Description: You can now use mesh controls to assign either structured or free mesh techniques to the faces of solid regions that will be meshed using tetrahedral elements. This option gives you greater control over the appearance and quality of the tetrahedral mesh.

Only triangular elements can be assigned to the faces of tetrahedral regions. If you assign the structured technique, the selected faces must follow the same geometrical and topological requirements applicable for two-dimensional structured meshing. The new controls allow you to force Abaqus/CAE to use a structured mesh or free mesh on selected faces, overriding the technique assigned to the rest of the faces in the region.

For example, when reviewing the boundary triangular mesh created using the default controls for a tetrahedral region—a free mesh with mapped meshing where Abaqus/CAE determines that mapped meshing is appropriate—you may discover faces with a free mesh where you think a mapped mesh should be used. You can now select the desired faces and assign the structured mesh technique. Likewise, if you find faces to which Abaqus/CAE applied mapped meshing, but the resulting triangular mesh is of poor quality, you can assign the free mesh technique to those faces.

If you prevent Abaqus/CAE from applying mapped meshing to appropriate faces of a tetrahedral mesh (by setting mesh controls on the region), you can use the new controls to allow mapped meshing on selected boundary faces without changing the surface mesh for the entire region.

Figure 12–1 shows the difference between the default free meshing (left) and structured meshing (right) on the middle section of a cylindrical mounting boss.

Mesh module:
    MeshControls: Select faces of solid regions from the prompt area and choose 
    the faces to which you will assign mesh controls