> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.ntop.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# FE Surface Mesh

## About this Block

**What it does:** Generates an FE Mesh for an input surface mesh.

**Common uses:**

* Input in an **FE Component**.
* Meshing surface lattices.

**Tips:**

* **FE Surface Mesh** is used with shell elements that are approximations of the 3D geometry. These are used for thin-walled geometries. Running simulations on shell elements decreases the computational time with a lower element count.
* Use this block with the **FE Shell Attribute** block when you are creating an **FE Component**.
* Thickness of the surface mesh is defined in the **FE Shell Attribute** block. This shell element represents the midplane of the 3D part.
* Linear Geometric order is faster but less accurate.
* Quadratic Geometric order is slower but more accurate. We recommend this option if you are using the results downstream.

## Example File

Download Example: [FE Surface Mesh](https://storage.googleapis.com/files-learn/static/ExtendedBlockDocs/fe_surface_mesh.ntop)

![FE Surface Mesh](https://storage.googleapis.com/files-learn/static/ExtendedBlockDocs/fe_surface_mesh.png)

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Convert a 3D Surface Mesh into an FE Mesh containing 3D shell elements. Standard Isoparametric model is used for shell element formulations.

### Inputs

| Name            | Type                                               | Description                                 |
| --------------- | -------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------- |
| Discretization  | [Mesh](../../../../block-documentation/types/mesh) | The input geometric discretization.         |
| Geometric order | Geometric Order Enum                               | The geometric order of the finite elements. |

### Outputs

| Type                                                     |
| -------------------------------------------------------- |
| [FE Mesh](../../../../block-documentation/types/fe-mesh) |