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Physics Simulation
Simcenter STAR-CCM+ can model a wide range of physics phenomena including fluid mechanics, solid mechanics, heat transfer, electromagnetism, and chemical reactions. Scenarios with multiple time scales can be solved within the same simulation.
Multiphase Flow
Multiphase flow is a term which refers to the flow and interaction of several phases within the same system where distinct interfaces exist between the phases. Simcenter STAR-CCM+ considers flow options where phases coexist as: gas bubbles in liquid, liquid droplets in gas, and/or solid particles in gas or liquid, and/or (large scale) free surface flows.
Fluid Film
Problems where a thin film of fluid exists on solid boundaries are common in engineering practice. Examples include fluid film on the internal surfaces of automotive engines, gas turbines, spray-cooling systems and ink-jet printers.
Modeling Fluid Film Melting and Solidification
Melting is the process which changes the state of matter from solid to liquid. It takes place when a solid substance is heated to the melting temperature. The opposite process is called solidification.
Setting Up Fluid Film Melting and Solidification
To model fluid film melting and solidification, you activate the Fluid Film model in the physics continuum, activate the Melting-Solidification model in the fluid film phase, and then set the Melting-Solidification model property values according to your simulation. You can also configure the model so that the solidified mass is removed from the fluid film.

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Physics Simulation
Simcenter STAR-CCM+ can model a wide range of physics phenomena including fluid mechanics, solid mechanics, heat transfer, electromagnetism, and chemical reactions. Scenarios with multiple time scales can be solved within the same simulation.
- Defining Physics Workflow
  Simcenter STAR-CCM+ contains a wide range of physics models and methods for the simulation of single- and multi-phase fluid flow, heat transfer, turbulence, solid stress, dynamic fluid body interaction, aeroacoustics, and related phenomena. These physics models are all selected using a physics continuum.
- Setting Up Physics
  This section provides information on how to set up physics models in STAR-CCM+.
- Running Physics Simulations
  This part of the documentation describes preparation and procedures for running a Simcenter STAR-CCM+ simulation.
- Motion
  In general, motion can be defined as the change in position of a body with respect to a certain reference frame.
- Space
  The primary function of the Space models in Simcenter STAR-CCM+ is to provide methods for computing and accessing mesh metrics. Examples of mesh metrics include cell volume and centroid, face area and centroid, cell and face indexes, and skewness angle.
- Time
  The primary function of the time models in Simcenter STAR-CCM+ is to provide solvers that control the iteration and/or unsteady time-stepping.
- Mesh Motion and Adaption
  Many simulations that involve motion or geometry change require you to move or deform the mesh. Other simulations require localized mesh adaption in order to achieve an accurate solution.
- Materials
  Material models simulate substances, including various mixtures.
- Fluid Flow
  Many engineering design projects require you to predict the effect of flowing fluids on containing structures or immersed objects. While you can analyse simple scenarios with hand calculations, complex scenarios require you to apply numerical methods for accurate solutions.
- Viscous Flow
  Viscous Flow is a finite element approach for use with viscoelastic materials and other highly viscous non-Newtonian fluids, such as liquid plastics and rubber, dough and similar foodstuffs, molten glass, and mud. Viscoelastic materials resemble elastic materials, but also exhibit viscous effects, rebounding slowly from deformations.
- Passive Scalars
  Passive scalars are user-defined variables of arbitrary value, assigned to fluid phases or individual particles. They are passive because they do not affect the physical properties of the simulation. An intuitive way to think of passive scalars is as tracer dye in a fluid, but with numerical values instead of colors, and with no appreciable mass or volume.
- Heat Transfer
  Heat transfer is the study of energy in transit due to a temperature difference in a medium or between media. Heat transfer extends thermodynamic analysis through the study of the modes of energy transfer and through development of relations to calculate energy transfer rates.
- Species
  This chapter provides information about the chemical species models in Simcenter STAR-CCM+. A species model is activated whenever a multi-component liquid or multi-component gas is chosen from the Material model section of the Physics Model Selection dialog.
- Porous Media
  Simcenter STAR-CCM+ allows you to simulate the transport of a fluid or energy (e.g. heat, electrical charge) through porous materials using the concept that the action of the porous media can be represented using appropriate loss (or 'diffusion') coefficients.
- Adjoint
  The adjoint method is an efficient means to predict the influence of many design parameters and physical inputs on some engineering quantity of interest, that is, on the engineering objective of the simulation. In other words, it provides the sensitivity of the objective (output) with respect to the design variables (input).
