Module 04: Local Mesh

Controls
Introduction to ANSYS Meshing

Release 2019 R2

1 © 2019 ANSYS, Inc.

 Overview

In this lecture we will learn about:

• Local mesh controls (Mesh sizing and defeaturing, local size function, local
proximity, Refinement, Match control, Inflation, Contact Sizing)
• How to apply local controls?
• Effect of local controls on mesh

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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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 Mesh Process & Course Plan
Control the mesh locally
• Depends on the “Mesh Method” used Non-CutCell meshing local controls
Local Mesh Controls are:
• Method - For Body
• Sizing - For Vertex, Edge, Face, and Body
• Contact Sizing - For Edge and Face
• Face Meshing - For Mapped or Pave Meshing
• Mesh Copy - For Face
• Match Control - For Edge and Face
• Pinch - For Vertex and Edge
• Inflation - For Edge and Face
• Contact Match - For matching mesh
• Node Merge and Move - For nodes The latest control added on a particular entity overrides
any prior controls
Only Sizing and Inflation local controls are
available for CutCell meshing
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 Sizing
Recommended for locally defining the mesh sizes
You can only scope sizing to one geometry entity type at a time
• For example: you can apply sizing to a number of edges or a number of faces, but not
a mix of edges and faces
Four Types of Sizing option
• Element Size specifies average element edge length on bodies, faces or edges
• Number of Divisions specifies number of elements on edge(s)
• Body of Influence specifies average element size within a body
• Sphere of Influence specifies average Entity/Option Element Size Number of Divisions Body of Influence Sphere of Influence
Vertices x
element size within the sphere Edges x x x Requires a
Faces x x Coordinate
Sizing options vary depending Bodies x x x
system for
the sphere
on the entity type chosen Advanced Size
Function in
Global settings
Only Element Size type is available for CutCell must be disabled
meshing

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 Sizing: Edges (1)
Sizing Type:
Element Size

Sizing Type:
Number of Divisions
Edge meshed with Edge meshed with 10
constant element size of elements
60mm

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 Sizing: Edges (2)

Bias Type and Bias Factor

Specify the grading scheme and factor
• Bias Type: grading of elements towards one end, both ends, or
the center
• Bias Option:
– Bias Factor: is the ratio of the largest element to the smallest
element
– Smooth Transition: defined by Growth Rate which is ratio of size
of an element with size of previous element. (Growth Rate =
Bias Factor^(1(n-1))
– Reverse Bias: Reverse the unsymmetrical Bias on one or more
edges

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 Sizing: Edges (3)

Behavior
Soft: Sizing will be influenced by global sizing functions such as those based on proximity
and/or curvature as well as local mesh controls
Hard: Size control is strictly adhered to
• Transition between hard edges (or any edge with bias) and adjacent edge and face
meshes may be abrupt
• Hard edges or edges with bias will override Max Face Size and Max Size properties

Influenced by global No influence from other

Proximity advanced size global settings
function.

Soft Hard
Number of Division = 4 Number of Division = 4
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 Sizing: Faces & Body (volume)

Element Size on a face Element Size on a body

Defines the maximum element Defines the maximum cell size
size on the face on the body

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 Sizing: Sphere of Influence

On Vertex On Bodies
• Available with or without Advanced Size • Available with or without Advanced Size
Functions Functions
• Sets the average element size around the • Constant element size is applied within the
selected vertex confines of a sphere
• Inputs: • Use coordinate system to define the center
- Sphere radius and Element size of the Sphere
- Center of the sphere is defined by a model
vertex

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 Sizing: Bodies of Influence
Bodies of influence (BOI)
• Lines, surfaces and solid bodies can be used to refine the mesh
• Accessible when Advanced Size Funcion is On
• Not available for CutCell meshing
Line BOIs

The ‘Body of Influence’

