Interpret mesh statistics

In this task, you will complete the following steps to interpret mesh statistics.

• Open the Mesh Statistics dialog for the study opened in the previous task
• Examine the results in detail
• Determine whether there are any problems in the mesh

1. Open the tutorial_3_task_1 study from the Tutorial 3 project you created in the previous task.

2. Click (Mesh tab > Mesh Diagnostics panel > Mesh Statistics).

   The Mesh Statistics dialog appears.

3. Resize the Tools panel so that the mesh statistics are visible.

Entity Counts

The results confirm that the part is meshed, and that there are no 2D features (runners, cooling channels) in the model. The fact that two connectivity regions are reported is a matter of concern - the part should consist of only a single connected region. You will investigate and eliminate this problem in Task 3.

Aspect Ratio

The concept of triangle aspect ratios was explained in the Meshing tutorial. Ideally, the aspect ratio of all triangular elements should be less than 6. The maximum aspect ratio in this model is reported as about 11. You will learn how to reduce aspect ratios in a later task.

Edge Details

For a Midplane mesh, free edges are expected on the edges of the part. For a Dual Domain or 3D mesh, however, no free edges should be reported. The results report 54 free edges. As this is a Dual Domain mesh, there are defects to be repaired. You will correct this type of problem in Task 5.

Orientation Details

This result is relevant to Midplane and Dual Domain meshes. A unique number to each node and element for identification purposes. To determine if an element is oriented correctly, the "Right hand rule" is applied. For an individual element, the fingers of the right hand curl in the direction of the ascending node number. The direction of the thumb indicates the outer face. All elements on a surface must be oriented correctly. For a Dual Domain mesh, the "top" side of the elements should be pointing outward. When all elements in the mesh are oriented correctly, the Orientation Details result will be zero, as in this case.

Intersection Details

Regardless of the mesh type, a value other than zero for any of the results in this section indicates problems in the mesh. Three intersecting elements are reported for mesh in this example. You will learn how to fix this type of error in a later task.

Match Percentage

This section only appears for Dual Domain meshes. The results indicate that the matching between the elements representing the top and bottom surfaces of the part is more than the required 85 percent.

In the next task, you will fix the connectivity problem identified above.

Click the Next topic link below to move on to the next task of the tutorial.