Publications

Formation of pyramid elements for hexahedra to tetrahedra transitions

Owen, Steven J.; Saigal, Sunil

New algorithms are proposed for the modification of a mixed hexahedra-tetrahedra element mesh to maintain compatibility by the insertion of pyramid elements. Several methods for generation of the pyramids are presented involving local tetrahedral transformations and/or node insertion near the hex/tet interface. Local smoothing and topological operations improve the quality of the transition region. Results show superior performance of the resulting elements in a commercial finite-element code over non-conforming interface conditions. © 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.