Surface BOI Solid BOI itself will not be meshed

Without BOIs

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 Local controls for size function and defeaturing
Local sizing controls now have options for Size Functions:
• Uniform, Curvature, Proximity, or Curvature & Proximity
- Adaptive is not supported
- Proximity SF not applicable for edge sizing control
• Defeature Size also available for body and face sizing controls

• More local control takes priority, for example, edge sizing takes priority over face
sizing which takes priority over body sizing
• Another type in the sizing is Factor of Global Size

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 Size functions: How to deal with meshing constraints

Meshing is often an over-constrained problem

• User inputs or uses default sizes
• CAD has its own feature sizes that are often smaller than what user is
interested in capturing for simulation
• Mesh Quality is often stuck in the middle driven by multiple masters…

Mesh
Size Feature
Capture

Mesh
Quality

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 Size functions: Simple bolt example Mesh
Size Feature
Small collar Capture

Mesh
Quality

Small fillet Adaptive SF

What is the right mesh? Mesh
Feature
2 approaches: Size
Capture

1. Give priority to features

2. Give priority to mesh size/quality Mesh
Quality

Curvature SF Mesh
Size Feature
Capture Other SFs give higher quality mesh,
and will either skip or refine mesh to
Mesh capture features (see defeaturing)
Quality

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 Local defeaturing: Better manages trade-offs Mesh
Size Feature
Capture
Defeature Size Added to body, face controls
• Defaults to ½ element size for uniform or ½ min size for other SFs Mesh
• More local size takes priority (face defeature size takes priority over body) Quality

Defeaturing is done relative

to local sizes:
• In areas of coarse mesh,
small features are
removed
• In areas of fine mesh,
small features are
captured

Local mesh size drives defeaturing, thus better quality mesh

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 Local proximity
Benefits:
• Proximity Size Function Performance improvements
• Example: External flow around an Oil Platform
- Preview surface mesh with global face proximity: 190 sec
- Preview surface mesh with local face proximity: 160 sec

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 Local controls for size functions and defeaturing

• Bolts can be meshed w/smaller size and uniform sizing

Use local defeature size to

automatically remove small
fillets/chamfers

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 Local controls for size functions and defeaturing
• Use proximity SF for plate

Use defeature size to get

more uniform surface mesh
Use proximity SF to get 3
elements across thickness

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 Local controls for size functions and defeaturing
• Use face sizing with larger defeaturing and uniform SF to remove unwanted
features:

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 Contact Sizing

• Contact Sizing creates elements of relatively the same

size on bodies from the faces of a face to face or face to
edge contact region

• It generates spheres of influence internally with

automatic determination of radius and size

• Select a specific contact region under Scope in the

Details View, then under Type, choose Relevance for
a relative size, or Element Size

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 Face Meshing Control

• Forces Mapped/Pave meshes on selected mappable surfaces

– Face Meshing with advanced control is supported for
• Sweep, Patch Conforming, Hexa Dominant
• Quad Dominant and Triangles
• MultiZone
• Uniform Quad/Tri and Uniform Quad If Face Meshing fails, ( ) icon appears
adjacent to corresponding object in the
– RMB on Mesh and Show/Mappable Faces Tree outline. The mesh will still be created
to display all mappable faces but will ignore this control.

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 Face Meshing: Internal No. of Divisions

• If face is defined by two loops, then the “Internal Number of

Divisions” field is activated
– User can specify the number of divisions across the annular region
– Also useful for defining number of divisions along sweeping direction for
Multizone when there are no side edges

Mapped face is swept to create

pure hex mesh

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 Face Mesh Control: Advanced Vertex Options
• Sweep/MultiZone (2D and 3D) support for Advanced Vertex options on Face meshing

S S

S S

S
Denoted by
S, C or E
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 Mesh Copy

• Unables you copy mesh from one body to another

– Scoping can be applied at geometry or named selections
– First, the source anchor is selected then the target anchor
– The source and target face area must be the same and identical; a circle to rectangle
mapping is incorrect, the associated bodies should have the same volume
Target
faces

