New Meshing Options for Plate/Shell and Midplane Meshes

New Element Shape Options

With the advent of the Simulation Mechanical 2015 Product Enhancements release, you now have options that control the shape of planar elements. Specifically, you can choose between the following two options when meshing a CAD model and when the Mesh type is either Plate/shell or Midplane:

• Mixed (quadrilateral and triangular): Both 4-sided and three-sided elements are generated. This option is the default setting. Slight element face warpage is possible with quadrilateral planar elements (all four points do not necessarily lie on a common plane).
• Triangular: Only 3-sided elements are generated.

Location of New Element Shape Options

The location of the new element shape options depends upon which Mesh type is selected within the Model Mesh Settings dialog box.

Midplane:

1. Click Mesh Mesh 3D Mesh Settings.
2. Click the Midplane radio button in the Mesh type section.
3. Click the Options button.
4. Click the Midplane icon. The Mixed and Triangular options are in the Midplane mesh type section of the General tab.

Plate/Shell:

1. Click Mesh Mesh 3D Mesh Settings.
2. Click the Plate/shell radio button in the Mesh type section.
3. Click the Options button.
4. Click the Plate icon. The Mixed and Triangular options are in the Plate mesh type section of the General tab.