Use the mapped mesh control option to create a structured mesh which often results in much shorter analysis run times.

The process of mapped meshing can be used for an entire model or for certain parts of a model.

Mapped meshing is useful in the following cases:

With this type of control, you can create quadrilateral or triangular meshing regions on surfaces or surface regions and brick and wedge meshing regions in components or volume regions. You can select points, vertices, edges, surfaces or mesh region edges to create quadrilateral and triangular meshing regions. Similarly you can use points, vertices, edges, surfaces, volumes, components, mesh region edges or mesh region faces to create brick and wedge type meshing regions. You can create many mapped meshes within each meshing region that are consistent with the neighboring regions. Alternatively, simply place a single element per region. In 2D models, you can create only quadrilateral or triangular meshing regions.

You can use the 2D mapped mesh regions on a volume boundary surface that is meshed with an unstructured mesh. The 2D mapped mesh regions on the volume boundary surfaces (boundary surfaces without shell properties) create a structured boundary mesh that acts as a constraint during the initial phase of mesh generation. The volume boundary surfaces are meshed according to the 2D mapped mesh regions while the remaining volume boundary is meshed according to the standard process. 2D mapped mesh regions create only triangular elements on the volume boundary surfaces. Each quadrilateral meshing region created by the mapped meshing is split into two triangular meshing regions.

You can have only one mapped mesh control in a nonsuppressed state per model. Mapped mesh regions created in FEM mode are retained in native mode and vice versa.