A dual geometry - topology constraint approach for determination of pseudo-swept shapes as applied to hexahedral mesh generation

The current paper presents a pseudo-sweep algorithm to determine whether a given volume constitutes an approximately swept shape for the purpose of he xahedral finite element mesh generation. The pseudo-swept shape determinati on approach consists of three steps. Step 1: Determining the source surface , target surface, and lateral surface of a given solid object B. Two requir ements: topological and geometric requirements, are used to determine these three surfaces. Step 2: Creating a submappable lateral surface. A submappa ble surface is one that allows the sweeping of a two dimensional quadrilate ral mesh from the source surface to target surface. Step 3: Modifying the t opology of the source surface. If the topologies of the source and target s urfaces are different, an approach called Topology Mapping is applied. The Topology Mapping approach maps the target surface to the source surface so that sweeping of quadrilateral mesh from the source surface to the target s urface is possible. Once the above three steps are applied, a hexahedral me sh is generated by sweeping a quadrilateral mesh from the source surface, a long the lateral surface, to the target surface. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.