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Local Mesh Intensities
The mesh size can be reduced locally around points of particular interest and/or concern. The area to reduce the mesh size over is specified as a radius and the points to reduce the mesh size around are nodes within the MasterFrame model.
The Local Mesh Intensities options are accessed by going to Analysis>FE Surface Meshing>Local Mesh Intensities. The layout of the screen is shown below.
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To select nodes at which to reduce the mesh size, select the .png){kind=small}
icon, and then select the nodes graphically in the main graphical window. The number of the nodes will be added in the right hand pane. Once the required nodes have been selected, the mesh sizes at the nodes is input. The mesh size is specified in metres.
The radius of influence is the area around each selected node over which the mesh is to be reduced in size. The recommended minimum radius is noted in the right hand pane. The reason for a minimum radius is that the software has to be able to form a mesh geometry based on both the global default mesh size and the reduced mesh. If the radius over which this transition takes place is too small, the meshing algorithm will not be able to create a valid mesh geometry.
Multiple mesh sizes can be be specified within a model. To add a new Local Mesh Group, click on the .png){kind=small}
icon. The Local Mesh Group Title number will increment by one and the new load mesh intensity can be input along with the nodes to which this new local meshing parameter should apply.
Since the local mesh intensity afters the mesh size over an area, this can significantly decrease the mesh size of a significant area within the model. This reduction in the mesh size corresponds to an increase in the number of nodes within the model. The increase in the number of nodes with the model will increase the size of the stiffness matrix and so can lead to an increase in the time taken for each load case to run in the analysis. Therefore, it is advisable to apply local mesh intensities only after considering the results of the model with no local mesh reductions and applying the local mesh only where necessary.
A typical view of the mesh with a local area reduction applied to a number of nodes is shown below. The mesh has been reduced on the internal nodes on grid lines 10, 11 and 12.
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