STAR CCM+

STAR-CCM+ provides the world's most comprehensive engineering physics simulation inside a
single integrated package. It provides a suite of integrated components that combine to produce a
powerful package that can address a wide variety of modeling needs.
These components include:
• 3D-CAD modeler
• CAD embedding
• Surface preparation tools
• Automatic meshing technology
• Physics modeling
• Turbulence modeling
• Post-processing
• CAE Integration
STAR-CCM+ is based on object-oriented programming technology. It is designed to handle large
models quickly and efficiently using a unique client–server architecture that seamlessly meshes and
simultaneously solves and post-processes over multiple computing resources without requiring
additional effort from the user.
3D-CAD Modeler
3D-CAD is a feature-based parametric solid modeler within STAR-CCM+ that allows geometry to be
built from scratch. The geometry created with 3D-CAD is stored as 3D-CAD models, which can
subsequently be converting to geometry parts for integration with the meshing and simulation
process. A major feature of 3DCAD is design parameters, which allow you to modify the 3D-CAD
model from outside of 3D-CAD. These allow you to solve for a particular geometry, change the size of
one or more components, and quickly rerun the case.
CAD Embedding
STAR-CCM+ simulations can be set up, run and post-processed from within popular CAD and PLM
environments such as CATIA V5, Pro/ENGINEER, and NX. STAR-CCM+’s unique approach gets
you from CAD model to an accurate CFD solution more quickly or more reliably.
Surface Preparation Tools
STAR-CCM+ is an automated process that links a powerful surface wrapper to unique meshing
technology. The surface wrapper works by ‘shrink-wrapping’ a high-quality triangulated surface
mesh onto any geometrical model, closing holes in the geometry and joining disconnected and
overlapping surfaces, providing a single manifold surface that can be used to automatically generate
a computational mesh without user intervention.
STAR-CCM+ also includes a comprehensive set of surface-repair tools that allow users to
interactively enhance the quality of imported or wrapped surfaces, offering the choice of a completely
automatic repair, user control, or a combination of both.
Automatic Meshing Technology
STAR-CCM+’s single integrated process provides the fastest, most automatic route from complex
CAD to CFD mesh. For problems involving multiple frames of reference, fluid-structure interaction
and conjugate heat transfer, STAR-CCM+ can automatically create conformal meshes across multiple
physical domains. An important part of mesh generation for accurate CFD simulation is the near-wall
region, or extrusion-layer mesh. STAR-CCM+ automatically produces a high-quality extrusion layer
mesh on all walls in the domain. In addition, you can control the position, size, growth-rate, and
number of cell layers in the extrusion-layer mesh.
Physics Models
STAR-CCM+ delivers a powerful CFD tool in an easy-to-use environment. STAR-CCM+’s physics
modeling capabilities include:
Solvers
• Segregated
• Coupled
• Finite volume solid stress
Time
• Steady state
• Implicit and explicit unsteady
• Harmonic balance
Turbulence
• RANS
• RSM
• LES/DDES
• Laminar-turbulent transition
Compressibility
• Ideal Gas
• Real Gas
Heat Transfer
• Conjugate Heat Transfer (CHT)
• Multiband and gray thermal surface to surface radiation
• Solar radiation
• Discrete ordinates radiation (DOM) including participating media
Multiphase
• Lagrangian particle tracking
• VOF (incompressible and compressible)
• Cavitation & boiling
• Eulerian multiphase
• De-icing & De-fogging
• Melting & solidification
Moving Mesh
• Dynamic Fluid Body Interaction (DFBI or 6DOF)
• Rigid body motion
• Mesh morphing
• Multiple reference frames (MRF)
Combustion & Chemical Reaction
• Reaction kinetics
• Eddy break up (EBU)
• Presumed probability density function (PPDF)
• Complex chemistry
• Ignition
• NOx modeling
Distributed Resistance (Porous Media)
• Anisotropic
• Orthotropic
• User defined
• Porous baffles
Post-processing
STAR-CCM+ has a comprehensive suite of post-processing tools designed to enable you to obtain
maximum value and understanding from your CFD simulation. This includes scalar and vector
scenes, streamlines, scene animation, numerical reporting, data plotting, import, and export of table
data, and spectral analysis of acoustical data.