- Fans and Blowers
  Simcenter STAR-CCM+ provides models for axial and radial fans where classical fan laws apply.
- Virtual Disk Model
  The virtual disk model is based upon the principle of representing propellers, turbines, rotors, fans, and so on, as an actuator disk. The actuator disk treatment is practical when you are concerned about the influence of the rotor/propeller behavior on the flow rather than knowing about the detailed interactions between the flow and the blades of the rotating device.
- Turbulence
  Most fluid flows of engineering interest are characterized by irregularly fluctuating flow quantities.
- Transition
  The term transition refers to the phenomenon of laminar to turbulence transition in boundary layers. A transition model in combination with a turbulence model predicts the onset of transition in a turbulent boundary layer.
- Wall Distance
  Wall distance is a parameter that represents the distance from a cell centroid to the nearest wall face with a non-slip boundary condition. Various physical models require this parameter to account for near-wall effects.
- Radiation
  The Radiation Model is the gateway, or entry point to all of the radiation modeling capabilities of Simcenter STAR-CCM+. This section describes Simcenter STAR-CCM+’s radiation modeling.
- Aeroacoustics
  Aeroacoustics investigates the aerodynamic generation of sound.
- Reacting Flow
  Simcenter STAR-CCM+ provides a selection of models that you can use to simulate a wide range of reacting flow applications.
- Internal Combustion Engines
  In an internal combustion engine (ICE), for example a gasoline engine, the process of combustion takes place in a cylinder (or cylinders) within the engine. The working fluid is a fuel and oxidizer mixture (usually air), which reacts to form combustion products.
- Multiphase Flow
  Multiphase flow is a term which refers to the flow and interaction of several phases within the same system where distinct interfaces exist between the phases. Simcenter STAR-CCM+ considers flow options where phases coexist as: gas bubbles in liquid, liquid droplets in gas, and/or solid particles in gas or liquid, and/or (large scale) free surface flows.
  - Multiphase Framework
    In mathematical terms, there are two main frameworks in the formulation of the multiphase models in Simcenter STAR-CCM+, the Eulerian and Lagrangian modeling strategies.
  - Multiphase Simulation Concepts
    This section presents the key concepts you come across when using the Simcenter STAR-CCM+ multiphase models.
  - Modeling Multiphase Flows
    Simcenter STAR-CCM+ supports several types of multiphase models, each with their own workflow. Use this section to help identify the choice of models that are appropriate for the type of multiphase analysis that you intend to simulate.
  - Defining Eulerian Phases
    A Eulerian phase in Simcenter STAR-CCM+ represents a distinct physical substance – the phase material – that is modeled in a Eulerian framework. Two materials constitute two different Eulerian phases. The definition of a Eulerian phase includes the set of models that apply to the phase material and the relevant material properties.
  - Defining Phase Interactions
    A phase interaction is an object that defines the choice of models that are used to predict the influence of one phase upon another phase within a multiphase flow simulation. Define a phase interaction for every possible significant coupling.
  - Discrete Element Method (DEM)
    The Discrete Element Method (DEM) is an engineering numerical method to simulate motion of many interacting discrete objects that are typically solid particles. Although DEM modeling demands significant computing power, it provides detailed resolution that other methods cannot achieve. In Simcenter STAR-CCM+, DEM can be applied to regions with or without a volume mesh.
  - Dispersed Multiphase (DMP)
    The Dispersed Multiphase (DMP) model simulates dispersed phases in a Eulerian manner. The Dispersed Multiphase model combines aspects of both the Lagrangian Multiphase (LMP) model and the Eulerian Multiphase (EMP) models.
  - Eulerian Multiphase (EMP)
    The Eulerian Multiphase (EMP) model in Simcenter STAR-CCM+ is based on an Eulerian-Eulerian formulation where each distinct phase has its own set of conservation equations.
  - Fluid Film
    Problems where a thin film of fluid exists on solid boundaries are common in engineering practice. Examples include fluid film on the internal surfaces of automotive engines, gas turbines, spray-cooling systems and ink-jet printers.
    - Modeling Fluid Film Flow
      Simcenter STAR-CCM+ assumes that you are modeling a fluid film on the surfaces of a volume that contains a background fluid. While the background fluid occupies a regular region, the fluid film must flow in a three dimensional shell region.
    - Fluid Film Model Reference
      The Fluid Film model is used in problems where a thin film of fluid exists on solid boundaries. Example applications include fluid film on the internal surfaces of automotive engines, gas turbines, spray-cooling systems and ink-jet printers.
