STAR-CCM+ V3.02 Takes CFD to a New Level

By DE Editors

Simulation of a turbocharger compressor and turbine using STAR-CCM+.

Even before its third version was released, CD-adapco (New York and London) claimed STAR-CCM+  was an entirely new concept in computational fluid dynamics (CFD). The technology, which is said to deliver the entire CFD process in a single integrated software environment, offers engineers ease of use and automation in CAD preparation, meshing, model setup, and iterative design studies. And now, with V3.02, even more is offered.

With the company’s announcement of STAR-CCM+ V3.02, the newest version of its engineering process-oriented CFD software introduces an integrated turbomachinery functionality, a dedicated facility for preparing, simulating, and postprocessing rotating or turbomachinery problems. Plus, it offers a new automatic surface repair tool and introduces a new detached eddy simulation (DES) turbulence model.

This third version, which continues CD-adapco’s promised four-month release schedule, builds on STAR-CCM+’s built-in surface-wrapping, advanced automated meshing (creating either polyhedral or predominantly hexahedral volume meshes), and the ability to “copy and paste” components between models — traits that have given STAR-CCM+ its reputation for producing high-quality results in a single code with minimum user effort.

STAR-CCM+ simulation of a valve (courtesy of Danfoss).

“STAR-CCM+  is a process-oriented CAE tool that delivers the entire engineering simulation workflow in a single integrated software environment,” says Steve MacDonald,  president and founder of CD-adapco. “The uniquely flexible process brings unrivalled ease-of-use, increasing the productivity of engineers by allowing them to deliver robust and accurate engineering solutions in a reliable and efficient manner.”

Since its inception, STAR-CCM+’s target application area on turbomachinery is steadfast. Earlier releases included new features aimed directly at the turbomachinery community, but this process has now reached maturity with STAR-CCM+ V3.02, which introduces a dedicated interface for performing turbomachinery simulations.

“The new graphical user interface essentially captures CD-adapco’s best practice for setting up, meshing, solving and analyzing problems involving compressors, turbines, or other rotating machinery,” says CD-adapco VP of Product Management Jean-Claude Ercolanelli.

“The interface guides users through the process of performing turbomachinery analysis step-by-step,” Ercolanelli continues, “but is flexible enough to allow for significant user customization. For example, depending on circumstance, users can choose to construct meshes using arbitrary polyhedral,  automatic hexahedra, or using a new elliptical mesher that produces structured boundary fitted hexahedral meshes.”

One new feature in STAR-CCM+ V3.02 is an enhanced mixing plane methodology that allows unequal pitch rotor-stator interactions and a wider range of turbine configurations. Another new feature is an automatic surface repair tool, which offers the ability to fix poor quality triangulation, self intersection, and close proximity faces at the click of a button. The company says this particular feature has been extensively tested on a range of industrial geometries of various complexities — the one-click repair can be used at any stage of the surface-meshing process to provide a high-quality surface, eliminating the need for a manual geometry fixing.

Combined with the existing surface wrapping and manual surface repair functionality, STAR-CCM+ V3.02 offers users both a stress-free automatic repair and fine manual control.

Specifically for aerodynamic and aeroacoustic analysis, STAR-CCM+ V3.02 includes the k-omega Shear Stress Transport (SST) DES turbulence model, offering unsteady turbulence modeling without incurring the costs associated with a full large eddy simulation (LES).

Plus, heat transfer and conjugate heat transfer in STAR-CCM+ are enhanced with extended and improved radiation capabilities; a new additional dual stream, single-phase heat exchanger model for vehicle thermal comfort in underhood analysis has been introduced.

STAR-CCM+ simulation of an unmanned aerial vehicle (courtesy of American Dynamics).

Released simultaneously with STAR-CCM+, CD-adapco’s STAR-CAD Series V3.02 includes the latest STAR-CCM+ V3.02 solver technology, embeddable in many CAD and PLM environments, giving users access to industrial CFD technology from CATIA V5, Pro/ENGINEER Wildfire, SolidWorks or NX. It incorporates STAR-CCM+  V3.02’s surface remesher, automatically improving the quality of surface triangulations, and is compatible with the latest versions of the CAD and PLM environments (CATIA V5 r15 to r18, Pro/ENGINEER Wildfire 2 and 3, SolidWorks 2006, 2007 and 2008, NX 3 and 4).

CD-adapco’s solutions are backed by 25 years in CAE consulting, and have been applied across many industries, including automotive, aerospace, appliances, buildings, chemical process, electronics, environmental, marine, offshore structures,  pharmaceuticals, power generation, rail, turbomachinery, and other specialized mechanical engineering applications. But CD-adapco doesn’t stop there. Explains MacDonald,  “As well as developing next-generation CAE software, CD-adapco is committed to assisting our industrial users with a world-class support, training, and engineering services organization.”

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Click here to read why DE’s editors chose this as a Pick of the Week.

Click here to link directly to CD-adapco’s page on STAR-CCM+.

Click here to link to the demo about STAR-CCM+.

Click here to read Case Studies about STAR-CCM+.

Click here to see the Image Gallery on STAR-CCM+.

Click here to read DE’s January 2008 coverage of STAR-Works V4.14.

Click here to read CD-adapco’s article by Alex Read on “Bigger, Better Motor Sport CFD.”

Click here to sign up for CD-adapco’s STAR-CAD Series Best Practices.