Mesh Quality Analyzer
The Mesh Quality Analyzer provides tools for analyzing the quality of mesh elements. Available through a dropdown menu, it offers separate analyzers for surface meshes (triangle quality) and volume meshes (element quality).
Accessing the Tools
- Navigate to the Measure tab in the ribbon
- Click the Mesh Quality Analyzer dropdown button in the Analysis section
- Select Surface Mesh Quality or Volume Mesh Quality
Surface Mesh Quality
Analyze the active surface mesh for triangle quality. The tool calculates selected quality metrics for all triangles, displays their statistical distribution, and provides controls to filter and highlight triangles based on metric thresholds in the 3D view.
Options
| Control | Description |
|---|---|
| Select statistics | Choose the quality metrics to analyze |
| Target metric | Select the metric for visualization and analysis |
| Lookup table | Select the color map for visualizing quality in 3D |
Histogram
| Control | Description |
|---|---|
| Y-axis | Frequency or Percentage scale |
| Number of bins | Histogram bin count (10–1000, default: 50) |
Quality Metrics
Available quality metrics for triangles include:
| Metric | Description | Ideal Range |
|---|---|---|
| Area | Triangle surface area | Depends on application |
| Aspect Ratio | Ratio of longest to shortest edge | Close to 1 |
| Condition | Condition number of the element | Close to 1 |
| Distortion | Measure of element deformation | Close to 1 |
| Edge Ratio | Ratio of maximum to minimum edge length | Close to 1 |
| Max Angle | Maximum interior angle | < 90° |
| Min Angle | Minimum interior angle | > 30° |
| Relative Size Squared | Size relative to average | Close to 1 |
| Scaled Jacobian | Jacobian scaled to [-1, 1] | Close to 1 |
| Shape | Shape quality measure | Close to 1 |
| Shape and Size | Combined shape and size quality | Close to 1 |
Quality Metrics Interpretation
For finite element analysis:
- Triangle angles should be between 30° and 90° for optimal accuracy
- Aspect ratios close to 1 indicate well-shaped elements
- Use the histogram to identify outliers that may affect simulation quality
Annotation
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
| Pick element on mesh | Click on mesh to highlight element and display metric value |
| Copy to Measurements | Copy visible annotation to Measurements panel |
Note: Hold the Alt key to enable view spinning while picking elements.
Information
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Total occurrences | Number of elements outside the min/max range values |
Volume Mesh Quality
Analyze the active volume mesh for element quality. The tool calculates selected quality metrics for all elements, displays their statistical distribution, and provides controls to filter and highlight elements based on metric thresholds in the 3D view.
Options
| Control | Description |
|---|---|
| Select statistics | Choose the quality metrics to analyze |
| Target metric | Select the metric for visualization and analysis |
| Lookup table | Select the color map for visualizing quality in 3D |
Histogram
| Control | Description |
|---|---|
| Y-axis | Frequency or Percentage scale |
| Number of bins | Histogram bin count (10–1000, default: 50) |
Quality Metrics
Available quality metrics for volume elements include:
| Metric | Description | Ideal Range |
|---|---|---|
| Volume | Element volume | Depends on application |
| Aspect Ratio | Ratio of dimensions | Close to 1 |
| Aspect Frobenius | Frobenius norm aspect ratio | Close to 1 |
| Collapse Ratio | Collapse quality measure | > 0 |
| Condition | Condition number | Close to 1 |
| Distortion | Element deformation measure | Close to 1 |
| Edge Ratio | Max to min edge length ratio | Close to 1 |
| Jacobian | Jacobian determinant | > 0 |
| Scaled Jacobian | Scaled Jacobian [-1, 1] | Close to 1 |
| Shape | Shape quality measure | Close to 1 |
| Shape and Size | Combined quality measure | Close to 1 |
| Shear | Shear quality measure | Close to 1 |
| Skew | Skewness measure | Close to 0 |
| Stretch | Stretch quality measure | Close to 1 |
Annotation
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
| Pick element on mesh | Click on mesh to highlight element and display metric value |
| Copy to Measurements | Copy visible annotation to Measurements panel |
Note: Hold the Alt key to enable view spinning while picking elements.
Workflow
Basic Quality Analysis
- Select a mesh object (surface or volume)
- Open the appropriate quality analyzer
- Click Choose... to select quality metrics
- Select a target metric for visualization
- Click Update to calculate metrics
- Review the histogram and quality metrics display
Identify Problem Elements
- Generate quality analysis
- Review the histogram for outliers
- Adjust the threshold range to highlight problem elements
- Check Total occurrences for count of elements outside range
- Enable Pick element on mesh to inspect individual elements
Prepare for Simulation
- Analyze mesh quality before FEA/CFD simulation
- Check aspect ratio and Jacobian values
- Identify elements that may cause numerical instability
- Export quality report for documentation
Toolbar
| Button | Description |
|---|---|
| Export... | Save statistics and histogram to disk |
| Update | Recalculate quality metrics |
Interpreting Quality Metrics
Good Quality Indicators
- Aspect ratio close to 1
- Positive Jacobian values
- Angles within acceptable ranges (30°–90° for triangles)
- Uniform element sizes
Poor Quality Indicators
- Very high aspect ratios (elongated elements)
- Negative or near-zero Jacobian (inverted/degenerate elements)
- Very small or very large angles
- Significant size variations
Related Tools
- Surface Statistics — Statistics for surface meshes
- Volume Mesh Statistics — Statistics for volume meshes
- Mesh Tools — Surface mesh processing tools