How to use Fluent Meshing without the GUI? 

There may be situations in which it is not possible or desirable to volume mesh a model using the GUI.  This article describes a workflow to use Fluent Meshing without the GUI to generate a volume mesh from and existing surface mesh.  The workflow assumes that a proper surface mesh is generated and that all mesh settings are ready for volume meshing.  It also assumes that the operating system is Windows.  The workflow addresses how to launch fluent from a Windows command prompt.  It also addresses a journal script to read the surface mesh, volume mesh, and write the volume mesh file. 

Step A: Generate Surface Mesh  

1. Generate a proper surface mesh ready for volume meshing with GUI.
2.  Ensure all settings should are set to be ready such that Generate the Volume Mesh is the next step.
    
    

Step B: Note & Copy Mesh Object Name 

1. Enter the Outline View.
2.  Take note of the name of the mesh object within the Mesh Objects group.   
3.  Copy-paste this name to a text editor file. 

Step C: Prep for Auto Mesh 

1. Right-click on the name and select the Auto Mesh… option.
2.  Update the fields and desired and press Apply.
3.  Save the mesh file.
4.  Exit Fluent. 
    
    

Step D: Add fluent launcher to system environment path. 

1. Navigate to the folder for the Fluent launcher
   
    
2. Copy the address location
3. Access the System Properties to edit the Environment Variables
   
    
    
   4. Select Environment Variables…  
   5. Select the Path row in the System variables section 
   6. Select Edit… 
   7. Paste the address for Fluent launcher in the new path field. 
   8. Select OK 3 times to close the Environment variable windows. 
    
   
     

Step E: Generate journal file 

1. Open a text editor.
   2. Add command to read surface mesh file.
   3. Add command to auto mesh the mesh object using the name from StepB.3 
   4. Add command to write the volume mesh file 
   5. Add command to exit Fluent 
   6. Save file to the working directory (for example non_gui_meshing.jou) 
    
    

Step F: Run Fluent Meshing without GUI per journal file 

1. Open a Command Prompt

1. Change directory to the working directory
   3. Enter the following Fluent launcher command
    
                           fluent 3ddp -g -meshing -i non_gui_meshing.jou 

The 3ddp option activates 3d Fluent with double precision. 
The -g option deactivates the GUI. 
The -meshing option activates the meshing mode. 
The -i option prompts Fluent to read a journal file. 

Step G: Observation and Confirmation 

Observe Fluent meshing to confirm commands are followed.