I have modelled a cylindrical (three) tubes. when i started meshing it has automatically generated tetrahedral mesh. Guide me how to do hexahedral meshing from this step
To generate a hexahedral mesh from a tetrahedral mesh in Ansys Workbench, you can follow these general steps:
Import the Tetrahedral Mesh: Start by importing your existing tetrahedral mesh into Ansys Workbench. You should have a geometry component and a mesh component in your project schematic.
Create a Hexahedral Sizing: In the Meshing component, select the Geometry cell and create a "Hexahedral Sizing" under the "Sizing" section. Adjust the sizing parameters according to your requirements. This step defines the target element size for the hexahedral mesh.
Insert the Hexahedral Mesh Method: Right-click on the Mesh cell and insert a "Mesh Method" object. Choose "Hex Dominant" as the mesh method. This method will generate a hexahedral mesh with predominantly hexahedral elements while allowing for transitional elements.
Define Mesh Controls: Under the Mesh Method object, create "Mesh Controls" to specify areas where you want to focus on generating hexahedral elements. You can define these controls based on geometry selections or face/body sizing preferences.
Assign Mesh Controls: Select the face(s) or body(s) where you want to apply the mesh controls and assign the appropriate mesh control to them. This step ensures that the specified regions receive hexahedral elements.
Generate the Hexahedral Mesh: Right-click on the Mesh cell and select "Update." Ansys Workbench will then generate a hexahedral mesh based on the defined mesh controls and sizing settings. The meshing process may take some time depending on the complexity of the geometry and the size of the mesh.
Check and Adjust the Hexahedral Mesh: After the meshing process is complete, review the generated hexahedral mesh. Use visualization tools and quality checks to ensure the mesh is satisfactory. If needed, you can refine the mesh by adjusting the mesh controls or sizing parameters and re-running the meshing process.
It's important to note that not all geometries are suitable for generating fully hexahedral meshes, especially complex or irregular shapes. In such cases, transitional elements like tetrahedra or pyramids may be necessary to achieve a suitable mesh.
I had a similar experience when attempting to mesh a cylindrical pipe for fluid analysis. By default, ANSYS Workbench often generates a tetrahedral mesh, which is generally considered less desirable compared to a hexahedral mesh in many cases. To overcome this, I opted for the "Automatic" meshing option and selected the entire body. In the details menu, I experimented with four different methods: Hex Dominant, Sweep, Multizone, and Cartesian. The first two methods, Hex Dominant and Sweep, were partially successful in generating hexahedral structures, but they also included some tetrahedral structures. Seeking a purely hexahedral mesh, I then tried the Multizone and Cartesian methods. These methods proved to be effective as they generated a mesh entirely composed of hexahedral elements, without any tetrahedral elements. Overall, the Multizone and Cartesian methods provided the desired hexahedral meshing for my analysis, yielding better results compared to the previous attempts with Hex Dominant and Sweep.
This small experience of mine while doing meshing may help you.