Refine the Local Meshes of the Plates

Refine the mesh definitions at the regions of the bottom and top plates that contact the O-ring during the simulation.

While the default mesh definitions are sufficient for most simulations, you refine the mesh at critical regions to improve the accuracy of the simulation results. The default element type is a tetrahedron second-order element, which remains unchanged from the SOLIDWORKS simulation study.

  1. From the standard area of the action bar, click Mesh .
    Mesh Creation opens.
  2. From the Mesh section of the action bar, click Mesh Part Manager .

    The Mesh Part Manager displays all the mesh definitions in a model and provides you with a quick reference on the mesh status and several basic mesh parameters.

    You can also use the Mesh Part Manager to edit, delete, remove, update, or control the display of meshes.

  3. In the Mesh Part Manager, under the finite element model Ready A.1, double-click the mesh representation of the bottom plate.
    1. In the Local Specifications section, click Local Mesh Size .
    2. Select the seven faces of the groove, highlighted in the image below, as the supports.



      Tip: You can hide the O-ring to help you select the faces. Hover over the part in the 3D area, and press F7 to hide it. Press F8 to show the part.

    3. Enter 0.488 mm as the Size, and click Mesh.
    4. Click OK.
      The app updates the mesh representation of the bottom plate and refines the mesh at the selected faces.
  4. Similarly, refine the mesh for the bottom face of the top plate.