mesh

Generate and view mesh for antennas, arrays, and custom shapes

Syntax

mesh(object)

mesh(object,MaxEdgeLength=Value)

mesh(___,Name=Value)

meshdata = mesh(___)

mesh(shape,wavelength)

meshstruct = mesh(shape,wavelength)

Description

mesh(object) opens a figure window and displays an already meshed antenna, array, custom geometric shape, or a platform. Here, the MeshMode is "auto".

Running any analysis function (impedance, current, charge, pattern etc.) on the antenna or array automatically generates the mesh which you can then view using this syntax.

mesh(object,MaxEdgeLength=Value) manually generates the mesh for an antenna, array, custom geometric shape, or a platform using the specified maximum edge length and displays it in a figure window. Here, the MeshMode is "manual" and you must specify the maximum edge length to generate and view the mesh.

mesh(___,Name=Value) manually generates the mesh for the specified antenna, array, custom geometric shape, or a platform using one or more name-value arguments and displays it in a figure window.

meshdata = mesh(___) returns a MeshReader object with read-only mesh properties. Use this syntax to see the details about the mesh parameters and quality.

mesh(shape,wavelength) generates a plot of meshed geometric shape at the specified wavelength in meters.

meshstruct = mesh(shape,wavelength) returns the mesh information (number of points and triangles) of the specified shape at the specified wavelength as a structure.

Examples

View Mesh Properties of Antenna

Create a top-hat monopole antenna and run impedance analysis on it.

h = monopoleTopHat;
i = impedance(h,75e6)

i = 
2.4880e+02 + 5.9991e+02i

VIew the antenna mesh.

mesh(h)

View the mesh properties.

m = mesh(h)

m = 
  MeshReader with properties:

                Points: [3×92 double]
             Triangles: [4×144 double]
            Tetrahedra: []
         MaxEdgeLength: 0.4295
         MinEdgeLength: 0.3221
            GrowthRate: 0.9500
    MinimumMeshQuality: 0.0660
              MeshMode: 'auto'

Mesh Microstrip Patch Metal-Dielectric Antenna

Radiation Pattern of Microstrip Patch Antenna

Create a microstrip patch antenna using 'FR4' as the dielectric substrate.

d = dielectric("FR4");
pm = patchMicrostrip(Length=75e-3,Width=37e-3,...
        GroundPlaneLength=120e-3,GroundPlaneWidth=120e-3,...
        Substrate=d);
show(pm)

Plot the radiation pattern of the antenna at a frequency of 1.67 GHz.

figure
pattern(pm,1.67e9)

Mesh the whole antenna.

figure
mesh(pm)

Mesh only the dielectric surface of the antenna.

figure
mesh(pm,View="dielectric surface")

Mesh Arbitrary Shape

Create a rectangular and circular shape, intersect them and mesh at a wavelength of 2 m.

r  = antenna.Rectangle;
c  = antenna.Circle; 
p = r&c;
mesh(p,2);

View Sliced Mesh Plot of Antenna

Create a default horn antenna. Mesh the structure with the Slicer argument set to "on".

ant = horn;
z = impedance(ant,70e6);
mesh(ant,Slicer="on")

Select Enable slicer Mode. Then select a plane for the slice under Orientation.

Click on the plot and select a region to hide.

Click Hide Selected Region to view the desired slice.

Read Mesh Parameters of Microstrip Patch Antenna

This example shows how to read mesh parameters of a microstrip patch antenna and view the metal, dielectric, and complete mesh.

Create Microstrip Patch Antenna

Create a microstrip patch antenna with copper conductor and FR4 PCB substrate. Run impedance analysis on this antenna at 1.67 GHz to automatically generate the mesh.

p = patchMicrostrip(Conductor=metal("Copper"), Substrate=dielectric("FR4"));
figure
impedance(p,1.67e9);

Read Mesh Parameters of Antenna

Read the mesh parameters such as number of points, triangles, and tetrahedra, maximum and minimum edge length, mesh growth rate, and quality using the MeshReader object.

m = mesh(p)

m = 
  MeshReader with properties:

                Points: [3×1644 double]
             Triangles: [4×2013 double]
            Tetrahedra: [4×4617 double]
         MaxEdgeLength: 0.0044
         MinEdgeLength: 2.2012e-04
            GrowthRate: 0.9500
    MinimumMeshQuality: 0.0289
              MeshMode: 'auto'

