9.

Meshing
Meshing
Overview
• Recall that meshing is a three-step procedure:
– Define element attributes
– Specify mesh controls
– Generate the mesh

• In this chapter, we will expand on each of these steps and

also discuss additional meshing options.
• Topics covered:
A. Multiple Element Attributes E. Hex-to-Tet Meshing
B. Controlling Mesh Density F. Mesh Extrusion
C. Changing a Mesh G. Sweep Meshing
D. Mapped Meshing H. Workshop
Meshing
A. Multiple Element Attributes
• As we discussed earlier, every element has the following attributes
associated with it:
– Element type (TYPE)
– Real constants (REAL)
– Material properties (MAT)
• Most FEA models have multiple attributes. For example, the silo
shown here has two element types, three real constant sets, and two
materials.

TYPE 1 = shell
TYPE 2 = beam MAT 1 = concrete
MAT 2 = steel

REAL 1 = 3/8” thickness

REAL 2 = beam properties
REAL 3 = 1/8” thickness
Meshing
...Multiple Element Attributes
• Whenever you have multiple TYPEs, REALs and MATs, you
need to make sure that each element is assigned the proper
attributes. There are three ways to do this:
– Assign attributes to the solid model entities before meshing
– Activate a “global” setting of MAT, TYPE, and REAL before
meshing
– Modify element attributes after meshing

• If no assignments are made, ANSYS uses default settings of

MAT=1, TYPE=1, and REAL=1 for all elements in the model.
Meshing
...Multiple Element Attributes
Assigning Attributes to the Solid Model
1. Define all necessary element types, materials,
and real constant sets.
2. Then use the “Element Attributes” section of
the MeshTool (Preprocessor > MeshTool):
– Choose entity type and press the SET button.
– Pick the entities to which you want to assign
attributes.
– Set the appropriate attributes in the subsequent
dialog box.

Or select the desired entities and use the

VATT, AATT, LATT, or KATT command.
3. When you mesh an entity, its attributes are
automatically transferred to the elements.
Meshing
...Multiple Element Attributes
Using Global Attribute Settings
1. Define all necessary element types,
materials, and real constant sets.
2. Then use the “Element Attributes”
section of the MeshTool (Preprocessor >
MeshTool):
– Choose Global and press the SET button.
– Activate the desired combination of
attributes in the “Meshing Attributes”
dialog box. We refer to these as the
active TYPE, REAL, and MAT settings.

Or use the TYPE, REAL, and MAT

commands.
3. Mesh only those entities to which the
above settings apply.
Meshing
...Multiple Element Attributes
Modifying Element Attributes
1. Define all necessary element types, materials, and real constant
sets.
2. Activate the desired combination of TYPE, REAL, and MAT settings:
– Preprocessor > -Attributes- Define > Default Attribs...
– Or use the TYPE, REAL, and MAT commands

3. Modify the attributes of only those elements to which the above

settings apply:
– Issue EMODIF,PICK or choose Preprocessor > Move/Modiry > -Elements-
Modify Attrib
– Then pick the desired elements

4. In the subsequent dialog box,

set attributes to “All to current.”
Meshing
...Multiple Element Attributes
Some points to keep in mind:
• You can verify element attributes by activating
attribute numbering:
– Utility Menu > PlotCtrls > Numbering
– Or /PNUM,attr,ON, where attr may be TYPE, MAT,
or REAL

