Mesh Quality Review Checklist
Review prompts for mesh quality — element type, aspect ratio, distortion, transitions, through-thickness elements and convergence evidence.
Purpose
For checking mesh quality before accepting FE results for engineering use.
Element Type
- Is the element type appropriate for the structural behaviour — beam, shell, solid or connector? — Beam for slender, shell for thin, solid for thick
- Are first-order tetrahedra (C3D4) not used for stress analysis? — Constant-strain elements cannot represent bending
- If reduced-integration elements are used, is hourglass control active? — Check hourglass energy
Element Quality
- Are aspect ratios < 5:1 in the region of interest? — Up to 10:1 acceptable in low-gradient regions
- Is skewness < 60°? — < 30° in critical regions
- Is the Jacobian ratio > 0.6? — > 0.8 in critical regions
- Are shell normals consistent across connected elements? — Inconsistent normals cause erroneous bending
- Are there no duplicate nodes or free edges? — Check pre-processor diagnostics
Mesh Density
- Is the mesh refined at stress concentrations, load introduction and contact regions? — Local refinement, not global
- Are mesh size transitions limited to 2:1 per element layer? — Larger transitions create stress discontinuities
- Are there enough elements around holes and fillets (typically 4–8)? — In stress-critical regions
- Has mesh convergence been demonstrated for the output of interest? — Not just displacement