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6/9/10 @ 21:56:12
In finite element modeling, a finer mesh typically results in a more accurate solution. However, as a mesh is
made finer, the computation time increases. How can you get a mesh that satisfactorily balances accuracy and
computing resources? One way is to perform a mesh convergence study as follows:
Create a mesh using the fewest, reasonable number of elements and analyze the model.
Recreate the mesh with a denser element distribution, re-analyze it and compare the results to those of
the previous mesh.
Keep increasing the mesh density and re-analyzing the model until the results converge satisfactorily.
This type of mesh convergence study can enable you to obtain an accurate solution with a mesh that is
sufficiently dense and not overly demanding of computing resources.
To modify the density of a finite element mesh, you can use a number of features including the following:
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n Displacement
2 0.01299
4 0.01163
8 0.01230
16 0.01254
32 0.01261
Figure 3: A plot of maximum displacement
versus n shows the changes in displacement
results for the different mesh densities.
n Stress
2 14344
4 22867
8 22240
16 22047
32 21994
Figure 4: A plot of maximum von Mises stress
versus n shows the changes in stress results for
the different mesh densities.
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Although this example shows displacement and stress results, the same general method can be used to
perform a mesh convergence study for other types of results.
For more information about meshing and mesh convergence studies, see the ALGOR User's Guide.
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6/9/2010