• Element attributes assigned directly to solid model entities will

override the default attribute pointers.
• By assigning attributes to solid model entities, you can avoid having
to reset attributes in the middle of meshing operations. This is
advantageous because ANSYS meshing algorithms are most
efficient when meshing all entities at once.
• Clearing a solid model entity of its mesh will not delete attribute
assignments.
Meshing
B. Controlling Mesh Density
• ANSYS provides many tools to control mesh density, both on
a global and local level:
– Global controls
• SmartSizing
• Global element sizing
• Default sizing
– Local controls
• Keypoint sizing
• Line sizing
• Area sizing
Meshing
...Controlling Mesh Density
SmartSizing
• Determines element sizes by assigning divisions on all lines,
taking into account curvature of the line, its proximity to
holes and other features, and element order.
• SmartSizing is off by default, but is recommended for free
meshing. It does not affect mapped meshing. (Free meshing
vs. mapped meshing will be discussed later.)
Meshing
...Controlling Mesh Density
• To use SmartSizing:
– Bring up the MeshTool (Preprocessor > MeshTool),
turn on SmartSizing, and set the desired size level.
• Or use SMRT,level
• Size level ranges from 1 (very fine) to 10 (very
coarse). Defaults to 6.
– Then mesh all volumes (or all areas) at once, rather
than one-by-one.
Meshing
...Controlling Mesh Density
• Examples of different SmartSize
levels are shown here for a
tetrahedron mesh.
• Advanced SmartSize controls,
such as mesh expansion and
transition factors, are available
on the SMRT command (or
Preprocessor > -Meshing- Size
Cntrls > -SmartSize- Adv Opts...)
• You can turn off SmartSizing
using the MeshTool or by
issuing smrt,off.
Meshing
...Controlling Mesh Density
Global Element Sizing
• Allows you to specify a maximum element edge length
for the entire model (or number of divisions per line):
– ESIZE,SIZE
– or Preprocessor > MeshTool > “Size Controls - Globl” [Set]
– or Preprocessor > -Meshing- Size Cntrls > -Global- Size

• Can be used by itself or in conjunction with

SmartSizing.
– Using ESIZE by itself (SmartSizing off) will result
in a uniform element size throughout the volume
(or area) being meshed.
– With SmartSizing on, ESIZE acts as a “guide,”
but the specified size may be overridden to
accommodate line curvature or proximity to
features.
Meshing
...Controlling Mesh Density
Default Sizing
• If you don’t specify any controls, ANSYS uses default sizing,
which assigns minimum and maximum line divisions, aspect
ratio, etc. based on element order.
• Meant for mapped meshing, but is also used for free meshing
if SmartSizing is off.
• You can adjust default size specifications using DESIZE or
Preprocessor > -Meshing- Size Cntrls > -Global- Other.
Meshing
...Controlling Mesh Density
Keypoint Sizing
• Controls element size at keypoints:
– Preprocessor > MeshTool > “Size Controls: Keypt” [Set]
– or KESIZE command
– or Preprocessor > -Meshing- Size Cntrls > -Keypoints-

Different keypoints can have different KESIZEs,

giving you more control over the mesh.
• Useful for stress concentration regions.
• Specified sizes may be overridden by SmartSizing
to accommodate line curvature or proximity to
features.
Meshing
...Controlling Mesh Density
Line Sizing
• Controls element size at lines:
– Preprocessor > MeshTool > Size Controls: Lines [Set]
– or LESIZE command
– or Preprocessor > -Meshing- Size Cntrls > -Lines-
Yes for “soft”
Different lines can have different LESIZEs. No for “hard”

• Size specifications may be “hard” or “soft.”

– “Hard” sizes are always honored by the mesher,
even if SmartSizing is on. They take precedence
over all other size controls.
– “Soft” sizes may be overridden by SmartSizing.

• You can also specify a spacing ratio — ratio of

last division to first. Used to bias the divisions
towards one end or towards the middle.
Meshing
...Controlling Mesh Density
Area Sizing
• Controls element size in the interior of areas:
– Preprocessor > MeshTool > “Size Controls: Areas” [Set]
– or AESIZE command
– or Preprocessor > -Meshing- Size Cntrls > -Areas-

Different areas can have different AESIZEs.

• Bounding lines will use the specified size only if they
have no LESIZE or KESIZE specified and if no
adjacent area has a smaller size.
• Specified sizes may be overridden by SmartSizing to
accommodate line curvature or proximity to features.
Meshing
C. Changing a Mesh
• If a mesh is not acceptable, you can always re-mesh
the model by following these steps:
1. Clear the mesh.
• The clear operation is the opposite of mesh: it
removes nodes and elements.
• Use the [Clear] button on the MeshTool, or use
VCLEAR, ACLEAR, etc.
(If you are using the MeshTool, you may skip this step
since the program will prompt you whether to clear or
not when you execute step 3.)
2. Specify new or different mesh controls.
3. Mesh again.
Meshing
...Changing a Mesh
• Another meshing option is to refine the
mesh in specific regions.
– Available for all area elements and only
tetrahedral volume elements.
– Easiest way is to use the MeshTool:
• First save the database.
• Then choose how you want to specify
the region of refinement — at nodes,
elements, keypoints, lines, or areas —
and press the Refine button.
• Pick the entities at which you want the
mesh to be refined. (Not required if you
choose “All Elems.”)
• Finally, choose the level of refinement.
Level 1 (minimal refinement) is a good
starting point.
Meshing
D. Mapped Meshing
• There are two main meshing methods: free and
mapped.
• Free Mesh
– Has no element shape restrictions.
– The mesh does not follow any pattern.
– Suitable for complex shaped areas and volumes.

