Hyperworks CFD - How to update mesh and visually confirm new mesh

Rob_22512

1. When I import my initial .x_t file, I generate a coarse mesh for it. The mesh below has 3mm large elements

• 2. I can run a solution using that mesh, but if I want to refine that mesh to have smaller elements (e.g. 1mm), there doesn't seem to be any way to visually update the mesh to see that it's been more refined. Things I've tried:
  • Simply clicking "volume mesh" again and changing the element size from 3mm to 1mm. The mesh will solve, but nothing will visually update. I still see the coarse mesh  
  • I can click the "Remove Volume Mesh" button (see below), but the coarse mesh still shows up
    • 
  • I can click the "Remove Volume Mesh" button AND re-mesh with a finer element size, and the COARSE mesh will still show up
• 3. Even after running a solution, I'm not sure which mesh that solution ran on, because I don't know how to view the most updated/rebuilt mesh...

Any advice? 

acupro

The red X above Volume only deletes the Volume mesh - leaving the surface mesh alone.  Thus when you mesh again with different parameters, the surface mesh does not change.  You can see the interior mesh changes using the Section Cuts from the view control panels (lower left of display window).

If you want to remesh surface and volume, which would typically be the case, use the red X above Surface - this deletes both surface mesh and volume mesh.

Rob_22512

When I meshed the model, I didn't use "surface mesh", and I only used a "volume mesh". For that reason, I'd expect that the "volume mesh", when it gets re-meshed, wouldn't be "hiding behind" any surface, and that I should see the change apparently, right? 

What is the correct behavior for this software? I would expect that when you generate a new mesh, it would display immediately upon completion, superceding whatever mesh you previously had, right? Do I need to click on something else to get the new mesh to display?

acupro

Rob_22512 said:

When I meshed the model, I didn't use "surface mesh", and I only used a "volume mesh". For that reason, I'd expect that the "volume mesh", when it gets re-meshed, wouldn't be "hiding behind" any surface, and that I should see the change apparently, right? 

What is the correct behavior for this software? I would expect that when you generate a new mesh, it would display immediately upon completion, superceding whatever mesh you previously had, right? Do I need to click on something else to get the new mesh to display?

The Volume Mesh tool creates both the surface mesh and volume mesh. If any surfaces are meshed separately - so surface mesh exists - those surfaces are not re-meshed, and that existing surface mesh is used during the volume meshing process.  Any surfaces that do not already have mesh are also meshed as part of the volume mesh process.  (Surface mesh must be complete before the volume mesh is generated.)

If you do not delete the surface mesh before going through the Volume mesh generation process, that surface mesh is re-used - and that is what you see upon completion of the meshing process.

If you intend to change the surface mesh size along with the volume mesh size (which is often the case) you need to delete the existing surface mesh - which also deletes the volume mesh.

Rob_22512

acupro_21778 said:

The Volume Mesh tool creates both the surface mesh and volume mesh. If any surfaces are meshed separately - so surface mesh exists - those surfaces are not re-meshed, and that existing surface mesh is used during the volume meshing process.  Any surfaces that do not already have mesh are also meshed as part of the volume mesh process.  (Surface mesh must be complete before the volume mesh is generated.)

If you do not delete the surface mesh before going through the Volume mesh generation process, that surface mesh is re-used - and that is what you see upon completion of the meshing process.

If you intend to change the surface mesh size along with the volume mesh size (which is often the case) you need to delete the existing surface mesh - which also deletes the volume mesh.

Hello, this answer was helpful. The fact that the surface mesh is created automatically when the volume mesh is created was an important note for me. Furthermore, figuring out how to remove the surface mesh that was automatically generated was something I had to hunt around for. For posterity, one must hover over the 2nd surface mesh button and volume mesh button to see the "X" that appears:

 

acupro

Rob_22512 said:

Hello, this answer was helpful. The fact that the surface mesh is created automatically when the volume mesh is created was an important note for me. Furthermore, figuring out how to remove the surface mesh that was automatically generated was something I had to hunt around for. For posterity, one must hover over the 2nd surface mesh button and volume mesh button to see the "X" that appears:

 

Correct - good point.  Several of the tool icons in the various ribbons are multi-functional.  The other sub-icons don't appear until the mouse is placed over/onto the tool.