Defining a Constrained Plane Section

A constrained plane section is similar to a plane section, except that it is bounded in a loop (a set of coordinates that you specify). Also, a constrained plane section can read shape data from an external file.

A volume mesh must be present for the plane to appear. The edges of the constrained plane snap to the nearest whole cell, as shown below.

An arbitrary constrained planar section must be created first, before an external file can be read. The external file must be in .stl or .vtk file format, and contain a surface that is used as the constrained planar section. The loop of the constrained plane consists of the perimeter edges of the imported surface. If the surface you are importing was created in a commercial CAD package, adjust its position and orientation as needed using the in-place dialog. This task is done by editing the constrained plane. Ensure that the units of the exported .stl file and the Simcenter STAR-CCM+ file match.

To create a constrained plane section:

  1. Follow the general procedure outlined in the section, Defining Derived Parts General Workflow. Choose the menu option, New Part > Section > Constrained Plane....
  2. Define the constrained planar section using one of the following methods:
    • Read in an external file as described in the section, Reading an External File.

      The external file must be in .stl or .vtk file format, and contain a surface that is used as the constrained planar section. The loop of the constrained plane consists of the perimeter edges of the imported surface. If the surface you are importing was created in a commercial CAD package, adjust its position and orientation as needed using the in-place dialog. This task is done by editing the constrained plane in an active scene. Ensure that the units of the exported .stl file and the Simcenter STAR-CCM+ file match.

    • Set the constrained plane section properties and define the loop:
      1. Specify the input parts, display option, and coordinate system as described in the section, Defining Derived Parts General Workflow.
      2. Specify the plane parameters (that is, origin, normal, and mode) as described in the section, Defining a Plane Section.
      3. Define the limits of the constrained plane section using the Bounded Implicit Plane Tool. See Using the Bounded Implicit Plane Tool.

        If you didn't create the constrained plane section using the in-place dialog, you can bring up the dialog by editing the constrained plane in an active scene. See Defining Derived Parts General Workflow.

    For more information on the available properties, see Implicit Section Properties.
The loops that you create in Simcenter STAR-CCM+ can be exported to external files. To export a loop:
  1. Right-click the Derived Parts > [constrained plane section] node and select Export Loop...
    The loop is saved in .stl format.