Information about Simcenter STAR-CCM+
Accurate, Reliable Computational Fluid Dynamics with Simcenter STAR-CCM+
Fluid Dynamics with Simcenter STAR-CCM+
Simcenter STAR-CCM+ delivers reliable, precise simulation results. This enables engineers to analyze and use accurate data to inform design processes, optimize designs for efficiency, and create more innovative products.
Simcenter STAR-CCM+ software includes powerful solutions for a range of technical disciplines, including fluid dynamics, energy consumption, heat transfer, solid mechanics (CSM), particle dynamics, electromagnetics, acoustics, and rheology.
The multiphysics capabilities, scalability, and a single-integrated environment mean Simcenter STAR-CCM+ provides engineering teams and manufacturers in automotive, aerospace, energy, electronics, manufacturing, and other industries a competitive advantage.
What is Simcenter STAR-CCM+?
Developed by Siemens Digital Industries Software, Simcenter STAR-CCM+ is a complete multiphysics Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulation solution in the Simcenter portfolio.
Simcenter STAR-CCM+ uses high-performance computing to run simulations that calculate, test, and accurately capture product performance under a broad range of real-world conditions.
Simcenter STAR-CCM+ helps an entire organization to optimize and streamline the design process by providing a single environment with powerful simulation tools that predict real-world behavior and engineering problems across multiple flow regimes. Engineers and manufacturers use Simcenter STAR-CCM+ to develop reliable, safe, and optimized products in shorter design cycles without expensive physical prototypes.
Multiphysics Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD)
No single multiphase model can cover all regimes; however, producing CFD simulations with Simcenter STAR-CCM+’s multiphysics Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) technology enables you to accurately predict and capture simulation data on multiple flow regimes within a single environment.
Simcenter STAR-CCM+ provides industry-leading Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software to simulate real-world performance. The simulation process tests product performance while predicting potential engineering problems involving fluids, gasses, heat transfer, and other technical disciplines impacting a design’s operating behavior.
With Simcenter STAR-CCM+’s integrated environment, you can test product fluid dynamics, including fluid flow, fluid structure interaction, and turbulent flows, to help you make informed decisions in the early stages of the design process. Simcenter STAR-CCM+’s multiphysics capabilities, paired with a comprehensive range of body and mesh motions, let you accurately capture fluid flow physics, visualize flow behavior and gain deeper insights that help you optimize your product designs.
Discrete Element Method (DEM) and particle flows
Understanding how materials interact under machine operations, processes, and real-world conditions is essential when optimizing a product’s overall performance, improving particle efficiency, preventing excessive wear, and reducing energy consumption.
But various materials and overlapping objects can make it increasingly complex to foresee how designs operating under real-world conditions will perform. Simcenter STAR-CCM+ offers a solution with a discrete element method (DEM) approach.
With complete particle flow integration, Simcenter STAR-CCM+ simulates material handling performance, allowing engineers to analyze performance robustness and material behavior to produce more innovative products.
Simcenter STAR-CCM+ software offers mesh-based and mesh-free discrete element methods (DEM) particle modeling approaches to accurately simulate particle dynamics, including lifelike particle shapes, motion, force, and contact, to improve your design process. Simcenter STAR-CCM+ CFD software also delivers a single environment with a coupled flow model and particulate physics that simplify your product simulation set-up and performance data analysis.
Predict real-world performance without physical prototypes
Take the guesswork and seemingly endless manual calculations out of the product design and development process with a comprehensive suite offering CFD simulations with a multiphysics simulation model and an easy-to-use, single-integrated user interface.
Accurately simulate the real-world performance of your products and capture the physics influencing their performance throughout their operational life with Simcenter STAR-CCM+’s dedicated interfaces and robust CFD simulation tools that enable automated meshing, computer-aided design (CAD), and intelligent design exploration.
With Simcenter STAR-CCM+, you can simulate the effects of geometric changes on designs and use a comprehensive range of models and physics simulations that cover multi-scale multiphase flows to predict overall performance, all within a single environment.
CFD simulation
As a fully integrated solver platform, Simcenter STAR-CCM+ provides dedicated interfaces and a standard simulation file format that allows you to easily pair its multiphysics CFD software with other Simcenter simulation tools like Star-CD to create holistic digital twins of your design.
