Batch Mesh

Typical workflow for creating a mesh using BatchMesher.

Define a mesh type.
A mesh type consists of a Criteria File and a Parameter File.
1. Click the Configurations tab.
2. Click to add a new configuration entry to the table.
3. In the Mesh Type field, enter a name.
4. In the Criteria File and Parameter File fields, browse to select the criteria and parameter files that define the mesh type.
Choose the models to batch mesh.
1. Click the Run Setup tab.
2. In the Input model directory field, browse to select the directory that contains the geometry to batch mesh.
3. Click to select model files.
4. In the Select Model Files dialog, select all of the relevant geometry files and click Select.
  
  Tip:
  In the Type of geometry field, select a geometry type to only list the files of that type.
  
  The selected geometry files display in the table along with their geometry type.
Click the Mesh Type field for each file and select a relevant mesh type.

Tip: Quickly apply the same mesh type to all files above or below the current row by right-clicking and selecting Propagate Up or Propagate Down.

Figure 1.
In the Output directory field, browse to select the directory where BatchMesher will save all results files.
If no output directory is specified, the results will be saved to the Input model directory.
Click Submit to start the BatchMesher run.
In the Run Status tab, monitor the job and run statuses.
All runs are listed in the Run Status tab, along with the status of job in the run. A BatchMesher run creates a unique directory inside of the Output directory where it stores its meshed results. This unique directory name displays in the tree for each run.
Tip:
Advanced details of a job with a COMPLETE or WORKING status can be monitored by highlighting the item of interest and clicking Details.

Advanced details for a run can be monitored by clicking Run Details.
Once a job is complete in the Run Status tab, load the final mesh into HyperMesh by selecting the job in the tree and clicking Load Mesh.

Run Setup

Define settings for a batch mesh run and the jobs it contains in the Run Setup tab.

In the Run Setup tab, a table layout is used to specify each job, along with options that apply to the entire run.

For each geometry file in the table, a geometry type must be chosen in the Geom Type field. If you select files using the Select Model Files dialog, than the geometry type is automatically set based on the value in the dialog. Manually select a geometry type by left-clicking the Geom Type field. Select the Auto geometry type to automatically attempt to detect the model type during import.

Additionally, each file requires a mesh type to be chosen in the Mesh Type field. The available mesh types are defined in the Configurations tab. Select a mesh type by left-clicking the Mesh Type field. Clear the mesh type by selecting the empty row in the drop down list.

Job dependencies can be defined, where the output of one model is used as the input to another. This is useful, for example, when creating a common mid-surface geometry model that is then used as input to generate domain specific mesh models. Such dependencies can be defined using the Previous Mesh Type field. When a previous mesh type value is selected, BatchMesher will find another Geometry File with the same name and specified Mesh Type, and run that model first. The output from that model will then be used as the input for the dependent model. The order of the definitions does not matter, as BatchMesher will decide the appropriate order to run any dependent jobs. If there is no other Geometry File that has the specified Previous Mesh Type, BatchMesher will not execute the dependent model. Further, if there is an error in generating the previous model, BatchMesher will also not execute the dependent model.

Each entry can have user-defined procedures specified. The available procedures are defined in the User Procedures tab. To set a procedure, left click in the corresponding Pre-geom Load, Pre-Mesh or Post-Mesh field and select from the drop down list. To clear the procedure, select the empty row in the drop down list. Additional procedures for pre- and post-run can be specified in the User Procedures tab as well.

The name of the .hm file that is generated by BatchMesher can be customized using the Output Name cell. If this field is empty, the default output name is used, which is a concatenation of the Geometry File name, the criteria file name, and the parameter file name. If the value is set to Input model name the input model name is taken, and any file extension is replaced with .hm. Finally, a user-defined value can be entered. The name will be taken exactly as defined, including any file extension. If multiple files are given the same output name, the files will be overwritten and only the last one saved will remain.

Tip: Quickly assign the same option to all of preceding or following entries in the table by right-clicking in the corresponding field and selecting either Propagate Up or Propagate Down.