• Mapped Mesh
– Restricts element shapes to quadrilaterals for
areas and hexahedra (bricks) for volumes.
– Typically has a regular pattern with obvious rows
of elements.
– Suitable only for “regular” areas and volumes
such as rectangles and bricks.
Meshing
...Mapped Meshing
Free Mesh
+ Easy to create; no need to
divide complex shapes into
regular shapes.
– Volume meshes can contain
only tetrahedra, resulting in a
large number of elements.
– Only higher-order (10-node)
tetrahedral elements are
acceptable, so the number of
DOF can be very high.
Mapped Mesh
+ Generally contains a lower
number of elements.
+ Lower-order elements may be
acceptable, so the number of
DOF is lower.
+ Aesthetically pleasing.
– Areas and volumes must be
“regular” in shape, and mesh
divisions must meet certain
criteria.
– Very difficult to achieve,
especially for complex shaped
volumes.
Meshing
...Mapped Meshing
Creating a Free Mesh
• Free meshing is the default setting for both area
and volume meshes.
• Create a free mesh is easy:
– Bring up the MeshTool and verify that free meshing
is set.
– SmartSizing is generally recommended for free
meshing, so activate it and specify a size level.
Save the database.
– Then initiate the mesh by pressing the Mesh button.
• Press [Pick All] in the picker to choose all
entities (recommended).
– Or use the commands VMESH,ALL or AMESH,ALL.
Meshing
...Mapped Meshing
Creating a Mapped Mesh
• This is not as easy as free meshing because the areas and
volumes have to meet certain requirements:
– Area must contain either 3 or 4 lines (triangle or quadrilateral).
– Volume must contain either 4, 5, or 6 areas (tetrahedron,
triangular prism, or hexahedron).
– Element divisions on opposite sides must match.
• For triangular areas or tetrahedral volumes, the number of
element divisions must be even.
Meshing
...Mapped Meshing
• For quadrilateral areas or hexahedral volumes, unequal
divisions are allowed, as shown in these examples, but the
number of divisions must satisfy a formula (shown on the
next page).
Meshing
...Mapped Meshing
Meshing
...Mapped Meshing
• Thus mapped meshing involves a three-step procedure:
– Ensure “regular” shapes, i.e, areas with 3 or 4 sides, or volumes
with 4, 5, or 6 sides.
– Specify size and shape controls
– Generate the mesh
Meshing
...Mapped Meshing
Ensure regular shapes
• In most cases, the model geometry is such that the areas
have more than 4 sides, and volumes have more that 6 sides.
To convert these to regular shapes, you may need to do one
or both of these operations:
– Slice the areas (or volumes) into smaller, simpler shapes.
– Concatenate two or more lines (or areas) to reduce the total
number of sides.
Meshing
...Mapped Meshing
• Slicing can be accomplished with the Boolean divide
operation.
– Remember that you can use the working plane, an area, or a line
as the slicing tool.
– Sometimes, it may be easier to create a new line or a new area
than to move and orient the working plane in the correct
direction.
Meshing
...Mapped Meshing
• Concatenation creates a new line that is a combination of two
or more lines, thereby reducing the number of lines making
up the area.
– Use the LCCAT command or Preprocessor > -Meshing-
Concatenate > Lines, then pick the lines to be concatenated.
– For area concatenation, use ACCAT command or Preprocessor >
-Meshing- Concatenate > Areas