Simcenter STAR-CCM+ CFD software brings the entire design process into a single integrated platform and allows you to create holistic lifelike simulations that test many flow regimes. Time scales ranging from microseconds and milliseconds to thousands of seconds, automated meshing, and tools that easily define sophisticated motions assist you with developing fast digital simulations.
Simcenter STAR-CCM+ CFD software can run even the most complex multiphysics CFD simulations to predict a broad range of realistic product and machine behavior. Visualizing fluid dynamics (CFD), solid mechanics (CSM), heat transfer, and other phenomena in a single environment allow you to test the impact of temperature, pressure, and velocity on your product designs and optimize designs to work efficiently in real-world conditions.
Questions and answers about STAR-CCM+
How do I get started with using Simcenter STAR-CCM+ ?
Before you start simulating multi-regime and use Simcenter STAR-CCM+ to assess your product design’s real-world performance, Volupe takes you through a three-stage process to introduce you to the broad range of CFD simulation tools.
Initial stage
First, we’ll define your engineering teams’ challenges and uncover what problems you would like to solve with Simcenter STAR-CCM+ software. We’ll introduce you to our simulation engineers’ and our team will share expertise and knowledge relevant to your industry.
Following our first meeting, our simulation engineers will demonstrate how Simcenter STAR-CCM+ ‘s design space, multiphase flows, and CFD simulation tools can aid your design exploration without using physical prototypes and testing environments to collect data.
Evaluation stage
We’ll work with you to create an evaluation plan where we’ll identify cases to complete during the evaluation. Once our evaluation plan is set, our team will work with you to set clear goals and ROI objectives.
Next, our team and simulation engineer will customize your training based on your experience and industry. We’ll provide and install an evaluation license to cover 1-2 months (depending on the scope) and schedule weekly technical stand-up meetings to offer ongoing support during the evaluation stage.
At the end of the evaluation period, we’ll review the results and measure them against the goals and objectives defined earlier in the process.
Implementation stage
Implementation stage
Based on the outcome of the evaluation process, we provide a customized solution with Simcenter STAR-CCM+ software to meet your engineering teams and entire organization’s needs.
Following acceptance of the recommended Simcenter STAR-CCM+ software solution, we’ll complete the procurement process and provide a complete solution. Usually, getting your CFD simulation software up and running takes 2-3 working days from order to installation. We’ll support your engineering teams and provide assistance with your CFD simulation solution installations.
As a Volupe customer, you will have a dedicated application support engineer who is your first point of contact should your team have any questions. We’ll conduct bi-annual customer success meetings to discuss your customized simulation solution and overall satisfaction with the CFD software.
What are the system requirements?
What are the system requirements and recommended hardware configurations for running Simcenter STAR-CCM+ efficiently?
To test a design’s operating performance, create a simulation file and run Simcenter STAR-CCM+ software; a simulation engineer will need a minimum of 2GB of computer memory and enough total memory to run Simcenter STAR-CCM+ workloads.
Simcenter STAR-CCM+ software performs best with a 24-core AMD EPYC 7451. A high-frequency 16-core AMD EPYC 7371 also supports Simcenter STAR-CCM+ software’s high-performance computing, runs dedicated interfaces, processes multiphase flows, and supports other methods of capturing simulation results.
How can I import and create geometry, set up the mesh, and define boundary conditions in Simcenter STAR-CCM+ ?
How can I import and create geometry, set up the mesh, and define boundary conditions in Simcenter STAR-CCM+ ?
To import and create geometry, set up the mesh, and define boundary conditions in Simcenter STAR-CCM+, you can follow these general steps. The specific details may vary depending on the version and specific features of the software you’re using:
Geometry Import:
- Launch Simcenter STAR-CCM+ and create a new simulation.
- Import your geometry by going to “File” -> “Import” and selecting the appropriate file format (e.g., STEP, IGES, Parasolid, etc.).
- Adjust the import settings as needed, such as unit conversion and coordinate system.
- Verify and repair the geometry if necessary.
Geometry Preparation:
- Clean up the imported geometry by removing any unnecessary features or parts that are not relevant to your analysis.
