You are on page 1of 5

WORKSHOP 9

Solid Meshing Techniques

Objectives
■ Create solid geometry.

■ Create surface meshes.

■ Create solid mesh with Automesher.

MSC.Nastran for Windows 101 Exercise Workbook 9-1

WORKSHOP 9 Solid Meshing Techniques

Model Description:
The purpose of this exercise is to create two solid geometries (an
assembly) and obtain a unified mesh of both parts.

Figure 9.1

9-2 MSC.Nastran for Windows 101 Exercise Workbook MSC.Nastran for Windows 101 Exercise Workbook 9-3
WORKSHOP 9 Solid Meshing Techniques

Suggested Exercise Steps:


Exercise Procedure:
■ Define materials.
1. Start up MSC.Nastran for Windows V4.0 and create a new model.
■ Define planar and solid properties.
Double click on the icon labeled MSC.Nastran for Windows V4.0.
■ Create a solid box.
Open Model File: New Model
■ Create a surface for extrusion.
■ Extrude the surface to create a solid extrusion. 2. Create two materials.

■ Intersect the two solids to obtain a common interface. Model/Material...


■ Apply mesh controls to interface surfaces. Title: mat_1

■ Mesh surfaces. Youngs Modulus: 10e6

■ Create curves and project onto the solid box. Poisson’s Ratio: 0.3
OK
■ Extrude planar elements to get solid mesh.

Title: mat_2
Youngs Modulus: 30e6
Poisson’s Ratio: 0.3
OK
Cancel

3. Create three properties. The “Plot” type elements will only be used to
generate a dummy surface mesh. This dummy surface mesh will be used
to generate solid, tetrahedral elements and to extrude into penta
elements.

Model/Property...
Elem/Property Type...
Plane Elements: ● Plot Only
OK
Title: plot
OK

9-4 MSC.Nastran for Windows 101 Exercise Workbook MSC.Nastran for Windows 101 Exercise Workbook 9-5

WORKSHOP 9 Solid Meshing Techniques


When asked OK to Create?
View/Autoscale <Ctrl+A>
Yes
View/Select... <F5>

Elem/Property Type... Render

Volume Elements: ● Solid OK

OK 6. Create an extruded solid on Surface 1 of the original box.


Title: prop_1 Shift the workplane to Surface 1:
Material: (pulldown) 1..mat_1 Right Click on screen.
OK
Workplane...
Title: prop_2
Material: (pulldown) 2..mat_2 Refer to the following figure for location surface and points of the cube.

OK Figure 9.2
Cancel

4. Create a 1 x 1 x 1 box.

Geometry/Solid/Primitives...
Title: box
Surface 1
Material: ● New Solid
OK

5. Get an isometric view of the box.

Click the Dynamic Rotate toolbar button.

Rotate the view with the Left Mouse Button to get an isometric view. Point 2
Point 1
When done:

OK Define Plane: On Surface...


On Surface: 1
At Point: 2
Axis Point: 1

9-6 MSC.Nastran for Windows 101 Exercise Workbook MSC.Nastran for Windows 101 Exercise Workbook 9-7
WORKSHOP 9 Solid Meshing Techniques

First Quadrant Figure 9.3


OK
View/Autoscale <Ctrl+A> Curve 13

Geometry/Curve - Arc/Angle-Center-Start... Point 11

Methods^ Point 9
Locate in Workplane
Curve 14
Center of Arc
X: Y:
0.5 0.5 OK
Start of Arc
X: Y:
0.75 0.5 OK
OK

Angle: 90
Geometry/Surface/Ruled...
OK
From Curve: 14 (newest curve)
Cancel
To Curve: 13 (first curve)

Geometry/Copy/Curve... OK

Select the previously created curve Cancel

ID: 13
Geometry/Solid/Extrude...
OK
Material: ● New Solid
OK
Direction: ● Negative
Right Click on screen. To Depth: 0.5
Surface...
Snap to Point
ID: 7 (newly created surface)
In the Vector Locate form, screen-select the following points.
OK
Base: Point 11 (midpoint of arc)
OK
Tip: Point 9 (center point of arc)

