Unable to Import 2D Gmsh Mesh into ANSYS Fluent – Mesh Detected as 3D and Fails to Load

Ujwal

Hello everyone,

I'm trying to import a 2D structured quadrilateral mesh generated using Gmsh into ANSYS Fluent (2024 R1), but I’m facing multiple issues.

What I’ve done:
Created a 2D geometry (Ahmed body in a wind tunnel) using OpenCASCADE in Gmsh.

Applied transfinite + recombine for structured quad mesh.

Exported the mesh as Version 2 ASCII .msh from Gmsh.

Issues faced:
Fluent automatically detects the mesh as 3D, even though it is a 2D mesh with Z=0.

When trying to load the mesh from ANSYS Workbench or Fluent launcher, I get various errors like:

CortexNotAvailableException

grid-partition-boundary: invalid grid

Fluent crashes with "bad termination of one of your application processes".

Mesh stats in Gmsh:
Nodes: ~17,677

Elements: Only quadrangles, no tetrahedra or prisms.

Mesh type: 2D (confirmed in statistics tab)

Additional Info:
I’m working on a remote cluster.

Tried launching Fluent in 2D mode, still says "Detected 3D mesh".

Tried turning off "Save parametric coordinates" and other export flags — no luck.

Question:
What could be causing Fluent to misinterpret my 2D mesh as 3D, and how can I successfully import a 2D Gmsh mesh into Fluent without crashing or errors?

Any suggestions for fixing this or verifying the mesh are greatly appreciated. I can share the .geo or .msh file if needed.

Thanks!

James Derrick

Hi @Ujwal thanks for your question. This forum is specifically for questions regarding scripting and/or development using Ansys Developer tools. If you have a scripting question please include some details regarding code you have tried and documentation you have already considered. Otherwise you might find more luck over on the Ansys Innovation Space forum, which is specifically for non-developer questions.