Automatic mesh generation and modification techniques for mixed quadrilateral and hexahedral element meshes of non-manifold models

A typical geometric model usually consists of both solid sections and thin-walled sections. Through using a suitable dimensional reduction algorithm, the model can be reduced to a non-manifold model consisting of solid portions and two-dimensional portions which represent the mid-surfaces of the thin-walled sections. It is desirable to mesh the solid entities using three-dimensional elements and the surface entities using two-dimensional elements. This paper proposes a robust scheme to automatically generate such a mesh of mixed two-dimensional and three-dimensional elements. It also ensures that the mesh is conforming at the interface of the non-manifold geometries. Different classes of problems are identified and their corresponding solutions are presented. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.