Sizing Control

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Meshing Help | Meshing Capabilities in Workbench | Mesh Controls | Local Mesh Controls |

Sizing Control

The sizing control sets:

The element size for a selected body, face, or edge. The number of divisions along an edge. The element size within a user-defined sphere of influence that can include a selected body, face, edge, or vertex. This control is recommended for local mesh sizing. The control must also be attached to a coordinate system if it is to be scoped to anything other than a vertex.

To Access Sizing 1. Select a body, face, edge, or vertex. 2. From the Mesh Control toolbar, choose Sizing. or Right click on the selected object and choose Insert> Sizing. 3. Specify options under Details of Sizing in the Type field. The available choices depend on the topology you selected in step 1 above. If you selected a body or a face, the following options are available in the Type field: Element Size (default) allows you to enter a value directly in the Element Size field. Enter a positive value (decimals are allowed) in this field. Smaller values generate more divisions. A value of "0" instructs the control to use its defaults. The following series of figures shows the effect of the sizing control applied to a face.
Element Size set to 0.5.

Element Size default.

Sphere of Influence allows you to apply mesh sizing within the confines of a sphere in space that you define as follows: a. Create a local coordinate system whose origin you intend to be the center of the sphere. b. Select this coordinate system in the Sphere Center field. c. Enter the radius of the sphere in the Sphere Radius field. d. Enter a value in the Element Size field. The element size will be applied to all topologies within the confines of the sphere. For example, if you are applying the element size to a face, the size will also be applied to the edges of that face, and to the vertices of those edges, but only within the confines of the sphere. An example is shown below.

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If you selected an edge, the options available in the Type field are Element Size and Sphere of Influence (as described above for when you select a body or a face), along with the Number of Divisions option. Choosing Number of Divisions and entering a value in the Number of Divisions field is an alternative to choosing Element Size if you are interested in having the mesh be sized according to a discrete number of divisions along an edge. If you selected a vertex, the only option available in the Type field is Sphere of Influence. The description is the same as presented above for when you select a body or a face except that the center of the sphere is the vertex. There is no need to create or use a local coordinate system to define the center of the sphere. After applying element size to a vertex using Sphere of Influence, the element size is applied to all topologies connected to that vertex, such as all edges and faces containing that vertex, if they fall within the sphere. An example is shown below.

4. For bodies, faces, or edges only, specify an Edge Behavior option to either Curv/Proximity Refinement (default) or to No Curv/Proximity Refinement. (For edges, these options are Soft or Hard, respectively). For edges, choosing the Hard option means that the size or number of divisions is fixed on the edge and cannot be changed by the meshing algorithm and the likelihood of a mesh failure increases. When you choose No Curv/Proximity Refinement on a face/body, curvature pre-refinement is not performed on the edges of the face/body, but the edge can be split by the mesher. Edge Behavior is not available for Sphere of Influence. 5. For edges only, use Bias Type to adjust the spacing ratio of nodes on an edge. This feature is useful for any engineering problem where nodes need to be clustered on an edge or group of edges, or if there is a need to bias the mapped mesh of a face towards a specific direction with respect to the edges of the face. Bias Type can be used with all meshers except Patch Independent, Uniform Quad/Tri, and CFX-Mesh. To use Bias Type, choose one of the four pre-determined patterned options depicted pictorially from the Bias Type drop down menu:

then specify a Bias Factor, which is defined as the ratio of the largest edge to the smallest edge.

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Note

If Edge Behavior is set to Hard, then the number of divisions and the bias cannot be changed. If Edge Behavior is set to Soft, then the edge divisions can be changed but the edge will be initially meshed with the specified Bias Factor. Notes on Element Sizing Visual aids are available to assist you. When you pick an edge, the edge length is displayed. A circle is displayed adjacent to the cursor whose diameter indicates the current setting in the Element Size field. The scale ruler is displayed below the graphic and provides a good estimate of the scale of the model. Also, if you specify a bias, and if you set Element Size to a value other than Default, the size control will be displayed graphically with the initial mesh density (including any specified bias) in the Geometry window. When Applying Sizes to Edges: If possible, the meshing algorithm places the requested number of divisions on the specified edge. Otherwise, the algorithm adjusts the number to allow a successful mesh generation. When Sweeping: Consider the following when applying size controls to source and target geometry: If your sizing controls are scoped to either the source or target face, the mesher will transfer the size control to the opposite face. If you have a size control on both faces, the size on one of the faces will be used. That face is automatically determined by the software. However the size on the edges of the target face will not be affected if no sizes are explicitly defined on these edges. If you have a sphere of influence on a possible source or target face, the face with the most spheres will be chosen as the source face. The edge mesh of the source face affected by the sphere of influence will not affect the target face. This may prevent the model from sweeping with acceptable element quality. To avoid this, place the sphere of influence on the edges of both the source and target face. Applying sizes, regardless of type (that is, size, number of divisions, sphere of influence), to the edges of possible source and target faces will only affect the faces that use these edges. If you want to control a side area, the problem must be properly constrained such that the interval assignment does not override your size control. The divisions on the edge may decrease in order to make the body sweepable. When using a meshing process other than swept meshing, the divisions can only increase. When applying a size to a part that is sweepable, the resulting mesh may have fewer divisions on the edge than specified due to the interval assignment logic of the sweepers. When sweeping a model, if you use the Sphere of Influence sizing control and the sphere is not touching the edges of a side area or is totally enclosed in the body, the sphere will have no effect. When sweeping a closed torus (shown below) with an applied size on the face of the torus, the number of divisions that will result on the torus is governed by the arc length between the caps of the surface on the inside of the torus.

Resulting mesh:

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Using the Sphere of Influence sizing control may not have any effect on the generated mesh if the control is scoped to the Body of a Line Body. Elements falling within 3 overlapping spheres of influence will be created with an averaged size. Within 4 or more spheres, the size is calculated by a radius-dependent least-squares fit of all the spheres. Regardless of value for the sizing control you set, other factors such as edge and face curvature and the proximity of small features may override the effect of the sizing control. If you apply a local Sizing control to a solid body with a Method control set to Hex Dominant or Sweep, or to a sheet body with a Method control set to Quadrilateral Dominant, a near uniform quadrilateral mesh will result on all affected faces on a body meshed with Hex Dominant, on the source face meshed with Sweep, and on all affected faces meshed with Quadrilateral Dominant. To obtain even more of a uniform quadrilateral mesh, set the Edge Behavior of the Sizing control to No Curv/Proximity Refinement. If several sizing controls are attached to the same edge, face, or body, the last control is applied. If a sizing control is placed on an edge and then another is placed on a face or body that contains that edge, the edge sizing takes precedence over the face or part sizing. If you have adjusted the element size, then changed length units in a CATIA, ACIS, or Autodesk Mechanical Desktop model, when you choose Update or Clean at a Model or Project node in the tree outline, you may need to re-adjust the element size. The sizing control does not automatically re-adjust to match this situation.

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