Hi, I have a problem regarding the mesh module in SPIS. I tried to upload a simple geometry, built with GMSH (the correct version that I can open from the “Tool” drop-down menu), in the SPIS geometry module. The geometry consisted of a simple sphere (internal bounding surface/spacecraft) surrounded by another sphere (external boundary) where I was able to define all the surfaces and even the computational volume. However, when I try to start the simulation I receive the following warning in the “SPIS initialization summary”:
Volume mesh quality
Overall quality: BAD, simulation may not converge.
I then tried to define a thinner mesh by decreasing the refinement coefficient but the warning became a mesh error with the following message displayed (in the “SPIS initialization summary”):
Volume mesh quality
Overall quality: AWFULL, low probability of simulation convergence.
How can I solve that? Is there something I’m missing during the geometry definition in GMSH?
You can improve the mesh quality by using the “Optimize 3D” and “Optimize 3D (Netgen)” buttons in the Gmsh editor. For example, I will do Optimize 3D (Netgen) 3-4 times, then Optimize 3D once. Normally, I define and optimize the mesh in this window, then save it with a different name, then load and select this mesh when you get to the mesh tab.
Also, you can improve the mesh by using finer resolution around objects of interest and lower resolution on the external boundary (to keep the simulation time reasonable). The resolution is set when you define an object like a sphere or a box and the units are in meters. This sets how far apart the mesh points are on the object being defined.
As I understand, a lot of simulations will still work even if the mesh quality is bad, so sometimes this warning can be ignored.