Filling arbitrary holes in finite element models

Abstract

We present a new approach for filling arbitrary holes in Finite Element (FE) models composed of independent meshes which are commonly used in Computer Aided Engineering (CAE). During the preprocessing of an FE model for fluid structure simulation a closed structure hull is required in order to subsequently generate a volume mesh representing the fluid. Today's complex CAE models include thousands of holes that need to be effectively processed. The widespread algorithms mostly fail the special requirements in this context as they can only process holes within a single mesh or smooth surfaces without feature lines. Extending these features into the filling mesh is important for both the visual quality as well as the simulation results. The presented approach handles these cases and automatically detects ordinary holes, e.g. with topological defined boundary. Additionally, holes with more complex boundaries, e.g. defined by several independent meshes, can be specified interactively by the user. Our hole quantification enables the user to automatically close the vast majority of holes and substantially accelerates this preprocessing step. Furthermore, the presented meshing algorithm offers extensive control to gain satisfying results for the described use case.