    - Fluid Film Phase Models
      You create the necessary fluid film phases and specify the appropriate models. Simcenter STAR-CCM+ provides several models that you can select for each fluid film phase.
    - Fluid Film Phase Interactions
      You specify the Fluid Film phase interaction model to control the interaction between the fluid film phase and another phase.
    - Modeling Impingement
      Simcenter STAR-CCM+ provides impingement models for Lagrangian phases, Dispersed Multiphase phases and Eulerian phases in both Eulerian Multiphase (EMP) and Mixture Multiphase (MMP) simulations. Eulerian phase impingement is supported for Implicit Unsteady or PISO Unsteady simulations only; Lagrangian and Dispersed Multiphase impingement is additionally supported for Steady simulations.
    - Modeling Film Stripping
      In Simcenter STAR-CCM+, you can model fluid being removed from a film due to wave stripping across the surface, or edge stripping on sharp corners.
    - Modeling Fluid Film Evaporation and Condensation
      Simcenter STAR-CCM+ provides an evaporation and condensation model for fluid films. This model is a phase interaction model between a multi-component liquid film and a multi-component gas.
    - Fluid Film Boiling
      Fluid film boiling is a phenomenon that occurs when a liquid comes into direct contact with a surface that is significantly hotter than the liquid's boiling point at the relevant pressure conditions. The fluid film boiling model assumes that boiling takes place either on hot film walls or inside film cells.
    - Modeling Fluid Film Melting and Solidification
      Melting is the process which changes the state of matter from solid to liquid. It takes place when a solid substance is heated to the melting temperature. The opposite process is called solidification.
      - Setting Up Fluid Film Melting and Solidification
        To model fluid film melting and solidification, you activate the Fluid Film model in the physics continuum, activate the Melting-Solidification model in the fluid film phase, and then set the Melting-Solidification model property values according to your simulation. You can also configure the model so that the solidified mass is removed from the fluid film.
      - Setting up Solidified Mass Removal
        By default, the Melting-Solidification model treats the fluid film as a homogeneous mixture of solidified mass and liquid. For a liquid material, the Relative Solid Volume Fraction is used to represent the amount of solid. For a liquid-solid-gas material, the corresponding field function is the Mass Fraction of the solid component. You can configure the model so that the solidified mass is removed from the fluid film: all of the mass that remains in the fluid film is liquid.
      - Melting-Solidification Model Reference
        Simcenter STAR-CCM+ provides a melting and solidification model for fluid films. The fluid film melting and solidification model is similar to the VOF melting and solidification model.
    - Modeling Fluid Film Surface Tension
      At the interface between a fluid film and the gas phase, surface tension is caused by the greater attraction of fluid molecules to each other than to the gas molecules. The net effect is an inward force at the interface that causes the fluid film to behave as if its surface were covered with a stretched elastic membrane: that is, the surface is under tension. This tension is expressed using the experimentally determined surface tension coefficient $σ$ .
    - Modeling a Fluid Film with Different Characteristic Length Scales
      You can use the Resolved Fluid Film model to simulate free-surface flows in cases where the fluid film model is not adequate in all places or over the entire simulation time, and where using the VOF model requires fine meshes and unacceptably large computing times.
  - Lagrangian Multiphase (LMP)
    A wide variety of flow processes involve the transport of solid particles, liquid droplets, or gas bubbles—known as dispersed phases—by a gaseous or liquid continuous phase.
  - Mixture Multiphase (MMP)
    In the Mixture Multiphase (MMP) model, mass, momentum, and energy are treated as mixture quantities rather than phase quantities. Simcenter STAR-CCM+ solves transport equations for the mixture as a whole, and not for each phase separately. The model is computationally more efficient than models that simulate each phase separately.
  - Resolved Transition
    Simcenter STAR-CCM+ provides the Resolved Transition model as a phase interaction model, which lets you capture the breakup of pools of liquid to form droplets emerging/stripping from a free surface or small bubbles stripped from a large bubble. This model is meant to be used as part of a hybrid multiphase approach where the Volume of Fluid (VOF) model or Mixture Multiphase (MMP) model is used alongside the Lagrangian Multiphase (LMP) model.
  - Smoothed-Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH)
    Smoothed-Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) is a numerical method that overcomes the volume meshing-related constraints occurring with mesh-based models. SPH represents the fluid as a collection of particles with material properties that move with the fluid, making it well-suited for applications with highly dynamic free-surface flows.
