Searching for Distorted Mesh Elements

A distorted mesh element is a distorted (high aspect ratio) triangle. Distorted mesh elements can result in decreased accuracy of the results and could lead to poor convergence for iterative solvers.

The Solver does not directly search for distorted mesh elements, but the consequence of distorted mesh elements is that the condition number for the method of moments (MoM) matrix increases.
Note: The Solver will give a warning or error if the condition number becomes too high. The condition number can also be too high for very low frequency problems.
Distorted mesh elements are specified in terms of the minimum internal angle. In an ideal mesh, all internal angles are 60°, but this rarely possible. If any of the three angles in a mesh element are very small, the element is considered a sliver element.
Tip: Remove sliver elements by deleting mesh vertices or redundant geometry points.
  1. Select the model mesh or mesh part either in the model tree or 3D view.
  2. On the Mesh tab, in the Find group, click the  Distorted Elements icon.


    Figure 1. The Find Distorted Mesh Elements dialog.
  3. Specify the parts to be searched for distorted mesh elements.
    • To search the full model, under Search, click Entire model.
    • To search only the selected part of the model, under Search, click Selection.
  4. Specify the mesh parts to be searched for distorted mesh elements.
    • To search only the simulation mesh, under Mesh Scope, click Simulation.
    • To search only the model mesh, under Mesh Scope, click Model.
    • To search both the model and simulation meshes, under Mesh Scope, click Both.
  5. In the Minimum internal angle field, enter a value for the minimum internal angle of a triangle. Any internal angles found to be smaller than the minimum angle will be listed.
  6. Click OK to search for distorted mesh elements and to close the dialog.
The result of the search is displayed in the Model Status and on the Message Details dialog. A hyperlink to the mesh part containing the distorted mesh elements is also given in the Model Status and on the Message Details dialog.