Triggers and Update Events

Several features of Simcenter STAR-CCM+ require that you define a trigger for when an action takes place. Simcenter STAR-CCM+ provides three built-in trigger types, and one custom trigger type (defined by an update event).

These triggers only apply when you are running a simulation normally. If you step a simulation, using the Step command, then all plots/scenes/layout views are updated regardless of their specified update settings.

Features for which you set triggers are as follows:

  • Solution Histories—control how often the solution writes to the simulation history file.
  • Scenes—control how often the scene updates with the calculated solution.
  • Plots—control how often the plot updates with the calculated solution.
  • Tables—control how often the table updates with the calculated solution
  • Auto Exports—control how often the solution data exports to external files.
  • Auto Saves—control how often the simulation file saves.
  • Monitors—control how often the monitor extracts new data from the calculated solution.
  • Trigger Adaptive Mesh solver —controls how often the mesh is adapted with the defined adaptive mesh criteria.

Managing Hardcopy Output in Batch

If you want to run a batch job that includes hardcopies, it is important to know how such images are generated.

Images of plots and scenes are exported to the directory of the first connected client. Moreover, a client is always required for including hardcopy output in a batch simulation run. So the availability of hardcopy images in a simulation run varies as follows:

  • Local instance, that is, opening a simulation on your desktop/workstation from the user interface: an interactive client (Java client) process is created that launches the server. In this situation the client that launches the server is automatically the client that writes the hardcopy images.
  • Traditional batch run, that is, opening a simulation to process specified commands without a user interface: a "headless" batch-client process is started that launches the server. As with the case of the interactive client process, the client process in this situation writes hardcopy images to a specified directory—by default the same directory that contains the simulation file.
  • Server mode (-server), that is, launching a simulation without a client at all: no client is present unless a new client process connects to input commands. In this situation there is no client process, and hence no hardcopy image exports are processed; nor is any directory available to which such exports can be written.

Multiple-connected clients

Simcenter STAR-CCM+ permits more than one client to connect to the same server process if collaboration is activated on the server. In the case that multiple clients are connected to the same server, and hardcopy output is defined for the simulation run, the hardcopies are generated from the first client that connected to the server. That is, the hardcopy files are written to the underlying file system for the first client.

If the first client disconnects, the second connected client takes over the work (and hence hardcopies are written to the underlying file system for that client). This change occurs behind the scenes without an explicit message. A batch-client cannot be disconnected and remains the working client until the simulation is closed.