Tetrahedral Finite Element Mesh Generation from NURBS Solid Models

Engineering with Computers, Springer-Verlag, Vol 12, pp.211-223, December 1996

MESHING
RESEARCH
CORNER

Faculty of Engineering. Bogazici University, Istanbul, Turkey

Abstract
In this paper, the development and the implementation of a tetrahedral meshing algorithm for generation of finite element meshes from NURBS solid models is presented. The meshing algorithm is based on a Delaunay technique, and makes use of some spatial data structures. The algorithm is capable of generating both uniform and varying size four-node and ten-node tetrahedral meshes. The algorithm has been implemented in a building block approach as part of a software library. It has been used as a practical tool in engineering design processes. Several representative test cases illustrate the effectiveness of the automatic solid mesh generator.