Table 1. Run Setup Options
Option	Description
Input model directory	Directory that contains the geometry/CAD files for batch meshing. Note: You must select the directory containing the CAD files and not the CAD files themselves. The Include subfolders option additionally lists CAD files in all the subfolders of the selected directory.
CAD import options	CAD import strings can be provided to override default import behaviors, for example "SplitComponentsBy=Parts". The provided strings apply to all CAD import, regardless of format. Valid strings can be found in Supported CAD Readers.
	Launch the Select Model Files dialog to selecting the individual files to be batch meshed. Tip: Use the Shift and Ctrl keys to select or deselect multiple files from the list. If the Include subfolders checkbox is selected, matching files in subdirectories are also listed. Once the selection is complete, click Select to add the selected files to the table. All files of the selected geometry type in the source directory are selected by default. The process can be repeated to add more files from different directories or to add the same files multiple times to generate different sizes/types of mesh. A new directory can also be specified and files can be selected from that location. In addition, double clicking in a row in the Geometry File column allows direct editing of the file name and path.
	Launch the Select Folder with Model Files dialog to select an entire directory to be batch meshed. Once a directory is selected, all of the files matching the specified geometry type are listed. If the Include subfolders checkbox is selected, matching files in subfolders are also listed. No selection of individual files needs to be made. After review, click Select to add the selected directory to the table. All files of the selected geometry type in the directory are included. The process can be repeated to add more directories or to add the same directories multiple times to generate different sizes/types of mesh. In addition, double clicking in a row in the Geometry File column allows direct editing of the directory name and path.
	Add an empty row to the end of the table.
	Remove the selected row/rows from the table.
	Move the selected rows up in the table.
	Move the selected rows down in the table.
Output directory	Directory where the BatchMesher output files should be written. The results of the run are saved in a subdirectory named bm_<date>_<run>. For example, a first run on Aug. 4, 2011 will be named bm_110804_001. The next run on the same day would be bm_110804_002. If no output directory is specified, the Input model directory will be used.
Relocate .hm files to input model directory	Move all .hm output files to the corresponding directory of the input model.
Generate quality report	Generate HTML quality reports for each model, and a summary report for each job. The reports can be loaded from the Run Status tab.
Exit upon completion	Close the BatchMesher GUI after all jobs are complete.
Number of CPU	Maximum number of simultaneous jobs that can be run. If set to "auto" for multi-CPU machines, this will default to the number of CPUs minus 1.
Submit	Start the BatchMesher run and automatically open the Run Status tab. A run can also be started at a later time using the Submit At option.
Submit At	Start the BatchMesher run at a specified time, and automatically open the Run Status tab. The job status is listed as "Waiting" until the time the run starts.

Run Status

Once an BatchMesher run is initialized, the Run Status tab reports on the status of the run and its jobs.

Each run is listed as a sub-folder in a tree, along with the exact path of the results location. Each job, corresponding to one geometry file, is listed as a node of the tree, along with its geometry and mesh types, and its current status. Additional details can be queried for each job and for the entire run.

The Status field will display one of the following:

Working: Batch meshing is currently being performed on this model.
Pending: This model is currently in the queue and has not started the BatchMesher process yet. Any models with the status can be canceled.
Waiting: The job will begin automatically at a user-specified date and time.
Done: The batch meshing process is complete, and results can be reviewed.

