Step 5: Mesh geometry
Generate the Mesh
To bring up the MeshTool, Select:
Main Menu > Preprocessor > MeshTool.
Click on Set under Element Attributes in the MeshTool.
This brings up the Meshing Attributes menu. You will see that the correct element type, material number and real constants are already selected since we have only one of each.
Close this menu by clicking OK.
Define Number of Elements for Each Line
We'll use 20 elements for AB and 20 elements for BC to be consistent with Cook et al.
Under Size Control and Lines, click Set.
Select line AB.
Click OK.
Enter 30
for NDIV.
Click Apply.
Select line BC.
Click OK.
Enter 20
for NDIV.
Click OK.
Creating the Mesh
In the MeshTool, click on Mesh. This brings up the pick menu. Click on Pick All.
The geometry has been meshed and the elements are plotted in the graphics window. Close the MeshTool.
Save your work
Once you have successfully created the mesh, click on SAVE_DB in the ANSYS Toolbar to save the database.