CFD Online Discussion Forums - [blockMesh] Embedded blocks

Hi all,

I need to define a hex block inside a rectangular computational domain, which is basically a block also. Is there any possibility to define a smaller block inside a larger block, like e.g. this:

Code:

vertices        

(

    (0 0 0)        // 00

    (15 0 0)        // 01

    (15 6 0)        // 02

    (0 6 0)        // 03

    (0 0 6)        // 04

    (15 0 6)        // 05

    (15 6 6)        // 06

    (0 6 6)        // 07

    // **************

    (5 1 2)        // 08

    (12 1 2)        // 09

    (12 4 2)        // 10

    (5 4 2)        // 11

    (5 1 5)        // 12

    (12 1 5)        // 13

    (12 4 5)        // 14

    (5 4 5)        // 15

);



blocks

(

    hex (0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7) (30 12 12) simpleGrading (1 1 1)

    hex (8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15) block_porosity (14 6 6) simpleGrading (1 1 1)

);

blockMesh and checkMesh run without choking, but the actual application stops with the message: "The mesh contains patches of type empty but is not 1D or 2D".

I need the setup of the above type to simulate flows in porous media because the standard way to define porous zones is to define the blocks and associate the porous zones with the appropriate blocks. How to implement the setup where the porous media only partially fills the overall domain? Define multiple blocks that tile the 3D domain?