Quadtree and Sub-Grid Sampling FAQ: Difference between revisions

=How coarse can the base cell size be for a Quadtree model with Sub-Grid Sampling (SGS)?=

There are two answers to this question depending on your modelling objectives. For example, by doubling your base cell size, and not changing the Quadtree levels, you will be doubling the cell sizes throughout your model. Provided this doubling of cell sizes does not conflict with other objectives (remember, only one velocity is calculated per cell face, so a consequence of doubling cell size is to reduce the quality of velocity based outputs such as hazard), whether or not it is okay to increase the base cell size simply comes down to whether results convergence can be proven. By results convergence we mean you can increase (or decrease) your cell sizes without unacceptably changing the model results. If you do see a significant change in results that is considered unacceptable, then you need to possibly make your cell sizes smaller (not larger!). A well-designed model mesh is one where you can decrease cells sizes without seeing an unacceptable change in results. SGS will greatly help with achieving results convergence and very much increase your ability to use a coarser base cell size or coarsen up parts of your model.