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Interacting with CAE Software
Simcenter STAR-CCM+ can interact with a wide range of other computer-aided engineering (CAE) software. This interaction includes import/export of mesh and solution data as well as coupling capabilities for multiphysics simulations.
Rotor Blade Aeroelasticity
Rotor Blade Aeroelasticity (RBA) simulations model the aerodynamic performance of elastic rotor blades using displacement and twist data from external files. You can create these data files in multi-body dynamics software such as RCAS, CAMRAD-II, DYMORE, and FLIGHTLAB. Typical RBA applications include urban air vehicle rotors, wind turbines, and helicopter rotors.

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Interacting with CAE Software
Simcenter STAR-CCM+ can interact with a wide range of other computer-aided engineering (CAE) software. This interaction includes import/export of mesh and solution data as well as coupling capabilities for multiphysics simulations.
- File Import and Export
  Simcenter STAR-CCM+ allows you to import mesh and solution data from other CAE packages using files. You can also export such data from Simcenter STAR-CCM+ for use in external software.
- File-Based Coupling (through Imported CAE Model)
  File-based coupling is a method used to couple Simcenter STAR-CCM+ with another CAE code via external files stored in the computer memory.
- Rotor Blade Aeroelasticity
  Rotor Blade Aeroelasticity (RBA) simulations model the aerodynamic performance of elastic rotor blades using displacement and twist data from external files. You can create these data files in multi-body dynamics software such as RCAS, CAMRAD-II, DYMORE, and FLIGHTLAB. Typical RBA applications include urban air vehicle rotors, wind turbines, and helicopter rotors.
  - Defining the Physics Continua and Motion
    To prepare the simulation for RBA, activate the Rotor Blade Aeroelasticity model in the relevant physics continua, and define the motion of the rotor blades.
  - Specifying Input and Output Files
    To account for the effect of the elastic blade deformations on the fluid, specify the external file that contains the beam displacement data. Simcenter STAR-CCM+ uses the imported deformations as an input for the mesh morpher.
  - Creating the Coupling Zones
    To exchange data between the Simcenter STAR-CCM+ boundaries and the external beams, you create coupling zones. You require two zones for each rotor blade—one zone for the external beam and one for the corresponding Simcenter STAR-CCM+ blade boundary.
  - Mapping the Surface and Beam Data
    To exchange data between the curve zones (the 1D beams) and the surface zones (the blade boundaries), you create data mappers. Each rotor blade requires two data mappers: a surface data mapper, with a beam target specification, and a beam data mapper.
  - Defining the Motion of the Regions
    Specify the motion of each fluid and beam region. Assign the morphing motion to the fluid regions around the blades and the rigid rotation motion to the external beam regions.
  - RBA Link Reference
    You specify the RBA file coupling details in a link under the External Links node. A Rotor Blade Aeroelasticity link node represents a connection to an RBA motion file.
- Simcenter STAR-CCM+ to Simcenter STAR-CCM+ Co-Simulation
  Simcenter STAR-CCM+ allows you to couple two running simulations together in a co-simulation analysis. The Simcenter STAR-CCM+ to Simcenter STAR-CCM+ co-simulation capability targets analyses involving conjugate heat transfer (CHT), fluid-structure interaction (FSI), and exchange of any scalar or vector fields across the coupled boundaries or regions.
- Simcenter Nastran Co-Simulation
  For fluid-structure interaction (FSI) analyses, you can couple Simcenter STAR-CCM+ and Simcenter Nastran in a co-simulation analysis.
- Simcenter Amesim Co-Simulation
  Simcenter STAR-CCM+ allows for two-way co-simulation with Simcenter Amesim, which is used for modeling dynamic systems.
- FMU Co-Simulation
  Simcenter STAR-CCM+ allows you to import Functional Mock-up Unit (FMU) models for co-simulation. An FMU is a time-dependent model, typically representing a dynamic network, that is written according to the Functional Mock-up Interface (FMI) standard. The FMI standard is a software-independent standard that provides an interface for coupling simulation software.
- Abaqus Co-Simulation
  The co-simulation technique can be used to solve complex fluid-structure interaction (FSI) problems by coupling Abaqus and Simcenter STAR-CCM+. Mechanical and/or thermal fields can be exchanged across the fluid-structure interface.
- GT-SUITE Co-Simulation
  Simcenter STAR-CCM+ allows for two-way co-simulation with GT-SUITE, a multiphysics simulation tool from Gamma Technologies. GT-SUITE provides a modeling framework for the design and analysis of engineering systems, such as engines, vehicles, and thermal-hydraulic networks.
- Reacting Channel Coupling
  The Reacting Channel Coupling feature provides the ability for exchange of data between three-dimensional Simcenter STAR-CCM+ and the one-dimensional Plug Flow Reactor which uses the CVODE solver. You can use the Reacting Channel co-simulation model in Simcenter STAR-CCM+ to solve reacting flow simulations in tubular heat exchangers with channels that are long and thin.
- Generic Launcher
  Simcenter STAR-CCM+ provides a generic launcher for external applications that allows you to launch any application or file at a specified time interval during a simulation.
- Co-Simulation API
  Simcenter STAR-CCM+ provides an Application Programming Interface (API) that allows you to write partner code that exchanges data with a running Simcenter STAR-CCM+ simulation. As the partner code can be part of any other application that supports linking to a flat C library, the co-simulation API extends the range of co-simulation scenarios possible with Simcenter STAR-CCM+.
- Data Mappers
  In Simcenter STAR-CCM+, data mappers allow you to interpolate field data available either on a source mesh or on a source table to a target mesh representation, so that the mapped fields can be used for applying boundary or volume conditions on the target mesh.
- Coordinate Cell Clustering
  Simcenter STAR-CCM+ allows you to group mesh cells into clusters, based on their position with respect to a specified coordinate system, and provides a field index for querying values based on cluster. You can create threshold reports based on these clusters of cells.

Rotor Blade Aeroelasticity

Rotor Blade Aeroelasticity (RBA) simulations model the aerodynamic performance of elastic rotor blades using displacement and twist data from external files. You can create these data files in multi-body dynamics software such as RCAS, CAMRAD-II, DYMORE, and FLIGHTLAB. Typical RBA applications include urban air vehicle rotors, wind turbines, and helicopter rotors.

The external software models a rotor blade as a 1D beam and collects the beam displacement data. The data consists of three translational and three rotational deformations at various control points on the beam as the rotor rotates. Simcenter STAR-CCM+ applies the external beam data to the fluid boundaries at the fluid-blade interface and computes the corresponding fluid loads.

The regions layout for a rotor blade aeroelasticity simulation includes:

A background region for the fluid far from the rotating blade. This region contains the entire simulation domain and is enclosed by a free stream boundary in which the air speed is applied as a boundary condition.
An overset region for each rotor blade. These regions model the fluid around the rotating blades. They are enclosed by the overset boundaries and contain the fluid wall boundaries at the fluid-blade interface.

The background region is stationary, whereas the overset regions morph as the rotor rotates. At each time-step, the mesh morpher updates the fluid mesh around the blades based on the rigid rotation of the rotor and the imported beam deformations.