Automatic Mesh Generation of Hybrid Mesh on Valves in Multiple Positions in Feedline Systems

Fluid flow simulations through a valve often require evaluation of the valve in multiple opening positions. A mesh has to be generated for the valve for each position and compounding. The problem is the fact that the valve is typically part of a larger feedline system. In this paper, we propose to develop a system to create meshes for feedline systems with parametrically controlled valve openings. Herein we outline two approaches to generate the meshes for a valve in a feedline system at multiple positions. There are two issues that must be addressed. The first is the creation of the mesh on the valve for multiple positions. The second is the generation of the mesh for the total feedline system including the valve. For generation of the mesh on the valve, we will describe the use of topology matching and mesh generation parameter transfer. For generation of the total feedline system, we will describe two solutions that we have implemented. In both cases the valve is treated as a component in the feedline system. In the first method the geometry of the valve in the feedline system is replaced with a valve at a different opening position. Geometry is created to connect the valve to the feedline system. Then topology for the valve is created and the portion of the topology for the valve is topology matched to the standard valve in a different position. The mesh generation parameters are transferred and then the volume mesh for the whole feedline system is generated. The second method enables the user to generate the volume mesh on the valve in multiple open positions external to the feedline system, to insert it into the volume mesh of the feedline system, and to reduce the amount of computer time required for mesh generation because only two small volume meshes connecting the valve to the feedline mesh need to be updated

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We investigate the mesh colors method for per-face parameterization for texture-mapping of geometry, implemented in the game engine Frostbite 3, for the purpose of evaluating the method compared to traditional texture-mapping in a real-time application. Traditional UV-mapping often causes discontinuities which commonly results in visible seams in the end results. If any change is done to the vertex positions or the topology a remapping of the UV-map has to be done. Mesh colors aims to avoid these problems by skipping the transformation to 2D space as in UV-mapping, and associating color samples directly with the geometry of a mesh. The implementation was done in Frostbite 3 in C++ and HLSL shader code, and rendered with the DirectX graphics API. The results show that mesh colors is a viable alternative in a real-time renderer. Though not as fast as regular UV-mapped textures due to lack of hardware accelerated filtering operations, mesh colors is a realistic alternative for special cases where regular texture-mapping would be cumbersome to work with or produce sub-par results. Possible areas of future research are efficient data structures suitable to handle data insertion dynamically, compression of mesh colors data, and mesh colors in the context of mesh LOD generation

Multi-scale space-variant FRep cellular structures

Existing mesh and voxel based modeling methods encounter difficulties when dealing with objects containing cellular structures on several scale levels and varying their parameters in space. We describe an alternative approach based on using real functions evaluated procedurally at any given point. This allows for modeling fully parameterized, nested and multi-scale cellular structures with dynamic variations in geometric and cellular properties. The geometry of a base unit cell is defined using Function Representation (FRep) based primitives and operations. The unit cell is then replicated in space using periodic space mappings such as sawtooth and triangle waves. While being replicated, the unit cell can vary its geometry and topology due to the use of dynamic parameterization. We illustrate this approach by several examples of microstructure generation within a given volume or along a given surface. We also outline some methods for direct rendering and fabrication not involving auxiliary mesh and voxel representations

The KW-boundary hybrid digital waveguide mesh for room acoustics applications

The digital waveguide mesh is a discrete-time simulation used to model acoustic wave propagation through a bounded medium. It can be applied to the simulation of the acoustics of rooms through the generation of impulse responses suitable for auralization purposes. However, large-scale three-dimensional mesh structures are required for high quality results. These structures must therefore be efficient and also capable of flexible boundary implementation in terms of both geometrical layout and the possibility for improved mesh termination algorithms. The general one-dimensional N-port boundary termination is investigated, where N depends on the geometry of the modeled domain and the mesh topology used. The equivalence between physical variable Kirchoff-model, and scattering-based wave-model boundary formulations is proved. This leads to the KW-hybrid one-dimensional N-port boundary-node termination, which is shown to be equivalent to the Kirchoff- and wave-model cases. The KW-hybrid boundary-node is implemented as part of a new hybrid two-dimensional triangular digital waveguide mesh. This is shown to offer the possibility for large-scale, computationally efficient mesh structures for more complex shapes. It proves more accurate than a similar rectilinear mesh in terms of geometrical fit, and offers significant savings in processing time and memory use over a standard wave-based model. The new hybrid mesh also has the potential for improved real-world room boundary simulations through the inclusion of additional mixed modeling algorithms

Shape optimization with a level set based mesh evolution method

International audienceIn this article, we discuss an approach for geometry and topology optimization of structures which benefits from an accurate description of shapes at each stage of the iterative process - by means of a mesh amenable for mechanical analyses - while retaining the whole versatility of the level set method when it comes to accounting for their evolution. The key ingredients of this method are two operators for switching from a meshed representation of a domain to an implicit one, and conversely; this notably brings into play an algorithm for generating the signed distance function to an arbitrary discrete domain, and a mesh generation algorithm for implicitly-defined geometries

Pamgen, a library for parallel generation of simple finite element meshes.

Generating finite-element meshes is a serious bottleneck for large parallel simulations. When mesh generation is limited to serial machines and element counts approach a billion, this bottleneck becomes a roadblock. Pamgen is a parallel mesh generation library that allows on-the-fly scalable generation of hexahedral and quadrilateral finite element meshes for several simple geometries. It has been used to generate more that 1.1 billion elements on 17,576 processors. Pamgen generates an unstructured finite element mesh on each processor at the start of a simulation. The mesh is specified by commands passed to the library as a 'C'-programming language string. The resulting mesh geometry, topology, and communication information can then be queried through an API. pamgen allows specification of boundary condition application regions using sidesets (element faces) and nodesets (collections of nodes). It supports several simple geometry types. It has multiple alternatives for mesh grading. It has several alternatives for the initial domain decomposition. Pamgen makes it easy to change details of the finite element mesh and is very useful for performance studies and scoping calculations

Geometry Modeling for Unstructured Mesh Adaptation

The quantification and control of discretization error is critical to obtaining reliable simulation results. Adaptive mesh techniques have the potential to automate discretization error control, but have made limited impact on production analysis workflow. Recent progress has matured a number of independent implementations of flow solvers, error estimation methods, and anisotropic mesh adaptation mechanics. However, the poor integration of initial mesh generation and adaptive mesh mechanics to typical sources of geometry has hindered adoption of adaptive mesh techniques, where these geometries are often created in Mechanical Computer- Aided Design (MCAD) systems. The difficulty of this coupling is compounded by two factors: the inherent complexity of the model (e.g., large range of scales, bodies in proximity, details not required for analysis) and unintended geometry construction artifacts (e.g., translation, uneven parameterization, degeneracy, self-intersection, sliver faces, gaps, large tolerances be- tween topological elements, local high curvature to enforce continuity). Manual preparation of geometry is commonly employed to enable fixed-grid and adaptive-grid workflows by reducing the severity and negative impacts of these construction artifacts, but manual process interaction inhibits workflow automation. Techniques to permit the use of complex geometry models and reduce the impact of geometry construction artifacts on unstructured grid workflows are models from the AIAA Sonic Boom and High Lift Prediction are shown to demonstrate the utility of the current approach