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Adaptive meshing is a powerful technique to quickly achieve accurate CFD simulations. This mesh refinement tool is based on the solution from a coarser grid and doesn’t require this initial mesh to be highly refined. Instead, the domain is refined in specified regions to achieve a more accurate solution with less grid cells—and with less a priori analysis of the flow.

To refine the mesh in critical regions and coarsen it in areas of uniform flow, various adaption schemes can be applied. A common scheme is based on gradients of solution variables such as pressure, velocity, temperature, etc. The grid can also be refined based on boundary zones—a strictly geometrical scheme—or it can be adapted using iso-values of a variable. Regardless of the scheme, individual cells are marked for refinement/coarsening and the degree of adaptation is defined.

Mesh adaptation can be a static process in which the scheme and thresholds are defined, the mesh is modified and then the solution is re-run. Alternatively, dynamic gradient adaptation can be implemented whereby the solver is directed to periodically perform adaptations, resulting in a fully automated process.