- Create additional geometric entities like surfaces, curves, or points as required by your simulation setup.
Mesh Setup:
- Go to the “Model” tree and select “Mesh” to set up the meshing process.
- Choose the appropriate meshing method (e.g., polyhedral, tetrahedral, or a combination) based on your simulation requirements.
- Define the mesh settings such as element size, refinement regions, and boundary layer controls.
- Generate the mesh using the specified settings.
Boundary Conditions:
- In the “Model” tree, select the “Boundary Conditions” tab.
- Define the boundary conditions for your simulation. This includes specifying the type of boundary condition (e.g., velocity inlet, pressure outlet, wall, symmetry, etc.) and assigning values or profiles where applicable.
- Apply the boundary conditions to the respective parts or surfaces of your geometry.
Physics Setup:
- Set up the physics models you want to include in your simulation, such as turbulence models, heat transfer models, or multiphase models.
- Configure the solver settings, such as discretization schemes, convergence criteria, and time step controls.
- Adjust any additional settings specific to your simulation requirements.
Run the Simulation:
- Save your project.
- Start the simulation run by clicking on the “Run” button.
- Monitor the convergence and progress of the simulation.
- Once the simulation has completed, review the results.
What resources are available for learning more about advanced features, best practices, and troubleshooting common issues in Simcenter STAR-CCM+ ?
Your first port of call is the Siemens Simcenter STAR-CCM+ documentation. The most convenient way to access it is to open your Simcenter STAR-CCM+ GUI and press F1. The two main sections in the document are Simulating Physics and the Theory section. Find out more about how to find and use Simcenter STAR-CCM+ documentation.
You can also access it via the Siemens Support Center – which offers a range of resources, and houses everything from installation manuals to product updates. Alternatively, visit the Siemens Community to get into discussions on Simcenter STAR-CCM+ with other users.
How can I use simulation process with Simcenter STAR-CCM+ ?
Let’s say, for example, you work in aerodynamics and automotive design. You can use Simcenter STAR-CCM+ to simulate airflow around vehicles to analyze aerodynamic performance, reduce drag, optimize cooling, and enhance fuel efficiency.
Alternatively, in a marine and offshore context, you could use it for the hydrodynamics simulation process or to analyze environmental impact. In some cases, users simulate wave-structure interaction, mooring systems, and the structural integrity of offshore platforms and floating structures to assess impact as well.
There are also Simcenter STAR-CCM+ clients in the chemical and process industries where running mixing and reacting and multiphase flows help optimize the design for chemical and sedimentation flows respectively. There are truly a variety of ways in which simulation processes can provide valuable data and impact application in a range of sectors.
How to use Simcenter STAR-CCM+ for design exploration?
Simcenter STAR-CCM+ offers powerful capabilities for design exploration, enabling you to follow unique models relative to your objectives. A general workflow could look like this: Defining design variables and identifying the parameters that you want to vary in your design exploration. This can be achieved using the built in Design Manager.
Then set up and create a new design exploration study, specifying where you want to optimize designs, i.e. minimizing drag or heat transfer. Choose the opitmization algorithm (genetic algorithms, particle swarm optimization, or gradient-based methods). From here, you can define design points and specify how these will be generated.
In this flow example, the next step would be to set up and run simulations, which you can do in parallel with Simcenter STAR-CCM+, and analyze your results. Then based on this analysis, you can refine and repeat. As a final step you can also validate and verify the selected design(s) using additional simulations or physical testing, if necessary.
How to create simulation model with Simcenter STAR-CCM+ ?
Simcenter STAR-CCM+ offers a wide range of capabilities, and the specific details of creating a simulation model may vary depending on the type of simulation, physics models, and analysis objectives. The software’s built-in documentation and tutorials have further guidance and examples for specific simulation types and scenarios and Volupe can also support in this understanding.
Connect with Volupe for support incorporating Simcenter STAR-CCM+ into your workflows
We hope you have found this overview helpful and have a good understanding of how Simcenter STAR-CCM+ can compliment your simulation and testing workflows with the right facilitation. Please contact us with any questions or to find out more about how Volupe can connect you with robust simulation software and the support to use it most effectively.
