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Simcenter STAR-CCM+ comes with add-ons that provide a dedicated approach for simulations of specific engineering applications—the Electronics Cooling Toolset and the Simcenter STAR-CCM+ In-cylinder Solution.
Simcenter STAR-CCM+ In-cylinder Solution
Simcenter STAR-CCM+ In-cylinder Solution provides a simplified approach within Simcenter STAR-CCM+ to perform transient moving-mesh simulations of internal combustion engines (ICE).
Simcenter STAR-CCM+ In-cylinder Workflow
To set up, run, and post-process an engine cycle problem in Simcenter STAR-CCM+ In-cylinder, you work through the nodes from top to bottom.
Setting up the Engine
Simcenter STAR-CCM+ In-cylinder automatically creates Engine Parts based on your inputs. Along with these parts, you define the physics and motions that apply to the engine.
Setting Boundary Conditions
Boundary conditions define the physical conditions on the surface of the cylinder, the valves, and the plenums.
Splitting an Engine Part Surface
In Simcenter STAR-CCM+ In-cylinder, you can split the Engine Part Surfaces Default : Solids, Default : Gases, and Default : Gases 2 for use in defining specific boundary conditions or customizing the mesh.

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Add-ons
Simcenter STAR-CCM+ comes with add-ons that provide a dedicated approach for simulations of specific engineering applications—the Electronics Cooling Toolset and the Simcenter STAR-CCM+ In-cylinder Solution.
- Electronics Cooling Toolset
  The Electronics Cooling Toolset provides a simplified approach within Simcenter STAR-CCM+ to perform simulations of thermal management for electronics devices—from design to solution analysis.
- Simcenter STAR-CCM+ In-cylinder Solution
  Simcenter STAR-CCM+ In-cylinder Solution provides a simplified approach within Simcenter STAR-CCM+ to perform transient moving-mesh simulations of internal combustion engines (ICE).
  - ICE Mechanism
    The development and improvement of internal combustion engines comes from a systematic analysis of the in-cylinder flow. Simcenter STAR-CCM+ In-cylinder is capable of simulating the in-cylinder flow of reciprocating internal combustion engines that operate on a four-stroke or a two-stroke cycle at steady speed.
  - Geometry Requirements
    For the automated setup of an internal combustion engine in Simcenter STAR-CCM+ In-cylinder, the geometry that you import must meet certain criteria. These criteria concern the file format as well as the positions and names of bodies and faces.
  - Valves Motion
    Simcenter STAR-CCM+ In-cylinder models the motion of valves using valve lift curves.
  - Piston Motion
    To model the motion of the piston, Simcenter STAR-CCM+ In-cylinder requires specific information about the engine geometry.
  - Fuel Injection
    Simcenter STAR-CCM+ In-cylinder provides methods for predicting the charge motion in an internal combustion engine—from fuel injection to fuel evaporation to air-fuel vapor mixing.
  - Combustion and Ignition
    Simcenter STAR-CCM+ In-cylinder offers efficient methods for simulating the combustion process in an internal combustion engine.
  - Mesh Strategy
    Simcenter STAR-CCM+ In-cylinder generates a trimmed mesh with automatic volumetric refinements to account for various flow characteristics within the flow domain. For a cylinder sector model, Simcenter STAR-CCM+ In-cylinder generates an axisymmetric mesh.
  - Solution Analysis
    Simcenter STAR-CCM+ In-cylinder allows you to analyse the solution of an ICE simulation while the simulation is running as well as when the simulation completes.
  - Simcenter STAR-CCM+ In-cylinder Workflow
    To set up, run, and post-process an engine cycle problem in Simcenter STAR-CCM+ In-cylinder, you work through the nodes from top to bottom.
    - Accessing Simcenter STAR-CCM+ In-cylinder
      Simcenter STAR-CCM+ In-cylinder is an additional tool whose icon you must add to the Simcenter STAR-CCM+ interface. After adding the icon, you can launch the tool.
    - Importing the Geometry
      For a full-cycle analysis, the setup of an internal combustion engine starts from a geometry in CAD format. For a closed-cycle analysis using a cylinder sector model, you import a 2D spline in *.csv format that describes the profile of the cylinder sector.
    - Setting the Engine Models
      Simcenter STAR-CCM+ In-cylinder contains models and methods that allow you to perform different types of in-cylinder simulations.
    - Defining the Materials
      Simcenter STAR-CCM+ In-cylinder requires information about the composition of air, fuel, and exhaust gas in the engine.
    - Defining Parameters
      A global parameter is a scalar physical quantity that can be defined once and used to set multiple properties in your simulation.
    - Setting up the Engine
      Simcenter STAR-CCM+ In-cylinder automatically creates Engine Parts based on your inputs. Along with these parts, you define the physics and motions that apply to the engine.
      - Renaming Bodies and Faces of the Imported Geometry
        If the names of bodies and faces of an imported CAD geometry do not match the Simcenter STAR-CCM+ In-cylinder naming convention, you can rename them. You rename bodies in the Simcenter STAR-CCM+ In-cylinder object tree. To rename faces, you must edit the imported CAD geometry in 3D-CAD.
      - Setting Initial Conditions
        You specify the initial pressure and temperature conditions in the cylinder, ports, and plenums using constant values or tables that describe these quantities as functions of crank angle. For data in tabular form, Simcenter STAR-CCM+ In-cylinder evaluates the initial values at the specified start angle using linear interpolation between the data points. Additionally, for a cylinder sector model, you specify an initial swirl in terms of a rotational velocity about the central axis. For a RANS simulation, you specify constant values for the turbulence quantities.
      - Setting up the Piston Motion
        Here, you set the engine geometry properties that impact the piston motion and the cylinder displacement and compression ratio.
      - Setting up the Valve Motions
        For the motion of the valves, you import tables that describe the valve lifts in mm as functions of degree crank angle. If the imported table values do not represent the real valve lifts, you can correct the valve lift curves here.
      - Setting Boundary Conditions
        Boundary conditions define the physical conditions on the surface of the cylinder, the valves, and the plenums.
        Splitting an Engine Part Surface
        In Simcenter STAR-CCM+ In-cylinder, you can split the Engine Part Surfaces Default : Solids, Default : Gases, and Default : Gases 2 for use in defining specific boundary conditions or customizing the mesh.
      - Setting up the Injector
        For a charge-motion simulation, you set up an injector using the Injector Engine Part, which provides a template for defining the geometry and physics of the injector and its nozzles. You can create single-nozzle or multi-nozzle injectors. Cylinder sector models require a single-nozzle injector.
      - Setting up the Ignitor
        To ignite the air-fuel mixture in a combustion simulation with spark ignition, you create an ignitor Engine Part, which provides a template for defining the ignition location and timing.
    - Setting the Operating Conditions
      Here, you set the conditions under which the engine operates. For a combustion simulation, Simcenter STAR-CCM+ In-cylinder applies Automatic Composition Initialization, by default.
    - Setting up the Solvers
      The solvers setup includes the definition of the time-step size, the solver under-relaxation factors, and the auto-save settings.
    - Setting up the Mesh
      The default mesh settings are based on best practices to ensure a high level of accuracy in the solution with a minimum cell count.
    - Preparing for Post-Processing
      Simcenter STAR-CCM+ In-cylinder provides several plots and scenes by default. You can analyze the scenes and plots while the simulation is running, as well as when it completes.
    - Running the Simulation
      The simulation is now ready to run.
    - Analyzing the Results
      After the run is finished, you analyze the simulation results.
    - Replacing the Engine Geometry and Re-running the Simulation
      To analyze multiple engine designs using the same simulation setup, Simcenter STAR-CCM+ In-cylinder allows you to swap the CAD geometry of the cylinder and the valves and re-run the simulation.
    - Scripting the Simulation
      You can script the process of setting up and running a simulation in Simcenter STAR-CCM+ In-cylinder.
  - Simcenter STAR-CCM+ In-cylinder Troubleshooting
    If you encounter problems when setting up or running an ICE simulation, check these common problem scenarios for advice on how to proceed. Also consult the Knowledge Base on the Support Center portal.
  - Simcenter STAR-CCM+ In-cylinder Reference
    Simcenter STAR-CCM+ In-cylinder provides specific right-click actions and properties for the various objects in the object-tree.
  - Simcenter STAR-CCM+ In-cylinder Formulation
- Application Productivity Tools
  Application Productivity Tools (APTs) are specialized add-ons that allow you to focus on specific applications. These tools are available as plugins for Simcenter STAR-CCM+.

