13.7.1. Mesh Visualization Advice

The following table gives some guidelines for checking mesh quality. If there are elements that have mesh quality parameters greater or less than those listed, you may find problems with using the mesh in the CFX-Solver.

Element Type

Elements may be a problem if they have any of:

Tetrahedrons (4 nodes)

Edge Length Ratio > 100

Max Face Angle > 170˚

Min Face Angle < 10˚

Element Volume Ratio > 30

Connectivity Number > 50

Pyramids (5 nodes)

Edge Length Ratio > 100

Max Face Angle > 170˚

Min Face Angle < 10˚

Element Volume Ratio > 5

Prisms (6 nodes)

Edge Length Ratio > 100

Max Face Angle > 170˚

Min Face Angle < 10˚

Element Volume Ratio > 5

Connectivity Number > 12

Hexahedrons (8 nodes)

Edge Length Ratio > 100

Max/Min Edge Length > 100

Min Face Angle < 10˚

Element Volume Ratio > 5

Connectivity Number > 24

In many cases, the robustness of the CFX-Solver will not be adversely affected by high element volume ratios. However, you should be aware that accuracy will decrease as the element volume ratio increases. For optimal accuracy, you should try to keep the element volume ratio less than the value suggested in the above table.