AUTOMESH-2D: A FULLY AUTOMATIC ADAPTIVE QUADRILATERAL MESH GENERATOR Finite element method(FEM) has been widely used to analyze

all kinds of complex engineering problems, such as structural analysis, material deformation analysis and so on. o analyze these problems with FEM, the ob!ects to be analyzed must be meshed firstly. For the large deformation process, for example, metal forming, there are usually se"eral times of remeshing because of the distorted mesh. he process of mesh generation is "ery time consuming and error prone. he mesh #uality has great influence on the FEM analysis result. $n efficient, reliable, fully automatic mesh (re)generator with high #uality is a necessary part of FEM software. $% &ME'()*+ was de"eloped by ,rofessor -uo#un .hao and +r. /inwu Ma in Mold 0 +ie Engineering and echnology 1esearch 2enter of 'handong %ni"ersity, ,. 1. 2hina. 3t was de"eloped based on reliable mesh generation algorithm. $% &ME'()*+ is especially suitable for the mesh generation and regeneration of material forming analysis, but it also can be used to generate mesh for other engineering analysis. 3t has a user)friendly graphic interface. he geometry can be constructed and the mesh can be displayed after mesh generation. 4e can supply executi"e program to ordinary user or dynamic link library to FE software de"eloper according to his re#uirement. 'ource code can also be supplied. $% &ME'()*+ has following ad"antages5 (6) he optimal mesh density can be generated automatically by the system according to the boundary cur"ature, thickness element number, the field "ariable gradient distribution of temperature, strain and strain rate, and density window. 3t also allow user to designate mesh density on the boundary and inside. (*) (igh mesh #uality. he internal angle of the elements usually lies between 78 and 698 degree. he shape of boundary elements is usually close to s#uare. (7) he total element number can be easily controlled. he difference of actual and desired element number is usually below 68:. (;) Fast mesh generation. 3t usually takes less than 6 second for generating 6888 elements, less than 68 seconds for 68,888 elements and less than * minutes for 688,888 elements. (9) 'imple and con"enient usage. &nly a few parameter need to be gi"en including the geometry, desired element number and mesh density. (<) 3t is suitable for both initial mesh generation and mesh regeneration due to distortion. 3f you are interested in $% &ME'()*+ or you ha"e any re#uirement, please contact ,rof. -uo#un .hao (zhaog#=sdu.edu.cn) or +r. /inwu Ma (maxinwu=sdu.edu.cn).

$% &ME'()*+ M$>%$?
,lease download the trial "ersion of $% &ME'()*+ from the following address 5 http5@@www.automesh*d.com 1un the download program ,reprocessor.exe. 3t is the pre)processor interface of bulk forming FE software 2$'F&1M)*+. he $% &ME'()*+ has been implemented in it.

Fig. 6 he interface of the program

1 Define the geometry 2lick on the button +efine +ies 0 4orkpiece on the left dialog M$3> ME>% and dialog &ABE2 ' appears. 'elect the third item (7 4orkpiece ,?$' 32) from the top list box, and then click on the button -eometry and dialog -E&ME 1C appears. >ow you can define the geometry of the ob!ect.
'elect the item

2lick on the button 2lick on the button

3n the preprocessor interface, the geometry can be defined by external boundary and internal boundaries

(holes). E"ery boundary contains a set of consecuti"e points which can be defined by their coordinates /, C and the fillet radius 1. For example, in Fig. *, the ob!ect has one external boundary and a hole inside. he external boundary can be defined by the following 9 points5 >o 6 * 7 ; >o 6 * 7 ; 9 < / 8 688 688 8 / 78 78 D8 D8 78 78 C 8 8 688 688 C 98 D8 D8 78 78 98 1 8 8 8 8 1 8 *8 *8 *8 *8 8