Splitting an Engine Part Surface

In Simcenter STAR-CCM+ In-cylinder, you can split the Engine Part Surfaces Default : Solids, Default : Gases, and Default : Gases 2 for use in defining specific boundary conditions or customizing the mesh.

You can split these Engine Part Surfaces in one of the following ways:

Creating a new Engine Part Surface using the underlying face information.
Example: A block has only one surface, by default, but it has six faces—one for each side of the block (this information is stored as part of the geometry). Each face can be used to create a new Engine Part Surface.
Creating a new Engine Part Surface from modified face information.
Example: To create a circular Engine Part Surface on a block, you must first modify the underlying face information by imprinting a circular profile on the relevant side surface. This action creates a circular face on the respective side of the block. The circular face can then be used to create a new circular Engine Part Surface.

To create a new Engine Part Surface from a specific face:

In the Graphics window, select the face of the respective Default : Solids, Default : Gases, or Default : Gases 2 surface.
To select multiple faces, press and hold down the <Ctrl> key.
In the Simcenter STAR-CCM+ In-cylinder tree, right-click and select Create QuickPart Surface.
In the Rename dialog, enter the Name of the new Engine Part Surface and click OK.
The new Engine Part Surface appears under the Engine Part node.

To modify the face information of an Engine Part Surface:

In the Graphics window, select the face of interest.
Right-click and select New Construction Geometry > [Type], where [Type] is one of the following:
- Sheet Body Circle
- Sheet Body Rectangle
For more information, see Creating Geometries.
Right-click the respective Engine Part node and select Edit Interactions.
Within the Edit dialog, in the Imprint box, set Sheet Construction Geometry to the previously created sheet geometry.
For more information, see Interactions Reference.
Click Apply, then Close.
The profile is imprinted and the face information is modified accordingly. You can now use the resulting faces to create a new Engine Part Surface.