CAE Integration
Several third-party analysis packages can be coupled with STAR-CCM+ to further extend the range of
possible simulations you can do. Co-simulation is possible using Abaqus, GT-Power, WAVE and
OLGA, and file-based coupling is possible for other tools such as Radtherm, NASTRAN and ANSYS.
The initial surface of a geometry is usually made up of triangulated surfaces. This triangulation, also
known as tessellation, typically contains highly skewed triangles and is not suitable for generating a
high-quality volume mesh. Remeshing improves the overall quality of these surfaces by generating
more evenly-sized triangles, which is optimal for the mesh models. The remeshed surface is then used
as a foundation for the volume meshes.
Continua are used to contain selections of physics or meshing models that are subsequently applied
to one or more regions. Continua have no geometric definition associated with them.
Mesh Continuum
A mesh continuum contains a selection of meshing models, such as the surface remesher, the prism
layer mesher, and the polyhedral mesher. When a mesh continuum is applied to a region, the region
is discretized according to the meshing models selected for the mesh continuum.
Physics Continuum
A physics continuum contains a selection of physics models, such as a chosen flow solver, material
models, steady or transient time model, a turbulence model, and so on. Each physics continuum
represents a single substance that is present in all regions to which the physics continuum applies.
Model nodes in the simulation object tree represent simulation features that are active in the current
case. Meshing models control the construction of surface and volume meshes, and physics models
define the behaviour of the specified material in response to the conditions imposed upon it.
Regions are volume domains (or areas in a two-dimensional case) in spaces that are completely
surrounded by boundaries. One region is joined to another using an interface, so that information can
be passed between them. Boundaries are not shared between regions.
Fluid Region: The region is associated with a gas or liquid continuum. No porous modeling is
applied.
Solid Region: The region is associated with a solid continuum.
Porous Region : The region is associated with a gas or liquid continuum, and porous media modeling
assumptions apply.
Boundaries are surfaces (or lines in a two-dimensional case) that completely surround and define a
region.
Interfaces provide a connection between boundaries during the simulation meshing setup and/or
analysis process. They are always composed of boundary pairs, either in the same region or in
different regions. There can be many (or zero) interfaces in a simulation.
When using the surface remesher, tetrahedral, polyhedral or prism layer meshers, interfaces may be
defined to ensure that a conformal mesh is obtained between regions or within the same region if a
baffle plane is required. In a volume mesh, interfaces permit mass, energy and other continuum
quantities to pass from one region to another.
solvers control the solution and are activated once per iteration. Different models can use the same
solver and sometimes models need more than one solver.
This distinction between solvers and models facilitates the simultaneous solution of physical
phenomena across regions that are associated with different continua, such as conjugate heat transfer.
The figure below, which shows two continua, illustrates this distinction:
*one region that is called Fluid Continuum, representing a fluid
*one region that is called Solid Continuum, representing a solid
Suppose the following are defined:
*a flow model and a fluid energy model in a Fluid Continuum
*a solid energy model in a Solid Continuum
A solver would be activated in the Fluid Continuum to control the flow solution in that continuum
and another solver would be activated in Solid Continuum to control the energy solution. In this
situation, a single solver would control two different models (fluid energy and solid energy) in both
continua, which allows the implicit solution of the conjugate heat transfer.
Reports provide a computed summary of simulation or system data.
Monitors provide a mechanism for sampling summary information from the simulation during
runtime.
Plots provide line graphs containing information that is supplied from; monitors, extracted
simulation data, tables, or derived data sets. These plots can be customized with different line and
point properties, axes, scales, titles, and so on.
cenes are used to visualize the geometry, mesh, and solution data that is contained within a
simulation.