he hole is defined by the following < points5

Fig. * +efining the geometry of the ob!ect

4e know that it is not con"enient sometime to construct complex geometry in the preprocessor which can not be represented by line and arc. 4e are considering importing geometry "ia +/F or 3-E' file from other 2$+ system. he function will be implemented in the next "ersion. he method of constructing geometry in the preprocessor is as following5 E"ery ob!ect has at least one boundary, i.e. the external boundary on which the points are entered in counter) clockwise direction. he ob!ect may has one or more internal boundaries (holes) on which the points are entered in clockwise direction. ,ress on the button $dd a hole and one internal boundary will be added. ,ress on the button +el a hole and the selected internal boundary will be remo"ed. >otice5 the external boundary can not be remo"ed. First select the boundary which you will edit from the upper list box. Follow the steps below to edit the

boundary points.
1ead the geometry from file he boundaries list. 'a"e the geometry to the file $dd a hole inside 1emo"e the selected hole

he list of the points on the selected boundary

he coordinates and radius $dd a point on the boundary 3nsert a point before the selected point 1emo"e the selected point 1e"erse the se#uence of the points Mesh the ob!ect 1eturn to pre"ious dialog Modify the coordinates and radius 3nsert a point after the selected point 1emo"e all the points on the boundary 2heck the "alidity of the boundary

(6) The input of the coordinates and fillet radius . Enter the coordinates /, C and fillet radius 1 of the point in the edit boxes. (*) Add a point to the current boundary. here are two ways to add a point5 (a) Enter the /, C and 1, and then press on the button $dd. (b) 'elect a point with the mouse in the graphic area. 3n this case, the radius will be 8. >otice5 4hen adding or selecting a point in the graphic area with the mouse, please click the icon 'elect on the toolbar. 'elect

(7)

(;) (9) (<)

,oint ?abel Modify the coordinates and radius of a point Firstly select the point from the list of the points or select it in the graphic area with the mouse. Cou can click on the icon ,oint ?abel on the toolbar to show the point label to help you find your wanted point. Enter new /, C and 1 and press on the button ,oint ?abel. Cou can also click on the point in the graphic area and then drag it to another position. Insert a point before the current point. Enter the /, C and 1 and press on the button 3nsert Aefore. he new point will be inserted before the current point. Insert a point after the current point . Enter the /, C and 1 and press on the button 3nsert $fter. he new point will be inserted after the current point. Remove a point'elect the point and press on the button 1emo"e.

(D) Remove all the points on the current boundary ,ress on the button 1emo"e $ll and all the points on the current boundary will be remo"ed. (E) Reverse the sequence of the points ,ress on the button 1e"erse and the se#uence of the boundary points will be re"ersed $s mentioned pre"iously, the points on the external boundary should be entered in counter) clockwise direction and the points on the internal boundaries in clockwise direction. 4hen the se#uence of the points does not satisfy with the re#uirement, press the button to re"erse the se#uence. (F) Check the validity of the boundary,ress on the button 2heck to check if the boundary is "alid (68) ave the geometry to the file ,ress on the button 'a"e to file, enter the file name and the points on the boundaries will be sa"ed to the file ( ext file in /C1 format). (66) Read the geometry from the file ,ress on the button ?oad from file select the file name and the points on the boundaries will be read from the file (only in /C1 format) 4hen the geometry can not be represented by the line and arc, you should con"ert it to /C1 format according to certain precision and then read it. !otice" he fillet radius of the first and last points of e"ery boundary will be neglected. he boundary can be closed or open. Aut the first and last points must coincide when the boundary is closed. # Mesh $eneration $fter the geometry of the ob!ect is defined ,ress on the button Mesh &b!ect and Mesh -enerator dialog will appear. >ow you can mesh the ob!ect. 3n order to achie"e better mesh, the concept of the mesh density is introduced first. he mesh density can be defined as the reciprocal of the length of the element side. 'o the smaller mesh element has higher mesh density and on the contrary the larger mesh element has lower mesh density. 'ince the ob!ect will be represented by the mesh, the smaller elements should be placed in the area where the boundary has high cur"ature and the larger elements can be used in the area where the boundary is relati"ely flat. 'o the mesh density should be specified on the boundary. 3n order to get more accurate analysis result, more mesh elements should be placed in the area where the field "ariables (such as temperature, strain, strain rate etc.) ha"e high gradient. 'o the mesh density also need be specified inside. 3n $% &ME'()*+ the boundary and internal mesh density can be set and generated automatically by the system. he user can set the mesh density manually. To facilitate the input and generation of mesh density, the density values in the procedure are relative, rather than absolute value. 3n $% &ME'()*+, there are two algorithms to generate mesh. &ne is ?&&,3>- algorithm, and the other is ,$G3>- algorithm. riangular mesh can also be generated using Aowyer@4atson algorithm. 3n $% &ME'()*+, there are two ways to generate the mesh density5 (6) automatic generation by systemH (*) user)defined. he mesh and density generation will be introduced in detail as following5 #%1 Automatic density generation and mesh generation #%1%1 Initial mesh generation% his situation does not re#uire the old mesh information, solely on the basis of the ob!ect geometry and density parameter to generate mesh density, and the mesh.
mesh generation method number of elements to be meshed the ratio of the max and min density number of elements in the thickness direction

