilateral only meshing.
Elements per 90 Appears only if you select fillet or cylinder surfaces.
deg Lets you specify the number of elements to generate on each 90 segment of the fillet or cylinder.
Element Size along Appears only if you select cylinders surfaces.
Cylinder Height Lets you specify the size of the elements to generate along the cylinder's axis.
Mesh Quality Options
Midnode Method For parabolic elements, specifies how their midnodes are projected onto geometry:

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 Mixed: The midnodes on an element are projected to the geometry unless this causes the element's Jacobian value to exceed
specified the Maximum Jacobian threshold.
Curved: All midnodes are projected to the geometry regardless of the resulting element quality.
Linear: All midnodes are positioned in a straight line between the two corner nodes.
If selected, splits quadrilateral elements into triangular elements when the elements exceed the specified Maximum Warp angle or
Split Quads
Max Jacobian value.
Specifies the maximum acceptable Jacobian value for an element. When the threshold value for Maximum Jacobian is exceeded for
Max Jacobian
any given element and Midnodes is set to Mixed, the element's midnodes are not projected to geometry.
Max Warp
When you are working with quadrilateral elements, controls the maximum angle allowed in the planar surface of the element.
Threshold
Mesh Settings
Export Mesh to Controls whether the software includes the 2D mesh data in your solver input file when you export or solve the model. If you plan to
Solver only use this 2D mesh as a seed mesh for a 3D mesh, you should clear this option.
Controls whether the software attempts to ensure that the mesh does not contain any elements that have an edge length smaller
Target Minimum than the computed Small Feature Value.
Element Edge
Length Note The Target Minimum Element Edge Length option is only available when Attempt Quad Only is set to Off - Allow Triangles.

Controls whether the software gradually transitions the size of elements in the mesh from any defined local element sizes back to
Transition Element the global element size. To create the transition, the software gradually increases the size of the elements in each successive layer
Size of elements until the element size matches the defined global size. If you deselect Transition Element Size, the software does not
create any transitional layers of elements between the local and the global element size.
When you are working with triangular elements, lets you vary the size of your elements in regions of higher surface curvature. This
allows you to create more, smaller elements in areas of higher curvature. For example:

If you specify 0, the software uses the overall element length throughout the model regardless of the curvature.
Curvature Based
Size Variation If you specify 50%, the software varies the element length between 60% and 100% of the overall element size based on the
surface curvature.
If you specify 100%, the software varies the element length between 10% and 100% of the overall element size.
See Understanding surface mesh size variation for more information.

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Model Cleanup Options
Specifies the percentage of the element size to use as:
The tolerance that the software uses to determine which small features to eliminate during the abstraction process that
precedes meshing.
The desired minimum element length (if you select the Target Minimum Element Length option.
Small Feature
Tolerance Use this option to define a small feature as a percentage of the total element size. You can specify a percentage of the total element
size between zero and 40%. If you specify zero, the software attempts to mesh all features and does not perform any abstraction.
The default value is 10.0%. For example, if the element size is 10 mm, the software ignores features, such as faces, that are 1 mm or
less in size.
For more information, see Understanding the geometry abstraction process.
Displays the computed Small Feature Value. The software uses this value both to determine what is considered to be a small feature
Small Feature Value
for meshing as well as a target minimum element length.
Controls whether the software automatically suppress holes in sheet bodies during 2D meshing. Use this option to remove holes from
sheet bodies, such as midsurface sheet bodies, during the meshing process. The software removes all holes whose diameter is less
than the threshold value you specify.
You can remove:
Suppress Hole
Holes contained within a single face.
Holes that span multiple faces.
Circular and non-circular holes.
Lets you specify the size of the holes you want to suppress. When you click OK or Apply, the software suppresses all holes whose
Hole Diameter
diameter is smaller than this value.
Point Creation Controls whether the software creates a point at the center of the suppressed hole.

Select None if you do not want the software to create a point at the center of the suppressed hole.
Select Point if you want the software to create a CAD point at the center of the suppressed hole. During meshing, the
software does not create a node at the location of CAD points.
Select Mesh Point if you want the software to create a mesh point at the center of the suppressed hole. During meshing, the

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 software creates a node at each mesh point location.
You may want to create a mesh point at the holes center, for example, so you can later create an FE-based connection element,
such as an RBE2, at that location.
Controls whether the software removes unnecessary vertices and then merges the associated edges. This prevents the software from
generating a node at that location during meshing.

Select Merge Edges to have the software remove a vertex if it connects two or fewer edges and if the angle between those
edges is less than or equal to the threshold value you specify in the Vertex Angle box.

Merge Edges

Clear the Merge Edges check box if you do not want the software to merge edges during meshing.
Lets you specify the threshold value the software uses for removing vertices. The Vertex Angle is the angle between two separate
Vertex Angle
edges that are joined at a vertex along the boundary of a face.
If you are meshing multiple sheet bodies, controls whether the software matches the nodes on the edges of the different sheet
bodies to generate a continuous mesh. If you want the software to generate a continuous mesh across multiple sheet bodies, the
edges and ends of edges of the different sheet bodies must be within the specified Match Edge Tolerance.
Match Edges
If you are not satisfied with how the software matches the edges on the sheet bodies, you must first delete the meshes being
matched. Then, you can recreate the meshes and either clear the Match Edges check box or reduce the Match Edge Tolerance
value.
Match Edge
If you select Match Edges, lets you specify the distance within which the software matches nodes on edges.
Tolerance
Destination Collector
Automatic Creation
Select Automatic Creation to have the software automatically create a new destination collector for the current mesh. If
you select this option, the software creates a collector using the default physical properties and inherits the material properties
of the idealized part.
Note If you did not use a midsurface to generate the 2D mesh, you must edit the automatically created mesh collector to specify a
physical property table that includes thickness properties.

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 Clear the Automatic Creation check box to choose an existing mesh collector from the Mesh Collector list.
Lets you select an existing collector. Click New Collector to use the Mesh Collector dialog box to create additional mesh collectors.
Mesh Collector See Mesh collectors for more information.
Preview
ClickShow Result to preview the mesh based on your current selections.
Show Result

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