Tetra Meshing

Use the Tetra tool to fill an enclosed volume with first order or second order tetrahedral elements.

A region is considered enclosed if it is entirely bounded by a shell mesh (tria and/or quad elements). Hexahedral, wedge, and pyramid element configurations can also be generated during tetra meshing. These elements are typically generated when you need boundary layer type meshes on certain areas of the volume surface.

Create Tetra Mesh

Use the Create tool to create tetra mesh from closed volumes of shell elements, or from solid or closed surface geometry.

  1. From the Mesh ribbon, 3D Mesh tools, click Tetra > Create.


    Figure 1.
  2. Optional: On the guide bar, click to define tetra mesh options.
  3. Select components, solids, or surfaces.
    Switch between the three using the drop-down menu on the guide bar.
  4. Optional: Click Anchors on the guide bar and select anchor nodes.
  5. Click Mesh.


Figure 2.
Tip: On the guide bar, click to open the Advanced Selection dialog, from which you can filter geometry further by selecting a subset of entities based on additional selection methods, such as By Component or By Assembly.

Remesh Tetra Mesh

Use the Remesh tool to regenerate the mesh for a single volume of tetrahedral elements.

  1. From the Mesh ribbon, 3D Mesh tools, click Tetra > Remesh.


    Figure 3.
  2. Optional: On the guide bar, click to define tetra mesh options.
  3. Select elements.
  4. Optional: Click Baffles on the guide bar and select baffle shells.
  5. Optional: Click Anchors on the guide bar and select anchor nodes.
  6. Click Mesh.


Figure 4.
Tip: On the guide bar, click to open the Advanced Selection dialog, from which you can filter geometry further by selecting a subset of entities based on additional selection methods, such as By Component or By Assembly.

Tetra Mesh Options

Create

Element size definition
The mesh size definition used to create the tetra mesh.
Average size
The average element size used to create the tetra mesh.
Maximum size
The maximum element size used to create the tetra mesh.
Growth rate
The factor to control the rate of transition in case of element size change.
Layered tetra
Enable layered element generation in close proximity areas.
Number of layers
The number of layers to use.
Fix invalid surface mesh
Fix invalid input surface mesh before tetra mesh creation.
Quality control criteria
The quality control criteria to be used while creating the tetra mesh.
Tetra collapse >
Optimize the tetra elements to have tetra collapse greater than this value.
Cell squish <
Optimize the tetra elements to have cell squish less than this value.
Volume skew <
Optimize the tetra elements to have volume skew less than this value.
Fill voids
Fill the innermost cavity while creating the tetra mesh.
Fix mid-nodes for a second order mesh
Fixes the mid-node positions for a second order tetra mesh.
Meshing method
The meshing method to be used when creating the tetra mesh.
Mesh destination
The component in which the tetra mesh is to be organized.
Restrict minimum size
Restricts the minimum size of the tetra mesh
Minimum size
The minimum size of the tetra mesh.

Remesh

Element size definition
The mesh size definition used to create the tetra mesh.
Average size
The average element size used to create the tetra mesh.
Maximum size
The maximum element size used to create the tetra mesh.
Quality control criteria
The quality control criteria to be used while creating the tetra mesh.
Tetra collapse >
Optimize the tetra elements to have tetra collapse greater than this value.
Cell squish <
Optimize the tetra elements to have cell squish less than this value.
Volume skew <
Optimize the tetra elements to have volume skew less than this value.
Fix mid-nodes for a second order mesh
Fixes the mid-node positions for a second order tetra mesh.
Surface mesh treatment
The surface mesh treatment method to be used while remeshing.
Mesh destination
The component in which the tetra mesh is to be organized.
Restrict minimum size
Restricts the minimum size of the tetra mesh
Minimum size
The minimum size of the tetra mesh.