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Grid-based hexahedral element meshing algorithms for solid models with concave curved boundary lines

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Abstract

This paper presented a grid-based hexahedral element mesh generation algorithm for solid models with concave curved boundary lines. A deep study was focused on the boundary matching and quality improvement techniques. Firstly, a method for computing the curvature values of the triangle facets and sub-surfaces was proposed. In order to improve the surface mesh quality, a layer of new elements was inserted on the surface of the jagged core mesh. Then, a relative position relationship method was used to match C-edges of the solid model. Eight different types of free quadrilateral facet configurations were established. In order to handle the concave curve-matching problem, this paper proposed a method to modify the matching properties of the degenerate quadrilateral facets fitted on the same concave curved boundary line by unifying their orientations to point to the same sub-surface. In addition, six mixed templates were newly proposed to improve the geometrical topology of the degenerate elements associated with concave curves and sharp features. The positions of the nodes were smoothed by the modified Laplacian method and objective function. Finally, the effectiveness and reliability of the algorithms proposed in this paper were demonstrated by a practical example.

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Acknowledgments

This research work is supported by Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 50875155), and Program for Chang Jiang Scholars and Innovative Research Team in University of Ministry of Education of China (No. IRT0931).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory for Liquid-Solid Structural Evolution and Processing of Materials (Ministry of Education), Shandong University, Jinan, 250061, People’s Republic of China

    Lu Sun, Guoqun Zhao & Xinwu Ma

  2. Engineering Research Center for Mould and Die Technologies, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, 250061, People’s Republic of China

    Lu Sun, Guoqun Zhao & Xinwu Ma

Authors
  1. Lu Sun
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  2. Guoqun Zhao
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  3. Xinwu Ma
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Correspondence to Guoqun Zhao.

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Sun, L., Zhao, G. & Ma, X. Grid-based hexahedral element meshing algorithms for solid models with concave curved boundary lines. Engineering with Computers 30, 57–78 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00366-012-0287-5

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