This paper on "Interactive Quality Assurance of Element Shapes" was presented at the International Conference on Quality Assurance and Standards in Finite Element Analysis - 13-15 May 1987, The Grand Hotel, Brighton.

Summary

The shape of elements affects the quality of a finite element mesh. The preparation of a model avoiding distorted elements is hampered by the lack of testing facilities. Introducing element shape quality assessment into the preprocessing phase will significantly improve this situation. A set of tests are described and correlated with other tests available. An example shows how the mesh may be improved when element shape quality is visualised as the elements are created. The described tests may be calibrated for a specific finite element package when the test criteria are made available. Information on test criteria is scarce if existing at all.
Element shape quality assurance is an important first step towards reliable mesh generation in a semiautomatic environment.