The generation of hexahedral meshes for assembly geometry: survey and progress

The nite element method is being used today to model component assemblies in a wide variety of application areas, including structural mechanics, uid simulations, and others. Generating hexahedral meshes for these assemblies usually requires the use of geometry decomposition, with di erent meshing algorithms applied to di erent regions. While the primary motivation for this approach remains the lack of an automatic, reliable all-hexahedral meshing algorithm, requirements in mesh quality and mesh con guration for typical analyses are also factors. For these reasons, this approach is also sometimes required when producing other types of unstructured meshes. This paper will review progress to date in automating many parts of the hex meshing process, which has halved the time to produce all-hex meshes for large assemblies. Particular issues which have been exposed due to this progress will also be discussed, along with their applicability to the general unstructured meshing problem. Published in 2001 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.