STAR-CCM+ Turbomachinery CFD Masterclass

Name: STAR-CCM+ Turbomachinery CFD Masterclass
Rating: 4.6 (7 reviews)

STAR-CCM+ Turbomachinery Simulation Masterclass: From Geometry to Validation using real engineering CFD workflows

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Created bySahar Rouzbahani, Omid Bordbar

Last updated 7/2026

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What you'll learn

Build complete turbomachinery CFD simulations in STAR-CCM+ with full physics setup and real engineering validation workflows.
Design and analyze industrial machines such as centrifugal pumps, propellers, wind turbines, and full turbomachinery stages in practice.
Create complex 3D geometries directly inside STAR-CCM+ using built-in tools without relying on any external CAD software.
Apply advanced meshing techniques for rotating machinery including polyhedral meshes, prism layers, and strict mesh quality control.
Set up steady and transient rotating flow simulations using industry-standard methods.
Perform detailed performance evaluation including head, efficiency, torque, power, thrust, and full operating characteristic curves.
Validate CFD results using experimental or benchmark data and extract engineering insights from pressure, velocity, and loss distributions.
Develop reusable industrial CFD workflows for aerospace propulsion, energy systems, and turbomachinery design and optimization applications.

Course content

4 sections • 38 lectures • 2h 53m total length

Project Setup and Geometry Import3:06
Create New simulation, set parallel processing import geometry.
Geometry Cleanup and Surface Preparation2:38
Inspect model, adjust visualization, and naming surfaces.
Creating Stationary CAD4:58
Create caps, enclosure, and extract internal flow using Boolean subtract.
Creating Rotating CAD9:34
Create rotating domain using sketch/revolve and define MRF region.
Creating Regions and Interface2:03
Define rotor–stator interface and convert CAD to Parts/Regions.
Preparing and Generating the Mesh5:57
Generate mesh, control base size, and refine rotating/stationary zones.
Preparing and Generating the Prism Layer Mesh5:06
Apply prism layers and fix near-wall/interface mesh issues.
Selecting the Physics Models & Specifying the Initial Conditions3:21
Configure the physics continuum, fluid properties & Initial Conditions.
Setting Boundary Conditions, Rotation & Interface Conditions & Stopping Crite5:03
Configure mass flow, rotor rotation, and rotating-stationary domain interaction.
Settings Stopping Criteria, Running the Simulation & Visualizing the Solutio3:43
Preparing Stopping Criteria, run solver, check convergence, and visualize flow fields.
Creating the Reports for the Performance Data6:53
Compute Pressure Rise, torque, head and power using reports.
Visualizing the Solution - Y+ & Streamline3:47
Create & Preparing Y+ & Streamline Scenes.
Parametric Study & Transient Rigid Body Motion Simulation7:09
Run other flow rate & Switch to unsteady sliding mesh.
Validation, Engineering Discussion & Final Questions2:25
Compare with experiments and discuss model limitations & discuss open questions.

Propeller Geometry, Turbomachinery and NASA Benchmark5:06
Learn the fundamental propeller geometry parameters, turbomachinery concepts, and the NASA benchmark selected for this tutorial.
Project Setup, Data Digitization and Airfoil Series5:59
Set up the project Setup, digitize benchmark data, and review the airfoil series used for the propeller design.
Generating Airfoil Sections with JavaFoil6:21
Generate NACA 16-series airfoil sections and prepare the geometry files required for blade geometry.
Importing Airfoil Sections into 3D-CAD5:23
Import airfoil sections into the 3D-CAD environment and convert them into usable CAD entities.
Defining Chord Lengths and Radial Positions5:53
Define the actual chord lengths and radial positions of all blade sections according to the benchmark data.
Applying Pitch Distribution and Blade Angles4:19
Apply Blade Angle distributions and create Pitch.
Creating the Blade Surface with Loft and Bridge5:53
Construct the three-dimensional blade geometry using Loft and Bridge operations and refine the root region.
Modeling the Hub and Generating the Full Propeller4:11
Create the propeller hub, set the blade pitch reference, and generate the complete three-blade propeller.
CSV File Creation Methods and Cylindrical Sections and Final Questions3:05
Explore alternative CSV creation methods and review key engineering questions related to the propeller geometry.