Concatenating
these two lines
makes this a
4-sided area
Meshing
...Mapped Meshing
• You can also imply a concatenation by simply
identifying the three or four corners of the area. In
this case, ANSYS internally generates the
concatenation.
– To do this, choose Quad shape and Map mesh in the
MeshTool.
– Then change 3/4 sided to Pick cornrs.
– Press the Mesh button, pick the area, and then pick
the 3 or 4 corners that form the regular shape.
Meshing
...Mapped Meshing
• Notes on concatenation:
– It is purely a meshing operation and therefore should be the last step
before meshing, after all solid modeling operations. This is because the
output entity obtained from a concatenation cannot be used in any
subsequent solid modeling operation.
– You can "undo" a concatenation by deleting the line or area it produced.
– Concatenating areas (for mapped volume meshing) is generally much
more complicated because you may also need to concatenate some
lines. Lines are automatically concatenated only when two adjacent, 4-
sided areas are concatenated.
– Consider the add (Boolean) operation if the lines or areas meet at a
tangent.
Meshing
...Mapped Meshing
Specify size and shape controls
• This is the second step of the three-step mapped
meshing procedure.
• Choosing the shape is simple. In the MeshTool,
choose Quad for area meshing, and Hex for volume
meshing, then click on Map.
• Commonly used size controls and the order in which
they are applied:
– Line sizing [LESIZE] is always honored.
– Global element size , if specified, will be applied to
“unsized” lines.
– Default element sizing [DESIZE] will be applied to
unsized lines only if ESIZE is not specified.
– (SmartSizing is not valid.)
Meshing
...Mapped Meshing
• If you specify line divisions, remember that:
– divisions on opposite sides must match, but you only need to
specify one side. The map mesher automatically transfers
divisions to the opposite side.
– if you have concatenated lines, divisions can only be applied to
the original (input) lines, not the composite line.

6 divisions specified on
each original line.

12 divisions will be
automatically applied to
this line (opposite to
composite line).

How many divisions are

used for the other two
lines? (Upcoming demo
will answer it.)
Meshing
...Mapped Meshing
Generate the mapped mesh
• Once you have ensured regular shapes and assigned the
appropriate divisions, generating the mesh is easy. Just
press the Mesh button in the MeshTool, then press [Pick All]
in the picker or choose the desired entities.
Meshing
...Mapped Meshing
• Question: How would
you slice this model for
mapped meshing?

• Answer: It may not be worth

the effort!
Meshing
E. Hex-to-Tet Meshing
• For volume meshing, we have only seen two
options so far:
– Free meshing, which creates an all-tet mesh.
This is easy to achieve but may not be desirable
in some cases because of the large number of
elements and total DOF created.
– Mapped meshing, which creates an all-hex
mesh. This is desirable but usually very difficult
to achieve.

• Hex-to-tet meshing provides a third option that

is the “best of both worlds.” It allows you to
have a combination of hex and tet meshes
without compromising the integrity of the
mesh.
Meshing
...Hex-to-Tet Meshing
• This option works by creating pyramid-shaped elements in the
transition region between hex and tet regions.
– Requires the hex mesh to be available (or at least a quad mesh at the
shared area).
– The mesher first creates all tets, then combines and rearranges the tet
elements in the transition region to form pyramids.
– Available only for element types that support both pyramid and tet
shapes, e.g:
• Structural SOLID95, 186, VISCO89
• Thermal SOLID90
• Multiphysics SOLID62, 117, 122

– Results are good even in the transition

region. Element faces are compatible
even when transitioning from a linear
hex element to a quadratic tet element.

SOLID95
Meshing
...Hex-to-Tet Meshing
– Hex-to-tet meshing is valid for both quadratic-to-quadratic and linear-to-
quadratic transitions. Element type must support a 9-node pyramid for
the latter.

Hex Mesh Transition Layer Tet Mesh

Quadratic
to
Quadratic
20-Node Hex 13-Node Pyramid 10-Node Tet

Linear
to
Quadratic

8-Node Hex 9-Node Pyramid 10-Node Tet

Meshing
...Hex-to-Tet Meshing
Procedure involves four steps:
1. Create the hex mesh.
– Start by map-meshing the regular-shaped volumes. (Or mesh
the shared areas with quads.)
– For stress analysis, use either an 8-node brick (SOLID45 or
SOLID185) or a 20-node brick (SOLID95 or SOLID186).
Meshing
...Hex-to-Tet Meshing
2. Activate an element type that supports both pyramids and
tets.
– These are usually brick elements that can degenerate into
pyramids and tets. Check the Elements Manual, available on-
line, to find out which element types are valid.
– Examples:
• Structural SOLID95, 186, VISCO89
• Thermal SOLID90
• Multiphysics SOLID62, 117, 122
Meshing
...Hex-to-Tet Meshing
3. Generate the tet mesh.
– First activate free meshing.
– Then mesh the volumes that are to be tet-meshed.

Pyramids are automatically generated at the interface.

