Ruppert's algorithm

In mesh generation, Ruppert's algorithm, also known as Delaunay refinement, is an algorithm for creating quality Delaunay triangulations. The algorithm takes a planar straight-line graph (or in dimension higher than two a piecewise linear system) and returns a conforming Delaunay triangulation of only quality triangles. A triangle is considered poor-quality if it has a circumradius to shortest edge ratio larger than some prescribed threshold. Discovered by Jim Ruppert in the early 1990s, "Ruppert's algorithm for two-dimensional quality mesh generation is perhaps the first theoretically guaranteed meshing algorithm to be truly satisfactory in practice."

When doing computer simulations such as computational fluid dynamics, one starts with a model such as a 2D outline of a wing section. The input to a 2D finite element method needs to be in the form of triangles that fill all space, and each triangle to be filled with one kind of material – in this example, either "air" or "wing". Long, skinny triangles cannot be simulated accurately. The simulation time is generally proportional to the number of triangles, and so one wants to minimize the number of triangles, while still using enough triangles to give reasonably accurate results – typically by using an unstructured grid. The computer uses Ruppert's algorithm (or some similar meshing algorithm) to convert the polygonal model into triangles suitable for the finite element method.

The algorithm begins with a Delaunay triangulation of the input vertices and then consists of two main operations.

These operations are repeated until no poor-quality triangles exist and all segments are not encroached.

Without modification Ruppert's algorithm is guaranteed to terminate and generate a quality mesh for non-acute input and any poor-quality threshold less than about 20.7 degrees. To relax these restrictions various small improvements have been made. By relaxing the quality requirement near small input angles, the algorithm can be extended to handle any straight-line input. Curved input can also be meshed using similar techniques. Ruppert's algorithm can be naturally extended to three dimensions, however its output guarantees are somewhat weaker due to the sliver type tetrahedron.

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