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Efficient unstructured quadrilateral mesh generation

2000, International Journal for Numerical Methods in Engineering

Abstract

This work is devoted to the description of an algorithm for automatic quadrilateral mesh generation. The technique is based on a recursive decomposition of the domain into quadrilateral elements. This automatically generates meshes composed entirely by quadrilaterals over complex geometries (there is no need for a previous step where triangles are generated). A background mesh with the desired element sizes allows to obtain the preferred sizes anywhere in the domain. The ÿnal mesh can be viewed as the optimal one given the objective function is deÿned. The recursive algorithm induces an e cient data structure which optimizes the computer cost. Several examples are presented to show the e ciency of this algorithm. E cient automated meshing techniques are expected to have certain features in order to ensure its applicability in a wide scope of cases, which can range from regular domains with uniform element sizes to non-singly connected domains with large boundary curvatures and non-uniform element sizes. Haber et al. present an excellent discussion of such features: precise modelling of the boundaries; good correlation between the interior mesh and the information prescribed at the boundary; minimal input e ort; broad range of applicability; general topology; automatic topology generation; and favorable element shapes. Some of these features can be easily implemented; for instance, BÃ ezier or B-splines interpolation curves allow a precise modelling of the boundaries. Others, such as minimal input e ort and broad range of applicability are much more di cult to obtain. Therefore, all the developed techniques for mesh generation should include most of the previous features and this is the goal of the proposed algorithm.