Merging enriched Finite Element triangle meshes for fast prototyping of alternate solutions in the context of industrial maintenance

Abstract

is an open access repository that collects the work of Arts et Métiers ParisTech researchers and makes it freely available over the web where possible. a b s t r a c tA new approach to the merging of Finite Element (FE) triangle meshes is proposed. Not only it takes into account the geometric aspects, but it also considers the way the semantic information possibly associated to the groups of entities (nodes, faces) can be maintained. Such high level modification capabilities are of major importance in all the engineering activities requiring fast modifications of meshes without going back to the CAD model. This is especially true in the context of industrial maintenance where the engineers often have to solve critical problems in very short time. Indeed, in this case, the product is already designed, the CAD models are not necessarily available and the FE models might be tuned. Thus, the product behaviour has to be studied and improved during its exploitation while prototyping directly several alternate solutions. Such a framework also finds interest in the preliminary design phases where alternative solutions have to be simulated. The algorithm first removes the intersecting faces in an n-ring neighbourhood so that the filling of the created holes produces triangles whose sizes smoothly evolve according to the possibly heterogeneous sizes of the surrounding triangles. The holefilling algorithm is driven by an aspect ratio factor which ensures that the produced triangulation fits well the FE requirements. It is also constrained by the boundaries of the groups of entities gathering together the simulation semantic. The filled areas are then deformed to blend smoothly with the surroundings meshes.

Template-based Geometric Transformations of a Functionally Enriched DMU into FE Assembly Models

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Filleting sharp edges of multi-partitioned volume finite element meshes

“…In Lou et al (2010a), we describe the implemented operator for merging two meshes, while Lou et al (2010b) presents the drilling and cracking operators for complex 2D and 3D FE meshes. In this paper, a new instance of the CAD-less operator is presented.…”

A Hole-Filling Algorithm for Triangular Meshes in Engineering

“…1(c) the result of unfolding after inner holes filled. The hole-filling algorithm also can be used in other important applications, such as mesh parametrization [1], feature suppression [2], and meshes merging [3].…”