he parameters that need to be set are as following5

(6) The number of elements to be meshed% Enter the number of elements that you wish the procedure to generate. his number is only approximate. he procedure uses this number to estimate how many elements will be generated. he actual number of the elements may be different, but will be "ery close to this "alue. his parameter can be set 8, then the mesh and density will be generated solely on the basis of (32I>E'' E?EME> '. (*) The ratio of ma&imum and minimum density% he procedure uses this parameter to ad!ust the density generated on the basis of (a) the boundary cur"ature and (b) field "ariable gradient. he ratio of the maximum and minimum density will e#ual to this "alue after density ad!ustment. 3f this parameter is set 6, the density will be uniform for the abo"e two cases. (7) !umber of elements in thickness direction he procedure uses this parameter to generate a certain number of elements in the area of thin structure. For example, in Fig.7, the mesh and density are generated solely on the basis of this parameter (number J ;).

Fig. 7 +ensity and mesh generation on the basis of thickness

3n general, only the abo"e three parameters need to be set. hen click on the button -enerate Mesh in the dialog, and the density and mesh will be generated automatically. $fter the mesh generation, a message box will show the result, including the consumed time to generate mesh, the number of elements and nodes in the mesh, the number of irregular elements ( the internal angle K698 degree or L78 degree) and the maximum and minimum angle. he generated mesh will also be shown in the graphic window. he user can check the mesh by clicking on the buttons the oolbar.

pan zoom window

fit

show node number

dynamic zoom zoom in zoom out measure

show element number

(;) Density 'indo' he procedure does not use the density window by default. 3f you want to define density in the domain by density window, follow the instruction. 2lick on the 2ontrol ,arameters button in the dialog and the dialog Mesh 2ontrol ,arameters appears. 'et the weight "alue of density window in the dialog. here are totally 9 types of density weight, and the sum of them is 6. hey are the weight of the density generated on the basis of (a) boundary cur"atureH (b) density windowH (c) strain distributionH (d) strain rate distribution and (e) temperature distribution. he percentage of the density generated according to the boundary cur"ature in the final density is determined by its weight. $lso the percentage of the density generated according to the density window is determined by its weight. he last three types of weight are used in the remeshing process to determine the percentage of the density generated according to the field "ariables gradient. 3f the sum of the weights does not e#ual to 6, they will be scaled proportionally to make the sum be 6.

'et the weight

2lick this button

$dd a density window 4indow list +elete a density window 1elati"e density of the window

o add a density window, !ust click on the button $dd. o modify the relati"e density of the window, enter the new "alue in the edit box. he next step is to define the window polygon. 'ince the position of the window does not need to be "ery accurate, !ust click in the graphic area with the mouse to define the polygon "ertex. o modify the position of the "ertex, press the mouse button on the "ertex and drag it to the proper location. o delete a density window, select the window from the list and click on the button +elete. 3t should be noted that since the density in the window is a relati"e "alue, at least two density windows should be defined and the windows should ha"e intersection with the boundary. 4hen all the windows donMt intersect with the boundary, you can define one or more density window in the domain and the relati"e density "alue on the boundary will be set 6 by the system. 3n Fig. ;, three density windows are defined and the relati"e density "alue of the each window is 6, 7 and 6 respecti"ely (the weight of the density window is 6 and the other weights are 8). 3n Fig. 9, two density windows are defined and they donMt intersect with the boundary. he relati"e density "alue is * and 7 repecti"ely (the weight of the density window is 6 and the other weights are 8).