Meshing
...Hex-to-Tet Meshing
4. Convert degenerate tets to true 10-node tets.
– The tet mesh created by the transition mesher consists of
degenerate elements — 10-node tetrahedra derived from 20-
node bricks, for example.
– These elements are not as efficient as true 10-node tets such as
SOLID92, which use less memory and write smaller files during
solution.
– To convert the degenerate tets into true tets:
• Preprocessor > -Meshing- Modify Mesh > Change Tets...
• Or use the TCHG command.
Meshing
F. Mesh Extrusion
• When you extrude an area into a volume, you can extrude the area
elements along with it, resulting in a meshed volume. This is called
mesh extrusion.
• Advantage: Easy to create a volume mesh with all bricks
(hexahedra) or a combination of bricks and prisms.
• Obvious requirement: Shape of the volume must lend itself to
extrusion.

Extrude
Meshing
...Mesh Extrusion
Procedure
1. Define two element types — an area
element and a volume element.
– Area element: Choose MESH200
quadrilaterals. MESH200 is a mesh-only
element and has no DOFs or material
properties associated with it.
– Volume element: Should be compatible
with the MESH200 element type. For
example, if you choose midside nodes for
MESH200, the 3-D solid element should
also have midside nodes.
– ET command or Preprocessor > Element
Type > Add/Edit/Delete
Meshing
...Mesh Extrusion
2. Mesh the area to be extruded with MESH200 elements.
– Use mapped or free meshing with desired mesh density.
– Preprocessor > MeshTool
3. Choose element extrusion options.

– EXTOPT command or Preprocessor >

Operate > Extrude > Elem Ext Opts
– Typical options are:
• Active TYPE attribute (should be 3-D
solid).
• Number of element divisions in the
extrusion direction (i.e, number of
elements through the thickness).
Must be greater than zero; otherwise,
only the area will be extruded, without
elements.
Meshing
...Mesh Extrusion
4. Extrude the area.
– First delete concatenated lines, if any. If concatenations are
present, ANSYS will not allow the extrusion operation.
• Preprocessor > -Meshing- Concatenate > -Del Concats- Lines
– Then extrude the area using any of the extrusion methods.
Meshing
G. Sweep Meshing
• Sweep meshing is yet another option available for volume
meshing. It is the process of meshing an existing volume by
sweeping an area mesh.
• Similar to mesh extrusion, except that the volume already
exists in this case (from a geometry import, for example).
Meshing
...Sweep Meshing
Target surface
• Advantages: (1 area)
– Easy to create a volume mesh with all
bricks (hexahedra) or a combination of
bricks and prisms.
– Option to tet-mesh volumes that are
not “sweepable.” Transition pyramids
are automatically generated. Source surface
(1 area)
• Requirements: Valid for sweep meshing
– Topology of the volume must be
consistent in the sweep direction.
Example: a block with a through hole
(ok even if the hole is tapered).
– Source and target surfaces must be
single areas. Concatenated areas are
not allowed for either the source or the
target.

Not valid for sweep meshing

Meshing
...Sweep Meshing
Procedure
• Define and activate a 3-D hexahedral solid element
type, such as structural SOLID45 or SOLID95.
• Bring up MeshTool and choose Hex/Wedge and
Sweep.
• Choose how the source and target surfaces are
identified:
– “Auto Source/Target” means that ANSYS will
automatically choose them based on the volume’s
topology.
– “Pick Source/Target” means that you will be
choosing them.

• Press the SWEEP button and follow prompt

instructions from the picker. (Or use VSWEEP
command.)
Meshing
...Sweep Meshing
Tet-Mesh Option
• A useful sweep option is to generate a
tet-mesh in non-sweepable volumes.
• To use this option:
– Make sure that the element type supports
degenerate pyramid and tetrahedron
shapes. Examples:
• Structural SOLID95, 186, VISCO89
• Thermal SOLID90
• Multiphysics SOLID62, 117, 122
– Choose Preprocessor > -Meshing- Mesh > -
Volume Sweep- Sweep Opts and activate
the tet-mesh option. (Or use the
EXTOPT,VSWE command.)
Meshing
...Sweep Meshing
Notes
• To map-mesh a complex volume, you may need to slice it
several times and also do some area and line concatenations.
For sweep meshing, you typically need only a few slicing
operations, and no concatenations are needed!
• You can control the source area mesh using standard mesh
controls. SmartSizing is generally not recommended since it
is meant for free meshing.
Meshing
H. Workshop
• This workshop consists of four exercises:
W8A. Pillow Block
W8B. Connecting Rod
W8C. Cotter Pin
W8D. Wheel