title: Growing multiblock structures: a semi-automated approach to block placement for multiblock hexahedral meshing.
abstract: Finite element (FE) analysis is a cornerstone of orthopaedic biomechanics research. Three-dimensional medical imaging provides sufficient resolution for the subject-specific FE models to be generated from these data-sets. FE model development requires discretisation of a three-dimensional domain, which can be the most time-consuming component of a FE study. Hexahedral meshing tools based on the multiblock method currently rely on the manual placement of building blocks for mesh generation. We hypothesise that angular analysis of the geometric centreline for a three-dimensional surface could be used to automatically generate building block structures for the multiblock hexahedral mesh generation. Our algorithm uses a set of user-defined points and parameters to automatically generate a multiblock structure based on a surface's geometric centreline. This significantly reduces the time required for model development. We have applied this algorithm to 47 bones of varying geometries and successfully generated a FE mesh in all cases. This work represents significant advancement in automatically generating multiblock structures for a wide range of geometries.
authors.affiliation: Carver College of Medicine, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, USA.
authors.forename: Austin J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Ramme
authors.forename: Kiran H
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Shivanna
authors.forename: Amy J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Criswell
authors.forename: Nicole A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Kallemeyn
authors.forename: Vincent A
authors.initials: VA
authors.lastname: Magnotta
authors.forename: Nicole M
authors.initials: NM
authors.lastname: Grosland
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D000818:Animals; D001842:Bone and Bones / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000502:physiology*; D003198:Computer Simulation; D020342:Finite Element Analysis; D006801:Humans; D008953:Models, Anatomic; D008954:Models, Biological