Fig. ; +ensity and mesh generated according to density window only.

Fig. ; +ensity windows donMt intersect with the boundary.

#%1%# Remeshing% 1emeshing or mesh re)generation needs two steps5 (a) to extract the boundary of the old mesh and generate new meshH (b) to interpolate history field "ariables, such as nodal temperature and elemental strain, from the old mesh to the new one. 3n order to remesh, click on the button 1ead Mesh in the dialog and select the file that has the old mesh information. $ message box will appear. 2hoose CE' to remesh and the old mesh and history field "ariable will be inputH choose >& only to read the mesh including nodal coordinates and element connecti"ity.

3n remeshing, you can set the parameters as you do in the initial mesh generation, but at this time you can set the density weight of strain, strain rate and temperature distribution. $fter all the parameters are set, click on the button 1emesh to generate new mesh and interpolate history field "ariable from old mesh to the new one. o sa"e the mesh to a file, click on the button 4rite Mesh in the dialog and input the file name. he file is text format (the extension .msh). he detail formats of the file please refer to the example file &?+ME'(.M'(. #%# (sed)defined density and mesh generation 3f the user want to define density on the boundary and in the domain manually, click on the button %ser) defined +ensity in the dialog and the dialog %ser)defined Mesh +ensity will appear.
he boundary nodes as mesh nodes

+ensity points list

Aoundary density point

3nternal density point 1elati"e density "alue of the point

he coordinates of point $dd a density point +elete a density point Modify the density point +elete all the points >umber of elements to be generated

-enerate mesh according to user)defined density

he user can designate the relati"e density "alue on the points of the boundary and internal domain. he system will generate the density of smooth transition according to the density points and then generate the mesh. he definition of density points is as following5 (6) The type of density point. here are two types of density points, i.e. boundary point and internal point. (*) The relative density value on the point. Enter the "alue in the edit box. (7) Add a density point. 'elect the type, enter the coordinates and relati"e density "alue, and click on the button $dd to add a density point. Cou can also click on a point in the graphic area to add a density point, since its position does not need to be "ery accurate.

(;) Modify a density point. 'elect the point from the list first, or select it in the graphic area by the mouse. 'elect the type, enter new density "alue and coordinates and click on the button Modify. Cou can also press the mouse button on the point and drag it to proper location. (9) +elete a density point. First select the point, then click on the button 1emo"e. (<) +elete all the points. 2lick on the button 1emo"e all, and all the density points will be deleted. $fter all the boundary and internal density points are defined, the only parameter needs to be set is the number of elements to be generated. 2lick on the button -enerate Mesh in the dialog and the system will generate the mesh density according to use)defined density points and then the mesh. >otice5 if only internal density points are defined, the relati"e density on the boundary is set 6 by the system. For example, in Fig. <, fi"e internal density points are defined in the s#uare, and all the relati"e density "alues are 7.

Fig. < %ser)defined density points

3f the user want to keep boundary nodes as mesh nodes, please check the item Ieep origin boundary nodes in the dialog. 'ince the boundary nodes are generated, the absolute density "alue on the boundary is determined. $t this situation, only internal density points need to be defined and the element size, not the relati"e density, needs to be entered. 3n order to generate all)#uadrilateral mesh, each boundary must ha"e e"en number of nodes.
2heck the item

&nly the internal density point Enter absolute element size

3n the circumstance, the absolute density "alue is used, so the number of the elements to be generated can be determined by the system. Bust click on the button -enerate Mesh in the dialog, and the system will generate the

density of smooth transition according the absolute density "alue and the mesh. he other parameters that are used in density generation and mesh generation are listed in the dialog Mesh 2ontrol ,arameters. %sually the parameter need not to be changed.
-rid number in / direction -rid number in C direction ?ength tolerance $ngle tolerance

'plit 2riteria 4eight of split angle 4eight of structured mesh 4eight of split line length 4eight of geometry symmetry