Gmsh is a powerful visualization tool that enables you to generate 3D finite elements for various mathematical problems. The utility also includes a CAD engine, post processing capabilities, and a user friendly graphical user interface.

The Gmsh application is built around four different modules: geometrical, mesh, solver, and post processing. Switching between them proves to be quite intuitive: in the app’s main window simply click on the module you want to use.

To start creating geometrical models you must define points, lines, segments, circles, ellipses, volumes, the surface orientation, and so on. You also have the option to group multiple geometrical figures into entities and use the Gmsh scripting language to define their parameters.

In the Mesh area, Gmsh will generate element meshes for the included geometrical elements: the app considers the figure is defined by the list of nodes. Note that Gmsh comes with an extensive documentation where you can learn more about how the generator works.

Gmsh comes with a built in solver (GetDP) that can send the calculations results to the post-processing module for further analysis. Note that you can also use TCP/IP sockets to connect to external solvers and run external computations, or adjust specific parameters.

In post processing mode, Gmsh can manipulate the geometry, the mesh, and various tensor, scalar, or vector maps. The application is using specific representations for each type of element, and integrates various functions for further processing the results.

To conclude, Gmsh generates 3D finite elements grids and meshes, and provides access to a powerful scripting language that can help you automate post processing functions in order to render animations. Moreover, the Gmsh user interface proves to be very easy to use, and you get to extend its capabilities via plug-ins.

Gmsh is part of these download collections: 3D Meshes Managers