There are two main meshing methods in FEA: Free mesh and Mappped mesh
Free
Mesh/Automated Mesh/Unstructured Mesh
•Has
no element shape restrictions.
•The
mesh does not follow any pattern.
•Suitable
for complex shaped areas and volumes.
 |
| Free mesh |
Mapped
Mesh/Manual Mesh/Structured Mesh
•Restricts
element shapes to quadrilaterals for areas and hexahedral (bricks) for volumes.
•Typically
has a regular pattern with obvious rows of elements.
•Suitable
only for “regular” areas and volumes such as rectangles and bricks.
 |
| Mapped mesh |
