The pre-mesh quality functions are accessible through .
Applying any of the quality checks produces a histogram plot. The quality Criterion, typically in the range of 0 to 1, is subdivided and assigned to Bars on the x-axis. The y-axis measures the number of elements in a given range and is scaled from 0 to a value that is indicated by the Height.
Determining the Location of Elements
By clicking on any of the histogram bars you can determine where in the model these elements are located. The selected histogram bars will be highlighted by a change in color. After selecting the bars, the Show feature is selected to highlight the elements in this range. If the Solid feature is enabled, the elements marked in the histogram bars will be displayed with solid shading.
Some of the quality metrics are:
- Determinant
Computes the deformation of the elements in the mesh by first calculating of the Jacobian of each hexahedron and then normalizing the determinant of the matrix. A value of 1 represents a perfect hexahedral cube, while a value of 0 is a totally inverted cube with a negative volume. In general, determinant values above 0.3 are acceptable for most solvers.
- Angle
Checks the maximum internal angle deviation from 90° for each element. Various solvers have different tolerance limits for the internal angle check. If the elements are distorted and the internal angles are small, the accuracy of the solution will decrease. It is always wise to check with the solver provider to obtain limits for the internal angle threshold. The histogram x-axis will cover the range of 0 to 90°.
- Volume
Computes the internal volume of the elements in the model. The x-axis will show volume in the unit that was used to create the model.
- Warpage
Indicates the level of element distortion. Nodes that are in-plane with one another will produce an element with small warpage. Nodes that make elements twisted or distorted will increase an element's distortion, giving a high degree of warpage. The x- axis, which ranges from a Min of 0 to a Max of 90, is the degree of warpage that an element experiences.
A full list of pre-mesh quality Criteria is available in Pre Mesh Quality Options