9-8 MSC.Nastran for Windows 101 Exercise Workbook MSC.Nastran for Windows 101 Exercise Workbook 9-9

WORKSHOP 9 Solid Meshing Techniques


Figure 9.4
Figure 9.5

8. Specifiy mesh seeding on the interface.


7. Break the surface of the box at the interface with the extruded solid. This
step is necessary to ensure congruent mesh between the two solids. Mesh/Mesh Control/Size on Surface...
(Select the two surfaces at the interface.)
Geometry/Curve - From Surface/Update Surfaces
Entity Selection: +14, +13
Geometry/Curve - From Surface/Intersect...
OK
Select First Surface for Intersection (actually the solid) OK (use default element size)

ID: 1 (the box) Cancel

OK Figure 9.6

Select Second Surface for Intersection (actually the solid)

ID: 3 (the extruded solid)


OK
Cancel
View/Autoscale <Ctrl+A>

9-10 MSC.Nastran for Windows 101 Exercise Workbook MSC.Nastran for Windows 101 Exercise Workbook 9-11
WORKSHOP 9 Solid Meshing Techniques
9. Mesh the interface making sure their meshes coincide.
10. Create mesh controls for the solids.
Mesh/Geometry/Surface...
Mesh/Mesh Control/Size on Solid...
(Select the two surfaces at the interface.)
(Select the first extruded solid.)
Entity Selection: +14, +13
Entity Selection: +3
OK
OK
Property: (pulldown) 1..plot
● Tet Meshing
Element Shape: ● All Triangles
OK (use default element size)
OK
Mesh/Mesh Control/Size on Solid...
Zoom in on the mesh to take a closer look. Click the Zoom toolbar button (Select the 1 x 1 x 1 box.)
and drag a box:
Entity Selection: +1
OK

The meshes should coincide. When done: ● Tet Meshing


OK (use default element size)
View/Autoscale <Ctrl+A>
Figure 9.8
Figure 9.7

9-12 MSC.Nastran for Windows 101 Exercise Workbook MSC.Nastran for Windows 101 Exercise Workbook 9-13

WORKSHOP 9 Solid Meshing Techniques


11. Mesh the solids.
OK
Mesh/Geometry/Solids...
When asked “OK to Specify Additional Range of Nodes to Merge?”,
(Select the 1 x 1 x 1 box.) answer No.
Entity ID: 1
No
OK
Merge Coincident Entities
OK to Update Mesh Sizes?
OK
No
Property: (pulldown) 2..prop_1 13. Get a better view of the model.

Right Click on screen.


Uncheck Midside Nodes.
Workplane...
Midside Nodes
OK Uncheck Draw Workplane.

Draw Workplane
Mesh/Geometry/Solids...
Done
(Select the first extruded solid.)
View/Autoscale <Ctrl+A>
Entity Selection: +3
OK Click the View Style toolbar button.
OK to Update Mesh Sizes?
No
Property: (pulldown) 3..prop_2 Rendered Solid

Uncheck Midside Nodes. Click the Quick Options toolbar button or <Ctrl+Q>.

Midside Nodes
OK
Turn off Node.
NOTE: When meshing solids with plate elements on the faces, the solid
mesher will automatically match tet-elements to the triangular face Node
elements.
Geometry Off
12. Check for coincident nodes and merge them.
Done
Tools/Check/Coincident Nodes...
Select All

9-14 MSC.Nastran for Windows 101 Exercise Workbook MSC.Nastran for Windows 101 Exercise Workbook 9-15
Figure 9.9

14. Save your model.

File/Save As...
Filename: solid_mesh
Save

This concludes the exercise.

File/Save
File/Exit

9-16 MSC.Nastran for Windows 101 Exercise Workbook

You might also like