Ansys Meshing – Refinement

Refinement splits existing cells after the initial mesh has been generated, rather than changing the size used to create it. Each refinement level divides the edges of the affected cells, so the count grows quickly.

It is applied to a face, an edge or a vertex, which makes it useful when you only need more resolution in a specific spot and you do not want to regenerate the whole mesh. The drawback is that it works on the mesh that already exists, so it cannot fix a poor size distribution, only subdivide it.

For CFD, sizing controls and a Body of Influence usually give a better result than refinement, because they influence the mesh while it is being built. Refinement stays handy for quick local fixes and for structural work.