Overset Meshing Enhances CFD Analyses

By DE Editors

CD-adapco (Melville, NY and London, UK) reports that the recently announced 7.02 release of its STAR-CCM+ multidisciplinary engineering simulation solution incorporates a new Overset Mesh capability that enables CFD (computational fluid dynamics) simulations of the interactions between multiple moving objects. STAR-CCM+ v7.02 also includes enhancements for conjugate heat transfer simulations as well as a new Solution History feature that lets engineers review and explore multiple analysis results.

The new Overset Mesh capability, which in some quarters is referred to as an "overlapping" or a "chimera" mesh, lets STAR-CCM+ users generate a mesh around individual moving objects. This mesh can then be moved at will over a background mesh without concern about interconnecting meshes or cell distortion. Previously, to simulate the interaction between multiple moving objects, engineers needed to generate an interconnected mesh between objects, explains the company. This, the company adds, was either an intensive manual process or an impossible process when confronting objects with extreme motion ranges or with very close interaction.

A example of Overset Meshing in STAR-CCM v7.02.

“The introduction of Overset Mesh in STAR-CCM+ v7.02 truly offers a new way of carrying out CAE," said Jean-Claude Ercolanelli, the Senior VP of Product Management for CD-adapco, in a press statement. “Overset Mesh revolutionizes the entire analysis workflow while opening a whole new range of application areas to simulation.”

The Overset Mesh capability can also be used for parametric studies and for steady or unsteady simulations, providing an easy way to reposition or replace objects to study multiple design configurations, says the company. The Overset Mesh capability is fully compatible with the full range of unstructured meshing options in STAR-CCM+.

Enhancements for simulation workflow for conjugate heat transfer (CHT) simulation have been incorporated into STAR-CCM+ v7.02. A new Indirect Mapped Interface reportedly lets engineers use non-conformal meshes between solid and fluid domains. This is said not only to reduce the time required to set up a CHT simulation, but also holds the potential to increase the accuracy of simulation results by allowing engineers to specify the most appropriate mesh for each region without worrying about making them conformal at the interface.

The Indirect Mapped Interface.

STAR-CCM+ v7.02's new Solution History feature lets engineers review and explore analysis results by providing a complete history of a simulation, both in terms of changing results and changing design configuration. Engineers can record, store, compare, and visualize results from any analysis type, and results from multiple simulations may be recorded in a single simulation history file and replayed. Additionally, users can choose which data is stored for each configuration or time-step, and the Solution History feature also provides a way of comparing multiple design configurations in a single STAR-CCM+ session.

For more information on version 7.02 of STAR-CCM+, visit CD-adapco.

Watch a brief video demonstration of the Overset Mesh capability and a moving mesh simulation.

Watch a brief video demonstration of the Overset Mesh capability for complex interlocking geometries.

Attend a live or pre-recorded webinar presented by CD-adapco.

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See why DE's Editors selected STAR-CCM+ v7.02 as their Pick of the Week.

Sources: Press materials received from the company and additional information gleaned from the company's website.