These diagnostic tools are specific to mesh types that include triangular elements.
If no triangular elements are present, the tools will be deactivated. If you have a 3D mesh, and the tools are active, then you have triangular elements too.
Topics in this section
Aspect ratio diagnostic
You can work with mesh aspect ratios in either normalized or standard format.
Overlapping elements diagnostic
Overlapping and intersecting elements must be corrected before running an analysis. This tool can generate a graphical representation of the overlapping and intersecting elements, as well as a text report that lists the number of overlapping and intersecting elements.
Mesh orientation diagnostic
Mesh orientation is used to provide a consistent means of differentiating between the two sides of a two-dimensional, 3-noded element, as used in Midplane and Dual Domain meshes. The simplest convention is to call one side of the element the top, and the other side the bottom.
Centroid closeness diagnostic
When the centroids of two elements are too close together, this indicates that the mesh is not ideal and needs to be fixed.
Part thickness
During Dual Domain mesh creation, the distance between matching surfaces is calculated. This distance corresponds to part thickness. After Dual Domain mesh creation, it is important to review the thickness and make any required adjustments before running an analysis.
Dual Domain mesh match diagnostic
In a Dual Domain model, the thickness of the part is determined by calculating the distance between the elements on opposite sides of the part. Ideally, there would be a one-to-one correspondence between the elements, but in general this is not the case due to differences in the pattern of the mesh, or differences in geometry or curvature on either side of the part, etc.