View Mesh of Antenna

View the metal mesh.

figure
showMetalMesh(m)

View the dielectric surface mesh.

figure
showDielectricSurfaceMesh(m)

View the dielectric volume mesh.

figure
showDielectricVolumeMesh(m)

View the overall mesh.

figure
showMeshAll(m)

Input Arguments

object — Antenna, array, or custom geometric shape

antenna object | array object | shape object | pcbStack object | wireStack object | installedAntenna object | platform object

Antenna, array, or custom geometric shape, specified as one of the following:

• Antenna object from the antenna catalog.

• Array object from the array catalog.

• 2-D shape object without material properties.

• 2-D and 3-D shape objects with material properties.

• wireStack object.

• pcbStack object.

• installedAntenna object.

• platform object.

Example: dipole

shape — Custom geometric shape

shape object

Custom geometric shape, specified as one of the following objects:

• 2-D shapes without material properties:

  • antenna.Circle

  • antenna.Ellipse

  • antenna.Polygon

  • antenna.Rectangle

  • antenna.Triangle

• 2-D and 3-D shapes with material properties:

  • shape.Circle

  • shape.Ellipse

  • shape.Rectangle

  • shape.Polygon

  • shape.Box

  • shape.OpenBox

  • shape.Cylinder

  • shape.OpenCylinder

  • shape.Sphere

  • shape.Custom3D

Example: shape.Box

wavelength — Wavelength to generate mesh

positive scalar

Wavelength to generate the mesh, specified as a positive scalar in meters.

Example: 2

Data Types: double

Name-Value Arguments

Specify optional pairs of arguments as Name1=Value1,...,NameN=ValueN, where Name is the argument name and Value is the corresponding value. Name-value arguments must appear after other arguments, but the order of the pairs does not matter.

Example: MaxEdgeLength=0.1

MaxEdgeLength — Maximum edge length of mesh triangles

positive scalar

Maximum edge length of triangles in the mesh, specified as a scalar in meters.

Example: 0.01

Data Types: double

MinEdgeLength — Minimum edge length of mesh triangles

positive scalar

Smallest edge length of triangles in the mesh, specified as a positive scalar in meters.

Example: 2e-3

Data Types: double

GrowthRate — Gradation in mesh triangle sizes

scalar in the range (0,1) for antennas and arrays | scalar in the range (1,2) for shapes

Gradation in the mesh triangle sizes, specified as a scalar in the range:

• (0,1) for antenna and array objects.

• (1,2) for shape objects.

Example: For antenna and array objects, GrowthRate=0.7 states that the growth rate of the mesh is 70 percent.

Example: For shape objects, GrowthRate=1.7 states that the growth rate of the mesh is 70 percent.

Data Types: double

View — Option to customize mesh view of antenna or array

"all" (default) | "metal" | "dielectric surface" | "dielectric volume"

Choice of the antenna or array element layer to view the mesh plot, specified as a string. Choose:

• "all" to view the mesh of the whole antenna or array.

• "metal" to view the metal layer mesh of the antenna or array.

• "dielectric surface" to view the boundary triangle mesh of the dielectric.

• "dielectric volume" to view the tetrahedral volume mesh of the dielectric.

Example: "metal"

Data Types: string

Slicer — Option to enable or disable plot interactivity

0 (default) | 1 | false | true | "off" | "on"

Option to enable or disable plot interactivity, specified as "on" or "off", or as numeric or logical 1(true) or 0(false). Set this argument to 1 or "on" to open the plot with the slicer panel, and to slice and view the desired cross section of the plot along the xy-, yz-, and xz- planes. Set this argument to 0 or "off" to open the plot without the slicer panel.

Example: "on"

Data Types: double | logical | string

Output Arguments

meshdata — Mesh properties

MeshReader object (default)

Mesh properties such as the number of triangles, tetrahedra and basis functions in the mesh, maximum and minimum edge lengths, and growth rate stored in a MeshReader object.

meshstruct — Mesh information

structure

Mesh information such as number of points and triangles stored in a structure.

Data Types: struct

Version History

Introduced in R2015a