HULK - Simple and fast generation of structured hexahedral meshes for improved subsurface simulations

Short for Hexahedra from Unique Location in (K)convex Polyhedra - HULK is a simple and efficient algorithm to generate hexahedral meshes from generic STL files describing a geological model to be used in simulation tools based on the finite element, finite volume or finite difference methods. Using binary space partitioning of the input geometry and octree refinement on the grid, a successive increase in accuracy of the mesh is achieved. We present the theoretical basis as well as the implementation procedure with three geological models with varying complexity, providing the basis on which the algorithm is evaluated. HULK generates high accuracy discretizations with cell counts suitable for state-of-the-art subsurface simulators and provides a new method for hexahedral mesh generation in geological settings.