Mesh Generation for Convex 3-Dimensional Domain

The aim of this investigation is the proposal of 3D mesh generation method based on the Delaunay triangulation. The method is valid for the finite element modelling of any convex 3D domain into tetrahedra with optimum geometrical configuration. This paper includes the mathematical background of the mesh generation method, its detail, proposal of some efficient tools for faster and more rigorous computations, and some examples of the mesh generation

A frontal approach for internal node generation in Delaunay triangulations

The past decade has known an increasing interest in the solution of the Euler equations on unstructured grids due to the simplicity with which an unstructured grid can be tailored around very complex geometries and be adapted to the solution. It is desirable that the mesh can be generated with minimum input from the user, ideally, just specifying the boundary geometry and, perhaps, a function to prescribe some desired mesh size. The internal nodes should then be found automatically by the grid generation code. The approach we propose here combines the Delaunay triangulation with ideas from the advancing front method of Peraire et al. and LÖhner et al . Both methods are briefly reviewed in Section 1. Our method uses a background grid to interpolate local mesh size parameters that is taken from the triangulation of the given boundary nodes. Geometric criteria are used to find a set of nodes in a frontal manner. This set is subsequently introduced into the existing mesh, thus providing an update Delaunay triangulation. The procedure is repeated until no more improvement of the grid can be achieved by inserting new nodes.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/50209/1/1650170305_ftp.pd

On Volumetric Shape Reconstruction from Implicit Forms

International audienceIn this paper we report on the evaluation of volumetric shape reconstruction methods that consider as input implicit forms in 3D. Many visual applications build implicit representations of shapes that are converted into explicit shape representations using geometric tools such as the Marching Cubes algorithm. This is the case with image based reconstructions that produce point clouds from which implicit functions are computed, with for instance a Poisson reconstruction approach. While the Marching Cubes method is a versatile solution with proven efficiency, alternative solutions exist with different and complementary properties that are of interest for shape modeling. In this paper, we propose a novel strategy that builds on Centroidal Voronoi Tessellations (CVTs). These tessellations provide volumetric and surface representations with strong regularities in addition to provably more accurate approximations of the implicit forms considered. In order to compare the existing strategies, we present an extensive evaluation that analyzes various properties of the main strategies for implicit to explicit volumetric conversions: Marching cubes, Delaunay refinement and CVTs, including accuracy and shape quality of the resulting shape mesh

On some aspects of the CNEM implementation in 3D in order to simulate high speed machining or shearing

his paper deals with the implementation in 3D of the constrained natural element method (CNEM) in order to simulate material forming involving large strains. The CNEM is a member of the large family of mesh-free methods, but is at the same time very close to the finite element method. The CNEM’s shape function is built using the constrained Voronoï diagram (the dual of the constrained Delaunay tessella- tion) associated with a domain defined by a set of nodes and a description of its border. The use of the CNEM involves three main steps. First, the constrained Voronoï diagram is built. Thus, for each node, a Voronoï cell is geometrically defined, with respect of the boundary of the domain. Then, the Sibson-type CNEM shape functions are computed. Finally, the discretization of a generic variational for- mulation is defined by invoking an ‘‘stabilized conforming nodal integration’’. In this work, we focus especially on the two last points. In order to compute the Sibson shape function, five algorithms are pre- sented, analyzed and compared, two of them are developed. For the integration task, a discretization strategy is proposed to handle domains with strong non-convexities. These approaches are validated on some 3D benchmarks in elasticity under the hypothesis of small transformations. The obtained results are compared with analytical solutions and with finite elements results. Finally, the 3D CNEM is applied for addressing two forming processes: high speed shearing and machining

Bregman Voronoi Diagrams: Properties, Algorithms and Applications

The Voronoi diagram of a finite set of objects is a fundamental geometric structure that subdivides the embedding space into regions, each region consisting of the points that are closer to a given object than to the others. We may define many variants of Voronoi diagrams depending on the class of objects, the distance functions and the embedding space. In this paper, we investigate a framework for defining and building Voronoi diagrams for a broad class of distance functions called Bregman divergences. Bregman divergences include not only the traditional (squared) Euclidean distance but also various divergence measures based on entropic functions. Accordingly, Bregman Voronoi diagrams allow to define information-theoretic Voronoi diagrams in statistical parametric spaces based on the relative entropy of distributions. We define several types of Bregman diagrams, establish correspondences between those diagrams (using the Legendre transformation), and show how to compute them efficiently. We also introduce extensions of these diagrams, e.g. k-order and k-bag Bregman Voronoi diagrams, and introduce Bregman triangulations of a set of points and their connexion with Bregman Voronoi diagrams. We show that these triangulations capture many of the properties of the celebrated Delaunay triangulation. Finally, we give some applications of Bregman Voronoi diagrams which are of interest in the context of computational geometry and machine learning.Comment: Extend the proceedings abstract of SODA 2007 (46 pages, 15 figures

Generation of unstructured grids and Euler solutions for complex geometries

Algorithms are described for the generation and adaptation of unstructured grids in two and three dimensions, as well as Euler solvers for unstructured grids. The main purpose is to demonstrate how unstructured grids may be employed advantageously for the economic simulation of both geometrically as well as physically complex flow fields

On the use of Delaunay triangulation as 3D finite element modeler

Delaunay triangulation, a geometric subdivision of any convex domain, is often used as a finite element modeling method, but there are still several problems, which originally come from the characteristics of Delaunay triangulation. One problem appears when we remove some nodes which are already introduced for the triangulation. In this case we aim to obtain the triangulation without nodes by partial modification of the Delaunay triangulation with the node. Another problem occurs when tetrahedra with zero volume are generated by Delaunay triangulation. In this case they must be removed for the numerical analysis in order to guarantee the numerical stability and good numerical solutions. In this paper these two problems occuring at the use of Delaunay triangulation are theoretically discussed

Aspects of Unstructured Grids and Finite-Volume Solvers for the Euler and Navier-Stokes Equations

One of the major achievements in engineering science has been the development of computer algorithms for solving nonlinear differential equations such as the Navier-Stokes equations. In the past, limited computer resources have motivated the development of efficient numerical schemes in computational fluid dynamics (CFD) utilizing structured meshes. The use of structured meshes greatly simplifies the implementation of CFD algorithms on conventional computers. Unstructured grids on the other hand offer an alternative to modeling complex geometries. Unstructured meshes have irregular connectivity and usually contain combinations of triangles, quadrilaterals, tetrahedra, and hexahedra. The generation and use of unstructured grids poses new challenges in CFD. The purpose of this note is to present recent developments in the unstructured grid generation and flow solution technology