Advancing Front

The advancing front algorithm for the generation of triangular finite-element meshes starts with an initial subdivision of the polygon border according to the defined element number for the polygon. From this, a first row of elements is generated along the border. Then the front is moved towards the center of the polygon by inserting new elements until the polygon is filled. An iterative procedure is used to ensure a smooth mesh.

The meshing is done polygon by polygon, starting with the polygon for which the finest mesh is expected based on the number of elements proposed and the number of border nodes.

 

	Advancing front is a fast algorithm, leading to a finite-element mesh with very regular elements (element angles close to 60°).
	Advancing front does not consider lines and points, and does not provide functionality for refinement along polygon borders.

Advancing front does not consider lines and points in the supermesh. Only the polygons are used as the basis for mesh generation. Existing points and lines are ignored. Furthermore, Advancing front does not allow to refine the mesh along specified polygon borders. Corresponding settings are ignored.

Properties

Property	Description
Mesh Anisotropy	With an anisotropy factor of 1 (default), the x and y coordinates of the polygons, lines and points are handed over to the mesh generator as original values. Applying another factor, the y coordinates are scaled with this factor for the mesh generation. Thus, it is possible, to obtain a finer mesh vertically than horizontally or vice versa. It has to be kept in mind, however, that distorted elements may be generated by applying very small or very large factors.
Smoothing Iterations	Advancing front uses an iterative procedure for the generation of a smooth finite-element mesh. The more iterations are used, the smoother the final mesh will be. On the other hand, more iterations slow down the mesh generation.
Sort Areally	With this option turned on, more than one supermesh polygons will be sorted by size for the mesh generation, i.e., generation will start with the smallest polygon and finalize with the largest. This helps to honour properties of small polygons in the common case that they are meant to be meshed with a fine mesh, large ones with a coarser mesh.