A game-changing solution to a knotty problem in computational engineering
Now, Suresh and recent PhD graduate Bhagyashree Prabhune have developed a novel approach, called the Tangled Finite Element Method (TFEM), that can tackle tangled meshes and produce accurate results. The new method hinges on identifying and correcting two fundamental flaws in current finite element method framework. First, when a mesh gets tangled, any physical field, such as a temperature field, that a person is attempting to capture using the mesh is rendered ambiguous over the tangled region. The new method addresses this by carefully defining the field so that the ambiguity is eliminated. Second, the underlying field also becomes discontinuous over the tangled region; this essentially violates a fundamental principle of the finite element method. However, in TFEM, continuity is guaranteed through an explicit constraint imposed over the tangled region.
