Preparing the Rectifier Mesh

As the geometry is axisymmetric, you can prepare a two-dimensional mesh for this simulation. Also, because fluid effects are ignored in this simulation, you can assign the air and core parts to the same region.

In Simcenter STAR-CCM+, you create a 2D mesh based on the surfaces of the original 3D parts. A badging operation is provided that detects the edges of the chosen 3D parts.

  1. To badge the parts for 2D meshing:
    1. Right-click the Geometry > Operations node and select New > Mesh > Badge for 2D Meshing.
    2. In the Create Badge for 2D Meshing Operation dialog, click Select All as shown below.


    3. In the same dialog, activate Execute Operation Upon Creation then click OK.
Having applied the badging for 2D meshing, you can proceed to define the regions and boundaries for this case.
  1. To make the initial assignment of parts to regions:
    1. Within the Geometry > Parts node, multi-select Air, Air 2, and core.
    2. Right-click one of the nodes and select Assign Parts to Regions.
    3. In the Assign Parts to Regions dialog, make the following selections:
      • Create One Region for All Parts and set the adjacent region name to Air and Core.
      • Create a Boundary for Each Part Surface
      • Create Contact-mode Interfaces from Contacts


    4. Click Apply. Keep the dialog open for the next step.
  2. To assign the coil parts to their own regions:
    1. Within the Assign Parts to Regions dialog, multi-select parts coil1 and coil2.
    2. Make the following selections (noting that only the first one has changed since the previous assignment):
      • Create One Region for Each Part.
      • Create a Boundary for Each Part Surface
      • Create Contact-mode Interfaces from Contacts


    3. Click Apply then Close.
    After making these assignments, three regions and their respective interfaces appear in the tree.

  3. To specify the mesh generation pipeline:
    1. Right-click the Geometry > Operations node and select New > Mesh > Automated Mesh (2D).
    2. In the Create Automated Mesh (2D) Operation dialog:
      • Select all the parts.
      • From within Select Meshers, select the Quadrilateral Mesher.
    3. Click OK.
    4. Within the Operations node, select the Automated Mesh (2D) > Meshers > Quadrilateral Mesher node and activate Perform Compatibility Refinement.
    5. Select the Automated Mesh (2D) > Default Controls > Base Size node and set Base Size to 0.008 m.
    6. Also select the Surface Growth Rate node and set Surface Growth Rate to Slow.
As the main focus for this analysis is the electromagnetic flux near the coils and core, the mesh can be coarsened at the edges of the domain.
  1. To achieve mesh coarsening on the outer perimeter, apply a surface control to the outer edges and set a larger target size:
    1. Right-click the Automated Mesh (2D) > Custom Controls node and select New > Surface Control.
    2. Edit the child node, Surface Control, and set Part Surfaces to contain all the surfaces within the part, Air 2 (see the following image for the part selection dialog).


    3. Continue by selecting Surface Control > Controls > Target Surface Size and setting Target Surface Size to Custom.
    4. Select the Values > Target Surface Size node and set Percentage of Base to 200.
A finer mesh is required within the core itself.
  1. To apply a finer mesh to the core:
    1. Right-click the Automated Mesh (2D) > Custom Controls node and select New > Volumetric Control.
    2. Select the Volumetric Control node and set Parts to core.
    3. Select the Volumetric Control > Controls > 2D Surface Mesher node and activate Customize Size.
    4. Select the corresponding Values > Custom Size node and set Percentage of Base to 20.
The mesh setup is now complete and you can generate the mesh.
  1. To generate the mesh, right-click the Geometry > Operations > Automated Mesh (2D) node and select Execute.
  2. To view the final mesh, within the Vis toolbar, select Create/Open Scenes > Mesh.
    The mesh is shown as follows:

  3. Save the simulation.