To produce the optimal mesh, it is essential that all surfaces and curves have the proper tetra sizes assigned to them. For a visual representation of the mesh size, select from the Display Tree. The same can be done with Curves. Tetra icons will appear, representing the element size of the mesh to be created on these entities. Using the mouse, you can rotate the model and visually confirm that the tetra sizes are appropriate. If a curve or surface does not have an icon plotted on it, the icon may be too large or too small to see. In this case, modify the mesh parameters so that the icons are visible in a normal display.
Mesh size can be set for individual curves and surfaces, or by parts, using the Curve Mesh Setup and Surface Mesh Setup tools on the Mesh tab. Modify the mesh size for all entities by adjusting the Scale Factor, which is found with other tools on the Mesh tab.
Important: If the Scale Factor is assigned a value
of 0, the Tetra mesher will not run.
Curvature/Proximity Based Refinement
If the maximum tetrahedral size defined on a surface is larger than needed to resolve the feature, you can employ Curvature/Proximity Based Refinement, accessed in the Global Mesh Setup tools, to automatically subdivide the mesh to capture the feature. The value specified is proportional to the global scale factor, and is the smallest size to be achieved through automatic element subdivision. Even with large sizes specified on the surfaces, the features can be captured automatically.
The Curvature/Proximity Based Refinement value is the minimum element size to be achieved via automatic subdivision. If the maximum size on a geometry entity is smaller than the Curvature/Proximity Based Refinement value, the Tetra mesher will still subdivide to meet that requested size. The effect is a geometry-based adaptation of the mesh.