Meshing#

Flow360 offers different approaches to meshing, which are developed to suit different needs and workflows. The meshing algorithms can be divided into surface and volume meshers, each having its own advantages. They are available in four combinations forming full meshing workflows.

Available workflows#

Flow360 supports multiple meshing workflows. This section provides a high-level map of the available options and links to the workflows. There are currently four mesher workflows available in Flow360 summarised in Mesher workflows below:

../../_images/mesher_workflows.png

Mesher workflows#

Go to Example Library to see more available examples for each mesher workflow. Here is a high-level overview of the mesher workflows advantages and disadvantages:

Mesher workflow overview#

Workflow

Characteristics

Legacy mesher

  • First mesher workflow in Flow360

  • Supports automated Quasi-3D meshing

  • No longer maintained

  • Needs watertight geometry

New mesher

  • Current standard workflow

  • Ongoing improvements

  • Recommended starting point for new users/projects

  • Needs watertight geometry

Geometry AI mesher

  • More robust setup with automated/intelligent meshing decisions

  • More robust CAD import and geometry processing

  • Can reduce manual tuning for common cases

  • Represents sharp edges implicitly rather than conforming the mesh to feature lines

Snappy mesher

  • Leverages a widely used OpenFOAM meshing utility

  • Flexible for complex geometries; many established best practices exist

  • Handles dirty CAD models with intersections and gaps

Selecting a workflow#

Which surface and volume mesher run is controlled by two toggles, the beta mesher toggle and the GAI toggle, available in both the WebUI and the Python API:

Beta mesher toggle

GAI toggle

Surface mesher

Volume mesher

Off

n/a

Legacy mesher

Legacy mesher

On

Off

Beta surface mesher

Volume Mesher

On

On

GAI surface mesher

Volume Mesher

The volume stage is the Volume Mesher whenever the beta mesher toggle is on, regardless of the GAI toggle; the GAI toggle only selects which surface mesher feeds it. The snappy workflow is selected through its own surface-mesher option and also feeds the Volume Mesher.

Pick a mesher#

Each column below corresponds to a full meshing workflow. Click any card to open its dedicated page.

Legacy mesher

New mesher

Geometry AI mesher

Snappy mesher

Legacy Surface Mesher
Legacy Surface Mesher
Surface Mesher
Surface Mesher
Geometry AI Surface Mesher
Geometry AI Surface Mesher
Snappy Surface Mesher
Snappy Surface Mesher

Legacy Volume Mesher
Legacy Volume Mesher
Volume Mesher
Volume Mesher
Volume Mesher
Volume Mesher
Volume Mesher
Volume Mesher