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Dear Sirs.<br>
<br>
We are trying to use <b>Gmsh</b> as a mesh generator for a 3D
boundary element software (surface modeling).<br>
Do you have any experience in doing so?<br>
<br>
The purpose of our work is academic, for teaching and research,
helping to use our BE software.<br>
We understand that for others purposes it will be necessary a
different type of license.<br>
<br>
It seems that modeling surfaces with <b>Gmsh</b> could help.<br>
Our major difficulty is when dealing with adjacent elements that do
not share the same functional nodes.<br>
The geometric nodes, however, are kept the same, naturally.<br>
<br>
For these cases, we are used to employ the so-called "discontinuous
element" (also known as "non-conforming" element).<br>
An alternative is to use "double nodes", that is not our case.<br>
<br>
The idea of discontinuous element is to place the functional nodes
inside the element, instead of on its boundary (edge).<br>
On the contrary of FEM, this do not affect BEM formulations.<br>
<br>
So, we would like to know if <b>Gmsh </b>has this capability of
creating new nodes inside the elements, when necessary, accordingly
to different types of connectivity between adjacent elements.
Sometimes an surface element can share functional nodes with one (or
more) of its adjacent elements, and do not share functional nodes
with the others.<br>
<br>
It is not necessary <b>Gmsh</b> generate the coordinates for these
new nodes. Our software can handle it.<br>
It is necessary, however, to number these new nodes and associate
them to each element (keeping the same element orientation -
ordering of their nodes), as it is already done for the others
standard (geometric) nodes.<br>
<br>
Thanks in advance.<br>
Greetings.<br>
<br>
J. Jeferson Rêgo Silva<br>
Civil Engineering Department - UFPE<br>
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