Home
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.
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 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.

Share

Link: copied

Breadcrumb: copied

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.
      - 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+.

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.

To create an ignitor:

Right-click the Engine node and select Create Ignitor.
The Edit tab opens and displays the ignitor template. The Graphics window updates and displays the ignitor as a red sphere. By default, the ignitor is centered in the cylinder head.

To position the ignitor:

In the Edit tab, set Position in the Coordinate System of your choice.
For a half engine model, slightly offset the ignitor from the symmetry plane to make sure that the ignitor is located inside the simulation domain.
To preview the injector in the Graphics window, click Update at the bottom of the dialog.

To set the ignition conditions:

Within the Edit tab, in the Physics group box, set the Spark Start Time.

Depending on the selected ignition model, set the following properties:


Ignition Model	Properties
FI Spark-Ignition	In the Physics group box: Factor for Laminar Flame Kernel Radius Flame Initial Distribution Parameter
ISSIM Spark-Ignition	In the Geometry / Physics group box: Inter Electrodes Distance Electrodes Diameter Secondary Circuit Initial Energy Secondary Circuit Resistance Secondary Circuit Inductance

For more information, see Engine Reference—Ignitor Dialog.

Click OK.

If you use the Complex Chemistry model, in the Simulation object tree, select the Continua > Default Gases > Models > Complex Chemistry node and set the following properties:


Property	Setting
Source Enabled Trigger	Time Step
Begin	Set a physical time in degCA that is at least one time-step before the specified Spark Start Time.

These settings allow you to avoid the calculation of chemistry sources when they are not needed and to reset the Spark Ignition model for multi-cycle analyses.

Note

When you deselect the Spark Ignition model in the Model Selection dialog, for example to switch to another combustion model, a red badge on the ignitor node

indicates that the ignitor is in an invalid state while the ignitor properties are retained. Once you reselect the Spark Ignition model, the warning triangle disappears—the ignitor is valid again. Deleting an ignitor marked with a red badge deletes the ignitor and its properties.