Validity-first automatic polycube labeling for CAD models

TL;DR

This paper presents a novel automatic labeling method for polycube-based CAD models, addressing challenges in boundary facet assignment for block-structured hex mesh generation, with successful tests on complex models.

Contribution

It introduces a validity-first semi-global labeling approach that separates validity criteria from quality metrics, improving automatic polycube labeling for CAD models.

Findings

Successfully tested on CAD models relevant for numerical simulations.

Addresses over-constraining of validity criteria in polycube labeling.

Provides a semi-global approach to improve labeling robustness.

Abstract

For many simulation codes, block-structured hex meshes remain preferred while their automatic generation is unsolved. We investigate the usage of a polycube-based approach. More specifically, we focus on the labeling stage, which consists in assigning each boundary facet to one of the 6 signed principal axis. Similar works are confronted with 2 challenges: over-constraining validity criteria, and the conflated processing of validity criteria with quality metrics. We tackle these obstacles with automatic routines based on semi-global labeling operators. Our approach is successfully tested on CAD models, which are of interest for many numerical simulation problems.