Chapter 3 - Isoparametric Formulation and Mesh Quality

Abstract

Formulating each element of similar shape individually within an FE model (mesh) to accommodate geometric variations is resource-intensive. In this chapter, the concept of isoparametric formulation based on the natural coordinate system is introduced. The resulting method alleviates the need to formulate each individual element. Next we introduce an approach for setting up an FE model by using a transfer mapping function for linking information from a coordinate system based on natural coordinates to the global coordinate system. Finally, the Jacobian and several other parameters used to measure the quality of mesh are discussed.