Geometric diagram for representing shape quality in mesh refinement

summary:We review and discuss a method to normalize triangles by the longest-edge. A geometric diagram is described as a helpful tool for studying and interpreting the quality of triangle shapes during iterative mesh refinements. Modern CAE systems as those implementing the finite element method (FEM) require such tools for guiding the user about the quality of generated triangulations. In this paper we show that a similar method and corresponding geometric diagram in the three-dimensional case do not exist

There are simple and robust refinements (almost) as good as Delaunay

A new edge-based partition for triangle meshes is presented, the Seven Triangle Quasi-Delaunay partition (7T-QD). The proposed partition joins together ideas of the Seven Triangle Longest-Edge partition (7T-LE), and the classical criteria for constructing Delaunay meshes. The new partition performs similarly compared to the Delaunay triangulation (7T-D) with the benefit of being more robust and with a cheaper cost in computation. It will be proved that in most of the cases the 7T-QD is equal to the 7T-D. In addition, numerical tests will show that the difference on the minimum angle obtained by the 7T-QD and by the 7T-D is negligible

TriMe++: Multi-threaded triangular meshing in two dimensions

We present TriMe++, a multi-threaded software library designed for generating two-dimensional meshes for intricate geometric shapes using the Delaunay triangulation. Multi-threaded parallel computing is implemented throughout the meshing procedure, making it suitable for fast generation of large-scale meshes. Three iterative meshing algorithms are implemented: the DistMesh algorithm, the centroidal Voronoi diagram meshing, and a hybrid of the two. We compare the performance of the three meshing methods in TriMe++, and show that the hybrid method retains the advantages of the other two. The software library achieves significant parallel speedup when generating a large mesh with $10^6$ points. TriMe++ can handle complicated geometries and generates adaptive meshes of high quality

Integrated modeling and analysis methodologies for architecture-level vehicle design.

In order to satisfy customer expectations, a ground vehicle must be designed to meet a broad range of performance requirements. A satisfactory vehicle design process implements a set of requirements reflecting necessary, but perhaps not sufficient conditions for assuring success in a highly competitive market. An optimal architecture-level vehicle design configuration is one of the most important of these requirements. A basic layout that is efficient and flexible permits significant reductions in the time needed to complete the product development cycle, with commensurate reductions in cost. Unfortunately, architecture-level design is the most abstract phase of the design process. The high-level concepts that characterize these designs do not lend themselves to traditional analyses normally used to characterize, assess, and optimize designs later in the development cycle. This research addresses the need for architecture-level design abstractions that can be used to support ground vehicle development. The work begins with a rigorous description of hierarchical function-based abstractions representing not the physical configuration of the elements of a vehicle, but their function within the design space. The hierarchical nature of the abstractions lends itself to object orientation - convenient for software implementation purposes - as well as description of components, assemblies, feature groupings based on non-structural interactions, and eventually, full vehicles. Unlike the traditional early-design abstractions, the completeness of our function-based hierarchical abstractions, including their interactions, allows their use as a starting point for the derivation of analysis models. The scope of the research in this dissertation includes development of meshing algorithms for abstract structural models, a rigid-body analysis engine, and a fatigue analysis module. It is expected that the results obtained in this study will move systematic design and analysis to the earliest phases of the vehicle development process, leading to more highly optimized architectures, and eventually, better ground vehicles. This work shows that architecture level abstractions in many cases are better suited for life cycle support than geometric CAD models. Finally, substituting modeling, simulation, and optimization for intuition and guesswork will do much to mitigate the risk inherent in large projects by minimizing the possibility of incorporating irrevocably compromised architecture elements into a vehicle design that no amount of detail-level reengineering can undo

Local refinement based on the 7-triangle longest-edge partition

The triangle longest-edge bisection constitutes an efficient scheme for refining a mesh by reducing the obtuse triangles, since the largest interior angles are subdivided. In this paper we specifically introduce a new local refinement for triangulations based on the longest-edge trisection, the 7-triangle longest-edge (7T-LE) local refinement algorithm. Each triangle to be refined is subdivided in seven sub-triangles by determining its longest edge. The conformity of the new mesh is assured by an automatic point insertion criterion using the oriented 1-skeleton graph of the triangulation and three partial division patterns