A grid-based algorithm for the generation of hexahedral element meshes

An algorithm for the generation of hexahedral-element meshes is presented. The algorithm works in two steps: first the interior of the volume is filled with a regular grid; then the boundary region is meshed by using basically two-dimensional operations. The algorithm was designed for use in the fem-simulation of metal forming processes where a remeshing must be done very often. In principle, it can be used for meshing any geometry with hexahedral elements and examples of meshes for geometries arising from various applications are given. The algorithm is checked against the criteria propsed by Sabin [1] (Advances in Engineering Software, 13, 220-225).