Refine
Use a Refine () node to refine a mesh by splitting elements.
To refine a mesh:
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On the Mesh ribbon toolbar (Windows) from the Operations>Modify () menu, choose Elements>Refine ().
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On the Mesh contextual toolbar (Mac and Linux) from the Modify>Elements menu, choose Refine ().
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Right-click a 2D or 3D Mesh node and from the More Operations submenu select Refine.
Then use the following sections to specify the parts of the mesh to refine and the method used to refine the elements:
Domain Selection
Define the domains where you want to refine the mesh. Choose the level of the geometry from the Geometric entity level list:
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Choose Entire geometry to refine the entire mesh.
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Choose Domain to specify the domains for which you want to refine the mesh. Choose Manual from the Selection list to select the domains in the Graphics window or choose All domains to select all domains.
Refine Options
Refinement Method
From the Refinement method list, select Regular refinement to use the regular refinement method or select Split longest side to use the refinement method that splits the longest side when refining the mesh. The regular refinement method divides each element into four triangular elements of the same shape in 2D or eight tetrahedral elements of the same shape in 3D. The longest refinement method bisects the longest edge of each element. For 2D geometries, COMSOL Multiphysics defaults to the regular refinement method, and in 3D the refinement method that splits the longest side is the default. In 1D, COMSOL Multiphysics always uses regular refinement, where it divides each element into two elements of the same shape.
Number of Refinements
Enter the number of consecutive mesh refinements in the Number of refinements field (the default is one refinement).
It is only possible to refine domains meshed with simplex elements (that is, segments in 1D, triangles in 2D, and tetrahedra in 3D). To refine the mesh in other domains, you must convert the mesh into simplex elements using the Convert node.
Refine Elements in Box
Check Specify bounding box to refine the mesh only within a box. If you refine the mesh only on certain domains, the mesh is refined only in the intersection between the box and the domains.
Specify the box either by entering the coordinates of the lower-left corner and upper-right corner of the box or click Draw box to interactively specify the box (only available in 2D).