[boffin5]

My question concerns the functionality of snappyHexMesh, but with a twist.
I modelled a wheel in Salome, and have imported it into OpenFoam via a unv file.
When I use ideasUnvToFoam on that file, I get a polyMesh that defines the tire.

Now, I need to create a domain for it. If I use blockMesh, is it not true that I will get a polyMesh, which will overwrite the one previously created with ideasUnvToFoam?
Note that I don't have an stl file for the wheel which would ordinarily be used by snappyHexMesh.

There are other cases with rotating and non-rotating MRF zones, which are dealt with by using mergeMeshes, but these are set up for adjacent meshes, whereas in my case, if I merged the domain and the wheel, the meshes would overlap. Not what is needed.
How to deal with this?

[Yann]

Hello Alan,

What is the geometry in your unv file? A surface mesh of the wheel ? A volume mesh of the inside of the wheel ? Or a volume mesh of the outside of the wheel ?

Regards,
Yann

[boffin5]

Hi Yann!

My query was in regard to the use of snappyHexMesh to cut a body, using a .unv file as input for the body, and blockMesh to create the domain. The .unv file was of a wheel, fully meshed in Salome.

I had no idea of how to do it, but I discovered an answer soon after I posted my query. So I'm sorry to trouble people with a query that was quickly overtaken by events, but it often seems that if I don't post a query, I usually spend inordinate amounts of time groping for an answer. Somehow this reminds me of quantum theory.

Anyway, using a temporary case folder for the body, I ran ideasUnvToFoam to get a polyyMesh, and then foamToSurface (this was the key), which created an stl file of the body, in this case the wheel. Then I copied the stl file to the primary case folder in which I ran blockMesh, and then snappyHexMesh.

So thank you for your response, and don't go away, for it is inevitable that I will again myself completely stumped.