*ADAP
i1
i1: i*4: Levels of element refinement. No default value.
This option specifies the number of levels of element refinement for adaptive analyses in all three spatial dimensions. The maximum allowed value of i1 is 6. Levels of refinement are demonstrated below.
No refinement 1 level of refinement 2 levels of refinement
Unrefined mesh Refined with 2 levels of refinement Magnified refined mesh
Best Practices
Direct Energy Deposition or Moving Heat Source Powder Bed Simulations:
Using a Local Simulation generated mesh (using *AUTM):
The automatic mesh generation element size is based upon the laser radius size and *NELR (which has a default value of 1). Ensure there are 1-2 elements per laser radius in the laser path and at least 2 elements through the thickness of the substrate.
*ADAP values of 1-4 are typical.
Using a Patran® generated mesh (using *INPU):
The Patran generated mesh will be the coarsest possible mesh as the adaptivity routines of Local Simulation will refine but not coarsen the mesh. Produce a mesh with 1-2 elements per laser radius in the laser path and at least 2 elements through the thickness of the substrate, using a combination of Patran, *ADAP, and *SUB2. Many, but not all, simulations will converge using 1 element per laser radius. Refinement beyond 2 elements per laser radius will prolong simulation times without giving more accurate thermo-mechanical simulations.
Part Scale Powder Bed Simulations
Part scale meshes are generated from STL files. Meshing of the manufactured component is controlled by *PBPA and *PBLR, while *ADAP controls the coarsening of the substrate. Higher levels of adaptivity yield coarser build plate meshes. A value of 4-5 is adequate for most simulations.