Source
face

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 Match Control
• Define periodicity on faces (3D) or edges (2D)
- The two faces or edges should be topologically and geometrically the same
- A match control can only be assigned to one unique face/edge pair
- Match controls are not supported with Post Inflation Algorithm
- Match Control with Patch Independent tetrahedrons not supported yet
• Two types of match controls available:
- Cyclic and
- Arbitrary
• Not available for CutCell meshing
Matching face
mesh

If ‘Match Control’ fails, ( ) icon appears adjacent to corresponding

object in the outline Tree, however the mesh is created ignoring it
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 Match Control: Cyclic

• Match mesh between multiple faces or named selections

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 Match mesh with instancing Fast hex meshing

• Use with instancing to pattern meshes for repetitive features:

Use with node

merge to get
conformal mesh

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 Symmetry Control

• Define mesh periodicity on faces (3D) or edges (2D)

• Faces/edges pairs should be topologically and
geometrically identical
• Can be assigned to several face/edge pairs at once
• Not supported with
– Assembly Meshing
– Post Inflation Algorithm
– Patch Independent tetrahedrons
• Two types of Symmetry Controls useful for CFD:
- ‘Cyclic’ for rotational periodicity
- ‘Linear Periodic’ for translational periodicity
Matching face
mesh

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 Symmetry: Cyclic Region
• Define rotational periodicity

Full Model Periodic Model

Matching face mesh

The Cyclic Region tool need to

be defined with a Cylindrical
Coordinate System, based on
Model is symmetrical at 90° : need matching mesh on rotation axis
periodic faces

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 Symmetry: Linear Periodic
• Define translational periodicity Matching face mesh

Full Model

Periodic
Model

You need to input the numerical

value of the shift : you can get this
information by selecting a pair of
Reduced model is one “period” of the full geometry : matching nodes, and checking their
needs matching mesh on right/left faces distance in the info bar
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 Pinch
• An advanced function to improve quality.
Pinch control removes small features
(edges or narrow regions) at the mesh
level
• Try the local size defeaturing first
• The Pinch feature is supported for the
following mesh methods:
– Patch Conforming Tetrahedrons
– Thin Solid Sweeps
– Hex Dominant meshing
– Quad Dominant Surface Meshing
– Triangles Surface meshing
– Not supported for CutCell meshing

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 Inflation
Used to generate prism layers (as explained in Global settings chapter)
• Inflation layer can be applied to faces or bodies using respectively edges
or faces as the boundary
Inflation layer grown on edge boundary (red)

Inflation layer grown on face boundary (red)

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 Contact Match Mesh
• Connect mesh at mesh level
- Only works with tet mesh
- Could avoid problems with shared
topology

State icons help

guide user Notes:
• Mesh generated as separate parts
• Use Contact Match controls to match mesh
• Create Named Selection to inspect matched mesh
• Node merge can be added as second step to make
mesh conformal
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 Node Merge & Node Move

• Node Merge: enables to merge mesh nodes within a specified tolerance,

making the mesh conformal across bodies, parts, and assemblies. Node
Merge can be performed on solid, sheet, and line bodies
• Node Move: Dynamically pick and drag nodes around (quality plots updated
real time)
• History of moves is recorded in Worksheet and allows for “Undo”

Note: If you update your mesh (Mesh object>Update), the application maintains your movements in
the Worksheet until the mesh is cleared (zero nodes) using the RMB option Clear Generated Data or you
refresh data from the CAD source; In these cases all the Node Move movements are lost

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 Summary

What have we learnt in this session:

• How local mesh controls allow more control over meshes
• Different types of Sizing Controls
• Mapped Meshing Controls
• Periodic Meshes Matching
• Local Prism Controls
• How to use Contact Match Mesh
• How to use Node Merge & Node Move and what are the
limitations of the Node Move

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 Workshop 4.1 CFD – Local Mesh Controls

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 Workshop 4.1 FEA – Local Mesh Controls

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