Defining a Plane Section

The plane section is an implicit part that uses a plane as the implicit function to cut. Simcenter STAR-CCM+ allows the creation of a planar section from parts comprising regions, boundaries, and geometry parts, however input parts are enforced to be of the same dimensionality.

The resulting output is dependent on the topology and discretization of the input parts. The exact form of output depends on the dimensionality of the input parts. Input data consisting of three-dimensional cells result in output surfaces, input data consisting of two-dimensional cells result in output lines, and input data consisting of one-dimensional data result in points.

If a region and its boundaries are inputs to a section, the section only cuts the region. Boundaries are ignored so that extra line segments are not created in addition to the polygons produced by cutting the region. This behavior applies to both 2D and 3D regions.



  1. Create a plane section using one of the following methods:
    • Follow the general procedure outlined in the section, Defining Derived Parts General Workflow. Choose the menu option, New Part > Section > Plane....
    • Use the toolbar button, , to create a plane section in an open scene quickly. To use this method:
      1. Position the image in the scene so that your view is exactly perpendicular to the plane.

        The plane is defined with two points that you specify.

      2. Click (Create Plane Section), then click at two points in the display to define the plane.
      3. In the Select Displayer dialog that appears, select a displayer option.

        You can choose one of the existing displayers, create a new one, or create the derived part without assigning it to any displayer.

        The plane section appears in the scene. By default, it has the appropriate input parts from among the ones that are visible in the scene. You can edit this derived part to change the input parts or other settings.



You can define the section properties in the derived part in-place dialog or Properties window, as described in Defining Derived Parts General Workflow. For plane sections, the visual plane tool is also available. You can use the plane tool, which is activated automatically with the in-place dialog, to position the plane visually in the scene. See Using the Implicit Plane Tool.

To completely define the plane section:

  1. Specify the general properties (Input Parts, Display option, and Coordinate System) as described in the section, Defining Derived Parts General Workflow.
  2. Complete the plane section definition by specifying the following properties:
    • Origin — set the x, y, and z coordinates for the origin. You can include units in the entry.
    • Normal — set the x, y, and z coordinates for a point that is used to define the surface normal. The normal is defined with the vector between the origin of the selected coordinate system and this point. You can include units in the entry.
    • Mode — specify single or multiple sections.
    For more information on the available properties, see Implicit Section Properties.

Example of Creating a Plane Section with a Cylindrical Coordinate System

If you create a plane section with a cylindrical coordinate system, specify r, θ, and z coordinates. The resulting normal vector consists of the r-direction (the cylinder radius), the z-direction (the cylinder length), and θ, the angle of rotation about the z-axis. The plane section is perpendicular to the normal.

In the example illustrated below, the normal is 1 m long, with values of 45 degrees for θ and 0 for z, so the normal lies in the r-θ plane with the plane section being perpendicular to it.