Automatic generation of quadrilateral elements by a conformal mapping

A finite element mesh generator is described based on a conformal mapping which requires little more than the definition of boundary geometry to generate a mesh. The method is restricted to plane regions which are simply connected. The interior of a region containing a uniform mesh of regularly shaped 8‐node quadrilateral elements is mapped conformally to the physical domain with the result that bandwidth is automatically minimized and that smooth transitions are made between large and small elements. Although the procedure is not satisfactory for general applications, most common geometrical shapes can be modelled with meshes of good quality. The method is based primarily on boundary data but the user can specify a region of high mesh density. Examples are given to illustrate typical results.