Chris Wachter | Portfolio

Mesh convergence & control

Mesh convergence is a foundational concept in finite element analysis (FEA), describing the process of refining the mesh until the key results (like stress or displacement) stabilize and are considered accurate.

Mesh control is the specialized tool used to manually adjust element size in specific, critical regions of a model, allowing for accurate results without the immense computational cost of using a fine mesh everywhere.

This lesson uses a static analysis on a simple hanging bracket (made of alloy steel) to illustrate how varying the mesh size and applying local mesh controls impacts result accuracy and computation time.

Mesh sizes

Default mesh size (9,687 elements, 3 seconds to compute)
Coarse mesh size (1,729 elements, 3 seconds to compute)
Fine mesh size (60,512 elements, 4 seconds to compute)
Local refinement (13,871 elements, 12 seconds to compute)

This slideshow illustrates how different mesh sizes affect the number of elements and the estimated time to generate a mesh plot.

Mesh size	Number of elements	Meshing time
Default	9,687	3 seconds
Coarse	1,729	3 seconds
Fine	60,512	4 seconds
Local refinement	13,871	12 seconds

Even though the local refinement study has fewer elements, its meshing time was the longest because the local control created elements about half the size of those in the fine mesh study. However, the solution time (calculating stress, strain, and displacement) will make up for the longer meshing time, as we’ll discover shortly.

Accuracy of stress results

Default mesh (max. stress: 1,121 MPa)
Coarse mesh (max. stress: 1,088 MPa)
Fine mesh (max. stress: 1,166 MPa)
Local refinement (max. stress: 1,197 MPa)

Animation of stress plot using the local refinement mesh

Mesh size	Maximum stress
Default	1,121 MPa
Coarse	1,088 MPa
Fine	1,166 MPa
Local refinement	1,197 MPa

The above table is an example of mesh convergence (finer meshes provide greater accuracy). The local refinement study delivers the highest maximum stress, indicating it has most successfully converged on the final, accurate solution by precisely meshing the critical fillet area.

Accuracy of displacement results

Default mesh (max. displacement: 5.894 mm)
Coarse mesh (max. displacement: 5.851 mm)
Fine mesh (max. displacement: 5.903 mm)
Local refinement (max. displacement: 5.900 mm)

Mesh size	Maximum displacement
Default	5.894 mm
Coarse	5.851 mm
Fine	5.903 mm
Local refinement	5.900 mm

Total computation time vs. accuracy

Mesh size	Meshing time	Solution time	Total time	Accuracy
Default	3 seconds	9 seconds	12 seconds	Medium
Coarse	3 seconds	2 seconds	5 seconds	Low
Fine	4 seconds	55 seconds	59 seconds	High
Local refinement	12 seconds	15 seconds	27 seconds	Highest

Mobile users: Scroll to the left to view full table.

The local refinement study delivered the highest accuracy using less than half the total computation time of the fine mesh study. While implementing the mesh control required extra initial setup time, this example highlights the significant efficiency gains possible when analyzing complex parts and large assemblies.

Source

MySolidWorks Training
Learning Path: SW Simulations

This content (including the analysis setup, simulation execution, and all resulting visual content—screenshots and videos) was individually performed and generated by me in SolidWorks Simulation, utilizing a combination of custom and existing parts provided by SolidWorks as guided by the MySolidWorks Training curriculum.