Adaptive Refinement of Quadrilateral Finite Element Meshes Based on MSC.Nastran Error Measures

This paper describes and demonstrates a process for adaptive refinement of quadrilateral curved shell meshes using error estimates from MSC.Nastran. The meshes have been generated originally using Unigraphics'(UG) Scenario application. Although refinement procedures for finite element meshes have been in use for many years, automated procedures have most generally been developed for triangular meshes. Furthermore, the new procedure uses the UG/Parasolid model so that new points created during the process are on the curved part surface. The software demonstrated in this report was developed to the specifications required for automotive applications by the Scientific Computational Research Center of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) as part of General Motors' membership in their Simulation-Based Engineering Program. The software was demonstrated on two realistic automotive body components. Refined quadrilateral meshes were produced which exhibited smooth grading from the refined elements to the coarser, unrefined areas of the mesh.