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User Interface
Simcenter STAR-CCM+ provides a Graphical User Interface generally known as the client workspace. This interface appears when you launch Simcenter STAR-CCM+ interactively.
What Are the Important Concepts?
This section presents the key concepts you come across when using Simcenter STAR-CCM+.
What Are 3D-CAD Models?
Simcenter STAR-CCM+ contains its own feature-based parametric solid modeler that allows you to create geometry for your analysis.

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User Interface
Simcenter STAR-CCM+ provides a Graphical User Interface generally known as the client workspace. This interface appears when you launch Simcenter STAR-CCM+ interactively.
- Using the Simcenter STAR-CCM+ Workspace
  This chapter shows you how to use the various components of Simcenter STAR-CCM+, with a focus on the user interface.
- What Are the Important Concepts?
  This section presents the key concepts you come across when using Simcenter STAR-CCM+.
  - What Are Simulations?
    A simulation contains the solution state and data for a Simcenter STAR-CCM+ analysis.
  - What Are 3D-CAD Models?
    Simcenter STAR-CCM+ contains its own feature-based parametric solid modeler that allows you to create geometry for your analysis.
  - What Are Parts?
    There are three different types of part that can be used in a Simcenter STAR-CCM+ simulation:
  - What Are Continua?
    Continua are used to contain selections of physics that are subsequently applied to one or more regions. Continua have no geometric definition associated with them.
  - What Are Models?
    Model nodes in the simulation object tree represent simulation features that are active in the current case.
  - What Are Regions?
    Regions are volume domains (or areas in a two-dimensional case) in space that are completely surrounded by boundaries.
  - What Are Boundaries?
    Boundaries are surfaces (or lines in a two-dimensional case) that completely surround and define a region.
  - What Are Interfaces?
    Interfaces provide a connection between boundaries during the simulation meshing setup and/or analysis process.
  - What Are Solvers?
    In Simcenter STAR-CCM+, solvers control the solution and are activated once per iteration (or once per time-step for explicit unsteady simulations).
  - What Are Reports, Monitors and Plots?
    Reports provide a computed summary of simulation or system data.
  - What Are Scenes?
    Scenes are used to visualize the geometry, mesh, and solution data that is contained within a simulation.
- Working with Simulation Objects
  Objects are the key components of Simcenter STAR-CCM+. They represent various aspects of a simulation and have properties that you can set as required for your particular problem.
- Automation
  The Automation node provides easy access to a number of frequently used automated processes.
- Expressions
  In Simcenter STAR-CCM+, you can define property values using expressions, which you write using a function language that is a subset of the C programming language. Expressions can define mathematical expressions or perform other operations, such as interpolating tabular data from XY tables in the simulation.
- Global Parameters
  Global parameters include scalar and vector physical quantities (for example, 120.0 K or [0.0, 1.0, 0.0] m) that can be defined once and used in multiple objects. Another type of global parameter is a file, currently used for the Replace Parts operation in Geometry > Operations and in Design Manager.
- Field Functions
  Field functions allow you to access fields (scalar or vector data that are evaluated at cells, vertices, or boundary faces) in Simcenter STAR-CCM+. You can use field functions to visualize the computed fields, to specify boundary and region values, or to define initial conditions.
- Engineering Units
  Simcenter STAR-CCM+ has flexible and customizable support for engineering units. The standard SI and USCS systems are built in, and you can add new units as desired. Physical quantities can be specified and displayed in any of these units. Individual quantities can be specified with new units on the fly by simply typing something like “80 mph”.
- Simulation Operations
  Simulation operations allow you to automate the solution processes in Simcenter STAR-CCM+ without using Java macros. Condition and loop operations provide the basic logic control common to many programming languages.
- Staged Physics
  In Simcenter STAR-CCM+, staged physics allows you to store multiple configurations of physics settings and apply them in sequence during a simulation. Simulation operations provide the framework in which physics stages are applied.
- Working with Volume Shapes
  A volume shape is a closed geometric figure that can be shaped as a block, cone, cylinder, or sphere.
- Simulation Guide
  The simulation guide is a single embedded document that you can edit within a simulation file. This document can contain formatted text, tables, images, and hyperlinks to nodes in the Simcenter STAR-CCM+ object tree or external web resources.
- Template Simulation Files
  Template simulation files allow you to define pre-configured setups for use in new simulations. When used in conjunction with query-based selection, template files present a powerful technique for automating repeat analyses on similar geometries.
- Scripting the Application
  Scripting allows you to work more efficiently by automating repetitive tasks.
- Working with User Code
  User code allows Simcenter STAR-CCM+ to be customized with functions written in a compiled language such as C, C++ or Fortran.
- Working with the Plugins Manager
  The Plugins Manager makes it possible to install and manage NetBeans modules for Simcenter STAR-CCM+.
- Simulation Assistants
  A Simulation Assistant provides a visual workflow within the Simcenter STAR-CCM+ user interface (UI).
- Wizard Guide
  This part of the documentation illustrates how Simcenter STAR-CCM+ is used for special application tools and projects.

What Are 3D-CAD Models?

Simcenter STAR-CCM+ contains its own feature-based parametric solid modeler that allows you to create geometry for your analysis.

This integrated solid modeler is called the 3D-CAD module, and solid models generated from it are called 3D-CAD models. The screenshot below shows a single 3D-CAD model object within the simulation object tree.

Complete documentation on using the 3D-CAD solid modeler can be found in Using 3D-CAD.