This file describe in brief how to compile and use the interface element
generator program which is described in detail in the following paper 

VP Nguyen, "An open source program to generate zero-thickness cohesive interface elements", Advances in Engineering 
Software, 2014.

If you have used this code successfully please cite the above article.

1. Used libraries:

The program uses firstly the Standard Template Library (STL) which is 
available in most of operating systems. It also uses the Boost library
which can be downloaded at www.boost.org.

2. Compilation

The program can be easily compiled using the scons program, 
www.scons.org. In the terminal, just type scons. That's it :-)
It can be also compiled using Gnu Make, by simply typing make in a terminal. For Linux 
and Mac OS machines, a makefile is provided. For Windows, the code can be compiled using
Microsoft Visual Studio (after Boost was installed).

3. Usage:

In the terminal, type: ./mesh-generator --help for a simple manual. 

An example to generate a mesh for a double cantiler beam with a pre-existing notch is:

./mesh-generator --mesh-file dcb.msh --out-file dcb-solid.mesh --interface-file dcb-interface.mesh --interface
--notch 0 0 55 0 

4. Capabilities:

In short the code reads a Gmsh mesh file and generate cohesive interface elements for (1) jem-jive FEM code
and (2) Abaqus FE package. 


Vinh Phu Nguyen, [email protected]
Cardiff University,
May 2014.