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An automatic coarse and fine surface mesh generation scheme based on medial axis transform: Part i algorithms

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Abstract

We present an algorithm for the generation of coarse and fine finite element (FE) meshes on multiply connected surfaces, based on the medial axis transform (MAT). The MAT is employed to automatically decompose a complex shape into topologically simple subdomains, and to extract important shape characteristics and their length scales. Using this technique, we can create a coarse subdivision of a complex surface and select local element size to generate fine triangular meshes within those subregions in an automated manner. Therefore, this approach can lead to integration of fully automatic FE mesh generation functionality into FE preprocessing systems.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Analysis Applications-Development, Intergraph Corporation, Huntsville, AL, USA

    H. Nebi Gürsoy

  2. Department of Ocean Engineering, Design Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 02139, Cambridge, MA, USA

    Nicholas M. Patrikalakis

Authors
  1. H. Nebi Gürsoy
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  2. Nicholas M. Patrikalakis
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Nebi Gürsoy, H., Patrikalakis, N.M. An automatic coarse and fine surface mesh generation scheme based on medial axis transform: Part i algorithms. Engineering with Computers 8, 121–137 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01200364

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