In ProTOp the term mesh smoothing is used to denote the smoothing process of stripped surfaces. This is achieved by adjusting the nodal positions of the FE mesh. The process is highly nonlinear so that it needs to be run in several cycles. Since the process may significantly change the geometry of the stripped surface, the affected finite elements may become notably degraded. In such cases, the inclusion of helper processes such as mesh cleaning and mesh improvement becomes crucial to achieve desirable smoothness of the surface while preserving satisfactory quality of the affected finite elements.
Number of cycles to run
Range: [1, 30]
This parameter defines the number of smoothing cycles to run.
Process intensity factor
Range: [0.05, 1.0]
This parameter defines the extent of adjustments made to the model. Low intensity means that only small adjustments are performed and the required processing time is also relatively low.
Volume centering factor
Range: [-0.5, +0.5]
This parameter influences the size and sign of volume variations of the model. Although a value of ZERO should result in zero volume variation, this is often not exactly true. Consequently, the actual volume can either increase or decrease during the smoothing process and this parameter can be used to get the desired result.
Both, mesh cleaning and mesh improvement processes may be included into each cycle of the smoothing procedure. It is recommended to include these processes in the early stages of the smoothing procedure. Once the mesh adjustments done become relatively minor, these procedures can be excluded.