Using Mesh Adaptation

To enable Mesh Adaptation, open the Solve dialog, and click the Adaptation tab.

The Adaptation dialog contains several Mesh Adaptation controls. The following items are the most commonly used. They define essential behavior including the number of adaptive cycles and if the results from intermediate cycles are saved:

Enable Adaptation

To enable Mesh Adaptation, check Enable Adaptation.

Cycles to Run

By default, three adaptation cycles are run. To run a different number, change Cycles to Run. Note that the total number of scenarios includes a baseline plus the specified number of cycles.

If Adaptation is enabled before running a simulation, an initial baseline is run in addition to the specified number of cycles:

Total cycles = Cycles to Run + 1

If Adaptation is enabled after running a simulation, only the prescribed number of Cycles to Run are run. The existing scenario is used as the baseline.

Save Cycles

To save each intermediate mesh, enable Save Cycles. Each time a scenario finishes, it is automatically cloned, and the cycle number is appended to the base scenario name. For example:

1. At the beginning of the process, the default scenario name is Scenario 1.
2. Scenario 1 is run to completion and cloned. The cloned scenario is named Scenario 1- Mesh 1.
3. The mesh on Scenario 1is adapted to the results, and run to completion.
4. Scenario 1 is cloned again. The cloned scenario is named Scenario 1 - Mesh 2.
5. This continues for the specified number of cycles.
6. At the end, Scenario 1 contains the final mesh, and the intermediate cycles are saved in Scenario 1 - Mesh 1, Scenario 1 - Mesh 2, and Scenario 1 - Mesh 3, etc.

Because each mesh cycle is saved to a unique scenario, it is easy to use the Design Review Center and the Decision Center to study the effect of mesh sensitivity and to determine mesh dependency.

If Save Cycles is disabled, only the final mesh and results are saved in the design study. The intermediate adaptation cycles are discarded.

Allow Coarsening

By default, Mesh Adaptation only refines the mesh. To allow it to make the mesh coarser (thus preventing the mesh from growing too large), enable Allow Coarsening.