A new element bisection algorithm for unstructured adaptive tetrahedral mesh generation

Abstract

A new h‐refinement adaptive tetrahedral mesh generation algorithm is presented. Three‐dimensional domains, to be analysed by the finite element method, are initially modelled by a coarse background mesh of tetrahedral elements. This mesh forms the input for finite element analysis and error estimation by the Zienkiewicz‐Zhu simple error estimator. Adaptive mesh refinement proceeds by selecting an element for remeshing whose longest edge is shared by elements that also require refinement. This group of elements is refined by inserting a new node at the mid‐point of the shared edge thereby bisecting all elements within the group. Adaptive parameters are calculated for the new node and elements. Refinement then proceeds until no further group of elements can be found for refinement or no elements within the current mesh require further refinement. The shape quality of the current mesh is then enhanced by the iterative application of nodal relaxation plus three topological transformations. The entire refinement process is repeated iteratively until the required degree of mesh refinement is reached. Ten‐noded linear strain tetrahedral finite element meshes have been used for the finite element and error estimation analyses. Four examples of adaptive tetrahedral mesh generation for linear elastic stress/displacement analysis are presented which show that this algorithm is robust and efficient in terms of reduction of the domain error with a minimum number of degrees of freedom being generated, number of iterations, and therefore finite element analyses, required and computational time for refinement when compared to the advancing front method and Delaunay triangulation.

Citation

Wilson, J.K. and Topping, B.H.V. (1998), "A new element bisection algorithm for unstructured adaptive tetrahedral mesh generation", Engineering Computations, Vol. 15 No. 5, pp. 588-615. https://doi.org/10.1108/02644409810225779