Application | PLAXIS 3D |
Version | CONNECT Edition V20 Update 2 |
Date created | 29 April 2020 |
Date modified | 29 April 2020 |
With the release of PLAXIS 3D CONNECT Edition V20 Update 2, the meshing procedure is enhanced with the new Swept meshing feature.
This feature allows for swept meshes to be generated for particular geometries with volumes, as detailed below.
Figure 1 – Mesh options window with Swept meshing option activated
The feature Swept meshing refers to the method in which a face of a volume (termed as source face) is meshed and then “swept” along the main volume following its trajectory (termed as sweeping direction), thus creating a volume mesh.
The cross-section of the volume considered should remain constant along the trajectory of the volume, which will allow for the source face to be swept along the sweeping direction.
Figure 2 - Volume to be swept, source face and sweeping direction
Using the Swept meshing feature, when applicable, offers the advantages of:
When the checkbox Swept meshing is activated in the Mesh options window (see Figure 1), PLAXIS 3D will perform an automatic swept mesh detection.
The automatic selection of volumes has 2 steps:
Note that it is always important to inspect the generated mesh in PLAXIS Output program to ensure that the generated mesh fits the requirements of the calculation.
PLAXIS 3D automatically detects which volumes included in the geometry can be considered as sweepable.
A volume is considered sweepable if:
Figure 3a - Geometry to be evaluated
Figure 3b - Geometry considered to be swept
Below you can find some examples comparing the generated mesh with and without activating the Swept meshing feature.
Figure 3c - Generated mesh of pile-raft foundation and intersecting tunnels
Figure 4 - Generated mesh of dual tunnels
Figure 5 - Generated mesh of NATM tunnel