STAR-CCM+ for Beginners: From Zero to Your First Simulation

Explore the flow inside a channel and learn the StarCCM+ workflow by creating your first simulation file, configuring as a serial run, and performing basic setup, solving, and post-processing.

Create a block geometry for a channel in STAR-CCM+ by selecting New Shape Part, choosing Block, and entering coordinates, then view and rename the part as Channel.

Split channel surface by angle to create inlet, outlet, and wall surfaces; rename and group edges into length and cross edges, then prepare a computational region for the next step.

Create a computational region from the channel part, assign parts to regions, and generate boundary for each surface (inlet, outlet, wall) in StarCCM Plus, preparing Channel Region for mesh generation.

Generate a directed mesh for a channel by selecting inlet as the source and outlet as the target, then refine with base size and extrusion layers.

Define region-specific physics in starccm+ by selecting models for a steady, incompressible laminar water flow with constant density, segregated flow, three-dimensional detection, and solution interpolation.

Define boundary conditions by setting velocity inlet, its flow direction and magnitude, and a pressure outlet, while keeping the wall; then regenerate the mesh for consistency.

Explore stopping criteria and active solvers in Star-CCM+ by configuring maximum steps, logical rules, and stop files, then initialize, run, and save a steady-state segregated flow simulation.

Run the solver to convergence and monitor residuals, which decrease toward about 1e-6 as iterations progress, preparing you to visualize velocity contours and velocity vectors in post-processing.

Learn to run a StarCCM+ simulation and visualize velocity fields on a mid-channel plane with a z-directed normal, using derived parts, plane sections, scalar and vector displays, and mesh insights.

Create a 3D CAD sketch in StarCCM Plus by drawing a rectangle and centered circle on the XY plane, then apply dimensions and constraints to fully define it.

Convert a sketch on the xy plane into a 3d solid by extruding in the z direction, then rename faces and edges (inlet, outlet, cylinder, top-bottom, front, back) and save.

Convert the CAD model into a linked part in STAR-CCM+ to propagate updates from the CAD to the simulation and support parametric geometry changes.

Learn to create a parameter-driven 3D CAD sketch, expose and name dimensions as parameters, propagate changes to the CAD model and part, and prepare to convert to a computational region.

Create a block around the cylinder to refine the mesh locally, then assign the cylinder channel to a new fluid region with a boundary for each surface.

Apply a 2D badge to the cylinder channel, generate a 2D polygonal mesh with optional prism layers, and adjust the base size to 0.01 m to review the mesh.

Disable boundary layers on selected surfaces to simplify the inlet, outlet, and top/bottom regions. Refine the cylinder mesh with custom surface controls, adjusting target size, minimum size, and prism layers.

Apply volumetric controls to refine the mesh around the cylinder with refinement blocks, use 2D surface mesher and prism layer mesher options, and tune surface growth rate for smooth transitions.

Apply boundary conditions to a 2d region by converting boundaries to velocity inlet, pressure outlet, and symmetry planes, then regenerate the mesh and define a laminar steady liquid flow.

Set up a water flow simulation, initialize, and iterate to convergence while monitoring residuals; visualize velocity magnitude to study steady flow around a cylinder and prepare for turbulence modeling.

Transition from steady laminar to unsteady turbulent flow around a cylinder using Reynolds number control, a realizable k-epsilon model, and PISO unsteady with mindful time steps and residuals.

Generate a computational mesh around two fins and study how meshing parameters affect boundary layer formation and its interaction with the core volume mesh in StarCCM+.

Sketch on xy plane, apply equal-length and parallel constraints, set 120 mm, 40 mm, 3 mm, 10 mm, extrude to form fins, organize and rename faces for meshing and BCs.

Rename and group surfaces for the geometry, isolate and inspect them from multiple angles, then create a geometry part named Body_fins to organize the fin surfaces for mesh refinement.

Create a volume mesh for a 3D geometry using automated meshing, choosing polyhedral cells, enabling surface repair and boundary layers, and inspecting the mesh with a plane section.

Refine automated mesh settings and prism layer controls to improve mesh quality and tailor boundary layer behavior. Adjust the base size and prism layer thickness to fit the geometry.

Explore boundary layer and prism layer meshing fundamentals, tune gap fill percentage, concave angle limit, and stretching factor, and apply volume controls and transition cells for robust, well-balanced mesh.

Examine boundary layer and volume meshers in StarCCM+, including surface and boundary layer options, compare prism layer mesher and advanced layer mesher, and assess geometric and hyperbolic progression for stability.

Identify and remove low-quality cells in the fins region to enhance solver stability and convergence in STAR-CCM+ by applying cell quality criteria and thresholds.

Learn how default mesh controls, volume growth rate, projection, target surface size, minimum surface size, surface curvature refinement, and maximum cell size shape mesh growth, accuracy, and solver stability.