Small blend suppression from B-rep models in computer-aided engineering analysis. (17th August 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Lai, Jiing-Yih; Wong, Chun; Huynh, Thanh Thuong; Wang, Ming-Hsuan; Hsu, Chia-Hsiang; Tsai, Yao-Chen; Huang, Chung-Yi
• Is Part Of: Journal of the Chinese Institute of Engineers. Volume 39:Number 6(2016)
• Page Start: 735
• Page End: 745
• Publication Date: 2016-08-17
• Subjects: Blend suppression -- feature simplification -- blend faces -- B-rep model; Technology -- Periodicals; Engineering -- Periodicals; 620.005
• DOI: 10.1080/02533839.2016.1176869
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0253-3839

Abstract

Abstract: In mechanical design, small blending is a common operation used to improve the strength and aesthetics of the workpiece. In blending operations, certain smooth faces are added to the boundary representation (B-rep) model to smooth sharp edges and vertices. These faces are termed 'blend faces.' However, they may affect the quality of analysis; these faces should be meshed with tiny meshes, which may result in an increase in computational time and reduced accuracy of simulation results. Hence, small blend suppression is an approach for improving the quality of generated meshes. Blend suppression is a technique for reverting a blended computer-aided design model to its original unblended status. This study proposes a blend suppression algorithm for removing blend faces in computer-aided engineering (CAE) analysis. The proposed algorithm operates as follows: (1) edge blend faces and vertex blend faces are grouped individually, (2) new geometric data are computed, (3) new elements are added to the data structure of the B-rep model, (4) all data related to blend faces are deleted, and (5) all topological data in the B-rep model are updated. Several examples are presented in this paper to demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed method for blend suppression as well as its advantage in improving the quality of meshes in CAE analysis.