Evaluation of grid-based hex meshes for solid mechanics

摘要

Grid-based methods for generating all-hex meshes show tremendous promise in automating and speeding up turnaround for computational simulations for solid mechanics. Recognizing some of the inherent weaknesses of grid-based methods, there has been hesitancy in accepting this technology as a viable option for critical FEA. The authors extend previous work on a grid-based method known as sculpt, and evaluate its effectiveness in practice. This study attempts to compare meshes generated with traditional manual pave-and-sweep technologies with those generated with sculpt's automatic overlay grid method. We use a simple torsion pin analysis to understand both linear-elastic and non-linear elastic-plastic responses with grid-based meshes. We also introduce improvements to the sculpt grid-based procedure, including adaptive optimization-based smoothing, hex-dominant and pillowing to capture curve features as proposed techniques for improving mesh quality. This study demonstrates that in the cases tested, equivalent or superior results were achieved with grid-based meshes when compared to pave-and-sweep meshes.