Triangulation of planar regions with applications

Abstract

An algorithm is presented for triangulating efficiently a set of points within any planar region. This technique can deal with multiply-connected regions and is optimal, in the sense that it avoids triangles with small angles wherever possible. Two fields of applications are presented; first, in contouring, where an algorithm for producing contours is outlined, and secondly, in finite element analysis, where the triangulation algorithm makes a significant contribution towards automatic mesh generation.