Learning Forum

[mattw]

In Workbench Static Structural, sometimes when I refine a mesh, I input a smaller mesh size but the elements remain unchanged. Do you have to input a large enough difference in order for the mesh to refine? 

[pgl]

There are a number of factors that can influence how a mesh gets refined. When using "Global and Local Mesh Controls" (See the Meshing Users Guide), the "Size Function"  has considerable influence, if this is set to "Adaptive" then the mesher uses the "value of the element size property to determine a starting point for the mesh size". If the "Size Function"  is set to "on" then you'll have more control by using the Min and Max Sizes controls. You can even override them. 

For the R18.0 ANSYS Student Product, go to ANSYS 18.0 > ANSYS Help 18.0 in your Windows Start Menu. Then navigate to "Meshing Users Guide" and the check out the Global and Local mesh controls sections. These should address your question more thoroughly. 

Here's a short video about Workbench Meshing from our Student Product Support Resources webpage.

https://youtu.be/24d0e20bnEA;