Survey of Errors in Surface Representation and their Detection and Correction

In this paper, a survey on the most typical mesh errors is given. Each error is described in detail, it is illustrated on an example and surface based techniques for its detection and correction are presented. Covered errors include cracks, holes, T-joints, overlaps, zero volume parts, duplicated geometry, self intersections, inconsistent normal orientation, invisible polygons, degenerate faces and concavities. We consider the separation of the detection and the correction phases advantageous as it gives the user a better control over the mesh correction process, allowing better corrected meshes without introducing new errors, simplifications, or deformations