Table 2. Run Status Options
Option	Description
	Load a .log file from a previous run to be reviewed.
	Remove a run from the tree. Note: This only affects the user interface; it does not delete any files.
Load Mesh	Select a single job from the tree and use this button to invoke interactive HyperMesh and load the final batch meshed model. The corresponding criteria file is also loaded in the QI panel so that the quality checks represent the meshing requirements set in BatchMesher. Note: This can only be performed on models that have a status of Done.
Details	Select a single job from the tree and use this button to obtain more details on the status. The details include: Date and time the job began. Complete path of the geometry model file. Complete path of corresponding criteria file. Complete path of corresponding parameter file. Time taken to load the geometry model. Table containing information on relevant steps in the batch meshing process. Status of the run. A value of COMPLETE indicates success. A value of ERROR indicates a failure. Click Refresh to manually refresh the window with the latest details. Click Auto Refresh to automatically update the window with the latest details while the job is running.
Run Details	Select a run from the tree and use this button to obtain more details on the status. The details include: Date and time the run began. For completed jobs, statistics such as the time required to complete the job, the final number of faces/elems/failures, and the quality index. Number of jobs completed, in process and waiting. Click Refresh to manually refresh the window with the latest details. Click Auto Refresh to automatically update the window with the latest details while the job is running.
Quality Report	Generate HTML quality reports for each job, and a summary report for each run. Restriction: Only valid if the Generate quality report checkbox was enabled on the Run Setup tab for the run.
Pause	Pause all pending jobs. This does not affect currently running jobs, which cannot be paused.
Resume Now	Resume all paused jobs.
Resume At	Resume all paused jobs at a future date and time.
Cancel	Cancel a single run. Runs that are Pending or Working can be canceled.

Configurations

Define the available mesh types that can be used in BatchMesher jobs in the Configurations tab.

A mesh type is a name given to a set composed of one criteria file and one parameter file.

A table layout is used to specify each mesh type and its files.

There are several pre-defined mesh types provided in the installation.

crash 5mm: Sample template file for crash analysis with average element size of 5mm.
crash 10mm: Sample template file for crash analysis with average element size of 10mm.
durability 5mm: Sample template file for durability analysis with average element size of 5mm.
general 8mm: Sample template file for general use cases with average element size of 8mm.
general 10mm: Sample template file for general use cases with average element size of 10mm.
NVH 10mm: Sample template file for NVH analysis with average element size of 10mm.
NVH 15mm: Sample template file for NVH analysis with average element size of 15mm.

Option	Description
	Launch a dialog, from which you can select a criteria or parameter file, depending on the selected cell. In addition, double click a row in the Criteria File or Parameter File columns to edit the file name and path.
	Add an empty row to the end of the table.
	Remove the selected row/rows from the table.
	Launch the Criteria and Parameters Editors, from which you can edit the criteria and parameters files in the selected row. Note: It may not be possible to edit the default parameter and criteria files provided in the installation due to file permissions.

User Procedures

User procedures that can be specified in BatchMesher for jobs and runs in the User Procedures tab.

There are several pre-defined procedures provided in the installation.

nastran_mesh: Write out the resulting mesh in Nastran format.
nastran_mesh_rename: Write out the resulting mesh in Nastran format, but renames the output file.

For each user procedure in the table, the Name must be specified after selecting the file. Double-click in the cell to edit the name.

Note: It is recommended to use a unique name for each entry, but it is not required.

Additionally, each user procedure requires a Tcl Procedure to be selected. To set the procedure, left-click in the Tcl Procedure cell and select from the drop down list. To clear the procedure, select the empty row in the drop down list.

Procedures can be specified that apply to all jobs by default. These can then be manually overridden on the Batch Mesh tab.

Pre-geometry load: Select a user procedure to execute immediately after the job begins, before the input model is imported.
Pre-batch mesh: Select a user procedure to execute immediately after the input model is imported, before the batch mesh begins. Examples include extracting a midsurface or performing a surface offset.
Post-batch mesh: Select a user procedure to execute immediately after the batch mesh process is complete. Examples include creating solver specific cards, or exporting the mesh in a specific format.

Procedures can also be specified that apply to the entire run. These cannot be manually overridden elsewhere.

Pre-Run: Select a user procedure to execute before the first model/job starts.
Post-Run: Select a user procedure to execute after the last model/job completes.

Table 3. User Procedure Options
Task	Description
	Open a dialog, from which you can select a .tcl file. In addition, double-click a row in the Tcl File column to edit the file name and path.
	Add a empty row to the end of the table.
	Remove the selected row/rows from the table.