Load simulation and Project Setup1:40
Load simulation, set parallel processing and examine propeller geometry.
Geometry Cleanup and Surface Preparation3:22
Inspect model, adjust visualization, and naming surfaces.
Creating the Rotating and Stationary Domains6:16
Build the rotating and stationary fluid domains, create the required interfaces, and prepare the geometry for MRF simulation.
Creating Parts, Regions, and Interfaces2:40
Convert the CAD model into geometry parts and regions, automatically create interfaces, and create periodic interfaces.
Preparing and Generating the Mesh3:58
Create the first automated mesh using Trimmed Cells and Surface Controls while applying local refinements to critical blade regions.
Preparing and Generating the Prism Layer and Mesh Quality Improvement5:50
Generate prism layers, assign boundary conditions, inspect mesh quality, and refine the mesh around the blade leading and trailing edges.
Advanced Mesh Refinement Strategy6:15
Apply volumetric mesh controls, improve leading-edge mesh quality, optimize prism layers, and produce a high-quality CFD mesh.
Selecting the Physics Models2:15
Configure the complete compressible RANS physics model, including SST k-ω turbulence, ideal gas, energy equation.
Create New parameters6:01
Build reusable parameters for RPM, Advance Ratio, Mach number, freestream velocity, temperature, and other operating conditions.
Setting Boundary Conditions and Rotation3:08
Define inlet and outlet conditions, configure propeller rotation, and connect the operating parameters to the simulation setup.
Performance Reports and Convergence Monitoring3:52
Create thrust, torque, power, and performance coefficient reports, then generate monitors and convergence plots automatically.
Post-Processing Setup and Solver Configuration4:36
Prepare pressure, Mach number, velocity, and Y+ visualization scenes while configuring solver settings for stable convergence.
Running the Simulation and Visualizing the Flow6:11
Execute the simulation, improve convergence, optimize mesh quality, and visualize the propeller flow using streamlines and advanced post-processing.
Running Multiple Operating Conditions, Validation and Final Questions4:17
Perform the simulation for different advance ratios and blade pitch and Compare the CFD predictions with the NASA experimental benchmark & discuss open questions.

What's Coming Next? Future Turbomachinery Projects & Course Roadmap1:28
This short update provides an overview of the upcoming tutorials planned for the course.
1) Turbofan engine first-stage turbine analysis using the Nasa transonic rotor 37 benchmark.
2) Marine propeller geometry with cylindrical airfoil sections.
3) Parametric and equation-based propeller design.
4) Wind turbine performance evaluation using the NREL 5 MW reference turbine.
5) Harmonic balance simulations based on the subsonic Aachen turbine.
6) Propeller blade fluid-structure interaction (FSI) simulation.

Requirements

Students should already be familiar with the basics of STAR-CCM+, including navigation, regions, boundaries, physics continua, meshing, and running standard simulations.
Access to STAR-CCM+ is recommended in order to follow the tutorials hands-on and practice the full CFD workflows demonstrated in the course.
This course is not designed for complete beginners, and a basic to intermediate understanding of CFD and STAR-CCM+ is expected before starting.

Description

This course contains the use of artificial intelligence.

AI Disclosure:

Some audio narration in this course is generated using artificial intelligence (text-to-speech technology) to ensure clear, consistent, and high-quality delivery of the content.

STAR-CCM+ Expert Applications, Vol 2, Turbomachinery is a comprehensive, project-based training in turbomachinery simulation using STAR-CCM+. It is designed to take you from geometry creation to full CFD analysis and validation through a series of realistic engineering projects. Unlike traditional tutorials that focus only on isolated concepts, this course is built around complete industrial workflows where every chapter represents a fully developed engineering case.

You will learn how to build and simulate complex turbomachinery systems such as centrifugal pumps, propellers, wind turbines, and turbine stages directly inside STAR-CCM+. One of the key strengths of this course is the heavy use of STAR-CCM+ built-in tools for geometry creation, meaning that external CAD software is minimized. This allows you to focus on simulation-driven design and understand how real engineering problems are handled within a single integrated environment.

The course covers the full CFD pipeline: geometry creation, meshing strategies, physics setup, solver configuration, post-processing, and performance evaluation. You will work with rotating machinery models using industry-standard approaches such as MRF and rotating reference frames, and you will learn how to extract meaningful engineering parameters such as head, efficiency, torque, power, and thrust.

Each project is based on real-world or validated engineering cases, and the results are compared against benchmark or experimental data whenever applicable. This ensures that you are not only learning how to run simulations, but also how to interpret and validate them in a practical engineering context.

By the end of the course, you will be able to independently build, simulate, and analyze turbomachinery systems in STAR-CCM+, and develop robust CFD workflows suitable for aerospace, energy, and industrial applications. This course is ideal for engineers and students who want to move beyond basic CFD setups and gain real-world simulation skills used in industry.

Who this course is for:

This course is for engineers, researchers, and graduate students who want to develop practical, industry-level skills in turbomachinery CFD using STAR-CCM+. It is ideal for users who already understand the basics of CFD and want to move toward full engineering applications with real rotating machinery. It is especially valuable for learners who want hands-on experience with complete turbomachinery workflows, including geometry creation inside STAR-CCM+, meshing, physics setup, and performance evaluation of machines such as pumps, propellers, wind turbines, and turbine stages. If you want to learn how to build and solve real engineering problems from scratch—without relying on external CAD tools—and understand the full process from design to validation, this course is designed for you. This course is not intended for complete beginners and assumes a basic understanding of CFD and STAR-CCM+ fundamentals.

STAR-CCM+ Turbomachinery CFD Masterclass

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Centrifugal Water Pump Performance Analysis14 lectures • 1hr 6min

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Supersonic Aircraft Propeller Performance Simulation14 lectures • 1hr

Course Roadmap & Upcoming Tutorials1 lecture • 1min

Requirements

Description

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