DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HEXA AND TETRA

Altair Forum User
Altair Forum User
Altair Employee
edited October 2020 in Community Q&A

Hi there,

what would be the difference between tet and hex if both has been used for the same component . will the output makes any difference.

 

if it makes difference , will it depends on the component size.

 

 

 

 

regards,

chandru

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Answers

  • Rahul_P1
    Rahul_P1
    Altair Employee
    edited May 2015
    The number of elements and nodes generated by a brick mesh are of the order of 1/2 to 1/50 in comparison to a tetra

    mesh. A brick mesh reduces the solution time and results in the ease of handling the model on a workstation (pre and

    post display).

     

    Analysis types like crash or nonlinear give preference to brick mesh due to the number of nodes and mesh flow lines.

     

    The time consumed in brick meshing is more and requires experience, hard work, and a lot of patience too.

     

    Over the years, the algorithm for tetra meshing has improved and accuracy wise there is not much difference in tetra

    10 and brick 8 elements.

     

    Linear tetra elements are not recommended for structural analysis. They are very stiff and inaccurate, so use parabolic tetra (the second order tetra) 

     

    Of course, there maybe certain cases like contact analysis where Bricks (Hexa) are better and thermal where Tetra 4 even would be a good choice. 

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