Finite element mesh generation

Abstract

The quality of a mesh is crucially important if FEM solutions are to be deemed acceptable. Too coarse a mesh will lead to inaccurate FEM solutions. The finer the mesh, the better the convergence of the numerical solution. However, finer meshes tend to be expensive in terms of computing resources. The experienced user of FEM would have, over time, developed the skills required for creating just the right mesh for a given problem. Becoming proficient users of fea, with the ability to create representative meshes of the idealized physical problem will serve as a motivation for this chapter. This chapter presents fundamentals of finite element meshes by defining nodes and elements, and the different types of elements. The chapter also describes the principle behind meshing algorithms in commercial FEM solvers. This chapter concludes by presenting reflections on quality of meshes and the type of meshes needed for different type of practical problems. It is expected that at the end of this chapter, readers should have developed a holistic understanding of the effects of meshes to the FEM process.