Smooth Elements

Use the Edit Elements: Smooth tool to optimize the quality of selected elements.

1. From the Elements ribbon, click the Edit Elements > Smooth tool.

   
   
   Figure 1.

   Elements are colored according to how well they adhere to the pre-set quality requirements defined in the criteria file.
2. Optional: On the guide bar, click to to define the options used to edit elements.
3. Select the element(s) to smooth.
4. Optional: Select anchor nodes in the following ways:
   • Hold Ctrl while left-clicking.
   • Activate the Anchors selector on the guide bar then make your selection.
5. In the microdialog, select a smoothing method then click Smooth.

   Auto

   Calculates the lengths of all of the elements’ edges to finds the extreme values. If the ratio of smallest to largest is below a certain threshold, than the Fix Shape method will be used. If the ratio of smallest to largest is above a certain threshold, than the Fix Size method will be used.

   Fix Size

   Moderates variations in element edge size through the mesh using a modified Laplacian over-relaxation that correctly handles a mixture of quad and tria elements.

   Fix Shape

   Moderates variations in element aspect ratio through the mesh using a modified isoparametric-centroidal over-relaxation that correctly handles a mixtures of quad and tria elements.

   Fix Angle

   Globally minimizes the average deviation of element angles from their ideal values.

   
   
   Figure 2.

   Q.I. Warm, Q.I. Good, Q.I. Ideal

   Sets the quality of the optimization target to the corresponding value on the quality index.

   Note: Always set up proper Parameters and Criteria before performing smoothing operations. This helps to achieve better element quality results.