General Preprocessing

1
General Preprocessing

• Appendix Three

2
Global Mesh Controls (ANSYS)

• Comparisons of meshing in Simulation and ANSYS
• Global Element Size is similar to ESIZE
• The Curv/Proximity setting in Simulation is
  somewhat similar to SMRTSIZE meshing in ANSYS
• Both consider curvature and proximity of curves
• Meshing behavior produces different results,
  however, so these two settings are not exactly
  the same
• The Shape Checking toggle is SHPP,LSTET,ON
• Use of Jacobian tests at integration points is
  the Standard or SHPP,LSTET,ON method, suitable
  for linear analyses
• Use of Jacobian tests at corner nodes is the
  Aggressive or SHPP,LSTET,OFF method. This is
  generally a more conservative approach and may be
  preferred for nonlinear analyses. This is
  because elements which undergo distortion during
  solution should have a good quality shape to
  begin with.
• Because Simulation uses its own criteria for
  shape tests, SHPP,OFF is set when exporting a
  mesh to ANSYS.

3
Local Mesh Controls (ANSYS)

• Internally, the following is used
• Part Relevance is similar to changing SMRTSIZE
  settings prior to meshing specific volumes
  (bodies)
• Sizing with Element Size or Number of
  Element Divisions is similar to LESIZE and
  AESIZE. The Sphere of Influence option is not
  present in ANSYS.
• Contact Sizing is not directly available in
  ANSYS but is analogous to setting AESIZE on
  surfaces which comprise contact regions prior to
  meshing
• Refinement is similar to KREFINE, LREFINE,
  AREFINE

4
Element Shape Options (ANSYS)

• Internally, the following is used
• Mapped Face Meshing is similar to MSHKEY,1 with
  appropriate MSHAPE setting
• Element Shape is similar to using VMESH (free)
  or VSWEEP.
• Part Proximity is somewhat similar to SMRTSIZE
• Hex-dominant meshing capabilities are not present
  in ANSYS.
• Note that some lower-order element types (e.g.,
  SOLID45) do not support pyramid shape. If
  hex-to-tet transitions (multibody parts) or the
  hex-dominant meshing (Adv. Struct. Meshing
  Module) is used, do not set to lower-order
  elements in Meshing branch
• Workbench users can import the Simulation mesh to
  FE Modeler to see the number of degenerate
  elements present before importing to ANSYS.