Mesh → Surface refinement

Purpose · Steps · Inputs and units · Limitations · Related topics

Purpose

Set local cell size and boundary layers for selected surfaces, or mark an internal surface as a thin wall or porous baffle.

Steps

  1. Open Surface mesh settings and choose the required entry under Surface name.

    Surface mesh settings with surface selection, Refinement, Boundary layers, Thin wall and Porous checkboxes, local size, layer parameters, Preview and Add buttons, a surface settings table, and Apply and Close.

  2. Under Type, enable the options you need. Select Refinement to enter a Local size. Select Boundary layers to add prism layers; refinement and layers can be used together where allowed.
  3. For boundary layers, enter Number of layers, First-layer thickness, and Growth ratio. The Total thickness value updates automatically as these inputs change.
  4. For an internal surface, choose Thin wall for a wall baffle or Porous for a porous baffle when required. These options are disabled for external boundary surfaces, such as the inlet shown in the image.
  5. With Refinement enabled, click Preview to inspect the local cell size. Click Add to place the current surface settings in the table, or update the existing row for that surface. Repeat for other surfaces.
  6. To edit a saved row, double-click it, change the settings above, and click Add again. To remove a row, right-click it and choose Delete surface. Finally, click Apply and Close to apply the rows in the table.

Inputs and units

Input or valueMeaningUnits
Surface nameNamed external boundary or internal surface to configure.Text selection
Refinement / Boundary layersEnable local size and layer controls respectively. Both can be selected where supported.On / off
Thin wall / PorousAlternative baffle types for internal surfaces; only one can be selected.On / off
Local sizePositive target spacing near the selected surface; use a value smaller than the global cell size.m (SI); ft (Imperial)
Number of layersNumber of prism layers, from 1 to 100.Integer count
First-layer thicknessPositive thickness of the layer adjacent to the surface.m (SI); ft (Imperial)
Growth ratioThickness of each layer divided by the preceding layer thickness; allowed range 1 to 10. A value of 1 gives equal thicknesses.Dimensionless
Total thicknessCalculated sum of all layer thicknesses, using the layer count, first-layer thickness, and growth ratio.m (SI); ft (Imperial)
Settings tableName identifies the surface; Refinement, Thin wall, Porous, and Layers show Yes or No. Size shows the local size, or a dash when no local size is stored. Layers indicates whether layers are enabled, not their count.Flags and length in the Size column

Limitations

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