  - Two-Phase Thermodynamic Equilibrium
    The Two-Phase Thermodynamic Equilibrium is a multiphase mixture approach that is restricted to modeling two phases. With this model Simcenter STAR-CCM+ solves the mass, momentum, and energy as mixture quantities rather than phase quantities. Therefore, the computational efforts are reduced by assuming the suspension to be a homogeneous single-phase system.
  - Volume Of Fluid (VOF) Multiphase
    The Volume Of Fluid (VOF) Multiphase model is a simple multiphase model. It is suited to simulating flows of several immiscible fluids on numerical grids capable of resolving the interface between the phases of the mixture.
  - Modeling VOF Waves
    The VOF Waves model is used to simulate surface gravity waves on the interface between a light fluid and a heavy fluid. This model is typically used with the 6-DOF Motion model for marine applications.
- Dynamic Fluid Body Interaction
  Dynamic Fluid Body Interaction (DFBI) in Simcenter STAR-CCM+ allows you to simulate the motion of a 6-DOF body with the displacement and rotation resulting from the defined mechanical and multiphysics interaction (flow, DEM, solid stress, EMAG).
- Harmonic Balance
  Some unsteady flows have a regularly repeating flow pattern, that is, they are time-periodic. Consider the flow from a fan blade passing across the entrance to a duct. Measurements of the instantaneous flow just within the duct would show a regularly repeating pattern. If the flow disturbances are sufficiently large, and propagate to the end of the duct, measurements of the unsteady flow at any point within the duct show repeating patterns. Such time-periodic patterns can be expressed using Fourier series.
- Solid Stress
  Simcenter STAR-CCM+ allows you to model the response of a solid continuum to applied loads, including mechanical loads and thermal loads that result from changes in the solid temperature.
- Electromagnetism
  Simcenter STAR-CCM+ allows you to model engineering applications involving electromagnetic phenomena. Example applications are electric motors, electric switches, and transformers, which can be modeled based on the classical theory of Electromagnetism.
- Electrochemistry
  Electrochemistry is the study of chemical reactions which occur due to an imposed electrical charge, or a difference in electrical potential at a boundary between a conductor–such as a metal–and an electrolyte. Simcenter STAR-CCM+ provides models that allow you to simulate batteries, corrosion, etching, and other electrochemical reactions.
- Electric Circuits
  Electrical circuits are conducting loops of interconnected electrical components, such as batteries, power sources, resistors, and inductors.
- Plasma
  Plasma is a state of matter similar to a gas that is composed partially or completely of charged particles such as ions and electrons which are not bound to each other.
- Batteries
  You can simulate batteries in Simcenter STAR-CCM+ using battery cells and battery cycling procedures that are defined either directly in Simcenter STAR-CCM+, or in the external software package Simcenter Battery Design Studio.
- Casting
  Casting simulations are performed using transient multiphase simulations using the VOF model with solidification. Conjugate heat transfer is applied between the solidifying melt and the solid mold.
- Region Sources
  This section provides some guidelines on how to use region sources for some common problems.
- Cell Quality Remediation
  The Cell Quality Remediation model helps you get solutions on a poor-quality mesh. This model identifies poor-quality cells, using a set of predefined criteria, such as Skewness Angle exceeding a certain threshold. Once these cells and their neighbors have been marked, the computed gradients in these cells are modified in such a way as to improve the robustness of the solution.
- Guidelines for Applying Simcenter STAR-CCM+
  This part of the documentation provides guidelines on applying Simcenter STAR-CCM+ models to your applications.
- Common Solvers Reference
  In Simcenter STAR-CCM+, solvers compute the solution during the simulation run.

Setting Up Fluid Film Melting and Solidification

To model fluid film melting and solidification, you activate the Fluid Film model in the physics continuum, activate the Melting-Solidification model in the fluid film phase, and then set the Melting-Solidification model property values according to your simulation. You can also configure the model so that the solidified mass is removed from the fluid film.

To set up a fluid film melting and solidification simulation:

In the physics continuum, activate the Fluid Film model.
Activate the appropriate energy model:
- For a Coupled Flow simulation, Coupled Energy.
- For a Segregated Flow simulation, either Segregated Fluid Temperature, Segregated Fluid Isothermal, or Segregated Fluid Enthalpy.
In the Models > Fluid Film > Fluid Film Phases node, create the fluid film phase.
The liquid film can be a single-component liquid, a multi-component liquid, or a liquid-solid-gas mixture. A liquid-solid-gas mixture can include inert components.
In the new fluid film phase, activate the Melting-Solidification model.
If necessary, configure the simulation so that the solidified mass is removed from the fluid film.