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"A degenerated element was found." Error

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Hi, I am trying to import the mesh generated with Hypermesh. When I used Nastran format. Comsol gave me the error as shown in the title. Does this mean I have elements with poor quality? If so, how may I trace those elements?

Thank you.


4 Replies Last Post Jul 7, 2023, 7:08 p.m. EDT
Robert Koslover Certified Consultant

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Posted: 1 year ago Jul 7, 2023, 11:54 a.m. EDT

Degenerate (not "degenerated") elements are generally tied to problems with the geometry. From the Comsol Multiphysics help system:

A degeneracy in the geometry can occur during solid modeling. For example, fillet areas that taper to a point and the apex of a cone can become degenerate points. These degeneracies might cause problems for the mesh generator and during the analysis. A common degeneracy in the geometry occurs when a 3D solid is created (for example, a cylinder) by rotation about an axis that touches the rotation area. It is then better to create the solid object by extruding a cross section or to use geometric 3D primitives.

Also, from the help system:

AVOIDING EXCESSIVELY SMALL DETAILS, HOLES, AND GAPS. Many geometries, especially those designed using a CAD system, contain small holes, details, and gaps. These small features can make the domain unbounded and must be removed before analysis. Small details and holes can lead to large meshes or even failure during mesh generation. Make sure the snapping feature is activated to avoid small gaps and mismatches between the geometry objects. The CAD Import Module contains tools for automatic and interactive repair and defeaturing of 3D CAD data. For a 2D or 3D model you can also remove small details and prepare the geometry for efficient meshing using virtual geometry operations (see Virtual Geometry Operations).

So I suggest you work on modifying or fixing-up your geometry using whatever tools are available to you in both the exporting and importing processes, or a combination of them.

In regard to mesh quality, yes, you can make plots showing the mesh quality and identifying if, and where, mesh quality is poor. In the Model Builder, right-click on Mesh, then click on Plot. The default is a plot of mesh quality.

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Scientific Applications & Research Associates (SARA) Inc.
www.comsol.com/partners-consultants/certified-consultants/sara
*Degenerate* (not "degenerated") elements are generally tied to problems with the geometry. From the Comsol Multiphysics help system: > A degeneracy in the geometry can occur during solid modeling. For example, fillet areas that taper to a point and the apex of a cone can become degenerate points. These degeneracies might cause problems for the mesh generator and during the analysis. A common degeneracy in the geometry occurs when a 3D solid is created (for example, a cylinder) by rotation about an axis that touches the rotation area. It is then better to create the solid object by extruding a cross section or to use geometric 3D primitives. Also, from the help system: > AVOIDING EXCESSIVELY SMALL DETAILS, HOLES, AND GAPS. > Many geometries, especially those designed using a CAD system, contain small holes, details, and gaps. These small features can make the domain unbounded and must be removed before analysis. Small details and holes can lead to large meshes or even failure during mesh generation. Make sure the snapping feature is activated to avoid small gaps and mismatches between the geometry objects. > The CAD Import Module contains tools for automatic and interactive repair and defeaturing of 3D CAD data. For a 2D or 3D model you can also remove small details and prepare the geometry for efficient meshing using virtual geometry operations (see Virtual Geometry Operations). So I suggest you work on modifying or fixing-up your geometry using whatever tools are available to you in both the exporting and importing processes, or a combination of them. In regard to mesh quality, yes, you can make plots showing the mesh quality and identifying if, and where, mesh quality is poor. In the Model Builder, right-click on Mesh, then click on Plot. The default is a plot of mesh quality.

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Posted: 1 year ago Jul 7, 2023, 5:17 p.m. EDT

I tried to import a part of model and it ran through. However, I found that it was imported as geometry, which was not I wanted. Can I directly imported the mesh?

I tried to import a part of model and it ran through. However, I found that it was imported as geometry, which was not I wanted. Can I directly imported the mesh?

Robert Koslover Certified Consultant

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Posted: 1 year ago Jul 7, 2023, 5:49 p.m. EDT

I think so. In the Model Builder, right-click on Mesh, then click on Import.

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Scientific Applications & Research Associates (SARA) Inc.
www.comsol.com/partners-consultants/certified-consultants/sara
I think so. In the Model Builder, right-click on Mesh, then click on Import.

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Posted: 1 year ago Jul 7, 2023, 7:08 p.m. EDT

Ok, I nailed down the problem. Some elements have duplicated nodes and it is not allowed in COMSOL. I have to turn them all into tetrahetric elements.

Ok, I nailed down the problem. Some elements have duplicated nodes and it is not allowed in COMSOL. I have to turn them all into tetrahetric elements.

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