Automatic Automatic gradation relieves the user from having to specify numerous mesh densities in order to obtain a smoothly graded mesh. Typically, given a body to mesh, the user only needs to assign mesh densities to the model entities that are of…

Steered Adaptive Meshing Applications Our recent emphasis in fluid-structure interaction analysis has been on the automation of the FSI procedures by the use of steered adaptive meshing ( Steered Adaptive Meshing in ADINA — for FSI ). In this Brief…

Effective Meshes using the Size Function Option In many problems, it is very important to be able to mesh densely in certain areas and more coarsely in other areas — like in the analysis of the helmet above, where the contact area requires a fine mesh…

Automatic Free-Form All-Brick Elements in Meshes Meshing is an important capability in the ADINA pre-processor that we are constantly working to improve. Not long ago, we presented the enhancements made to our automatic free-form hex dominant mesher…

Automatic Hex Dominant Meshing In ADINA, the free-form hex dominant mesher can handle complex parts and allow non-uniform mesh subdivision. In addition, various features that are available in the free-form tet mesher can now be used for the hex dominant…

Easy Use of Error Measures in ADINA A very important step in finite element analysis is to ensure that the numerical results are accurate. The error measures based on the work of Sussman and Bathe (see T. Sussman and K. J. Bathe, "Studies of Finite…

Assessing the Numerical Error in the Finite Element Solution The most important step in any finite element analysis is clearly choosing the appropriate mathematical model to solve. This model must contain all the important ingredients regarding the…

Meshing Tools in ADINA ADINA offers powerful meshing tools to help users generate high-quality meshes of various element types. In this Tech Brief, we give a brief educational overview of the advancing front and Delaunay triangulation methods used for…

Triangular Surface Meshing Surfaces can be triangulated in ADINA using either an advancing front or a Delaunay surface mesher. Advancing Front A standard 2D advancing front algorithm is applied in parameter space. Actual distances are obtained…

Tetrahedral Meshing Bodies can be triangulated in ADINA using either an advancing front or a Delaunay mesher. Advancing Front A standard advancing front methodology is applied in 3D space. Sizes are controlled by an octree. Elements are created…

Anisotropic meshing Anisotropic meshing is available in both 2D and 3D to support: Boundary layers, and Multiple elements across thin sections. Boundary Layers Input is a triangular mesh in 2D or a tetrahedral mesh in 3D. Boundary…

Quadrilateral Surface Meshing Surfaces can be meshed with quadrilaterals in ADINA using a "combine/refine" methodology. A triangular surface mesh is obtained with the Delaunay mesher considering an interior point placement likely to create good…

Mesh Adaptation-Repair In computations of fluid flow with structural interactions (FSI) or fluid flow with moving boundaries, it is necessary to update the mesh topology when the mesh is no longer valid due to node movement. This is accomplished in…

Curvature-based Meshing In curvature-based meshing, mesh density is dictated by the body's boundary (edge and face) curvatures. By giving a maximum allowed geometric discretization error (how much a boundary mesh edge can deviate from the body edge…

Mapped Meshing Mapped meshing can be used for an entire model or for certain parts of a model, in which case free (unstructured) meshing is used for the remaining parts of the model. Element Types Brick or tetrahedral elements can be generated…

This section contains general knowledge and useful tips on the following topics in ADINA: Engineering Analysis Meshing Geometry Interfaces Solvers Theory Engineering Analysis Improved Contact Solutions and Traction Calculations…