Materials

Material Models

A material model is responsible for managing the material, that is, substance or substances, being simulated in the continuum.

The simulated material is responsible for managing the various thermodynamic and transport properties relevant to that material and to the physical processes being modeled in the continuum.

There are three general types of material models available in Simcenter STAR-CCM+: single-component, multi-component, and multiphase mixture. Each of these material models manages one specific type of material: a pure substance, a multi-component mixture, or a multiphase mixture.

Selecting a material model early in the model selection process allows Simcenter STAR-CCM+ to assist you in making subsequent modeling choices appropriately.

A material model is only required if you plan to model fluid flow or heat transfer. If, for example, all you are doing is checking the mesh, a material model is not needed.

Single-Component Material Models

The single-component material models are for modeling pure substances such as air, water, or aluminum.

There are three single-component material models in Simcenter STAR-CCM+: Gas, Liquid, and Solid models. Each manages one single-component material representing the pure substance being modeled. The Gas model manages a gas material (that is, a pure substance in the gaseous phase). The Liquid model manages a liquid material (that is, a pure substance in the liquid phase). The Solid model manages a solid material (that is, a pure substance in the solid phase).

Multi-Component Material Model

The multi-component material models are single-phase models for simulating fully miscible mixtures of two or more pure substances in the same phase, such as a combusting mixture of fuel, oxidizer and product.

There are four multi-component material models in Simcenter STAR-CCM+, for gases, liquids, and solids:

• The Multi-Component Gas and Multi-Component Liquid models. Each manages a multi-component material representing the single-phase, miscible mixture being modeled. The Multi-Component Gas model manages a Gas Mixture material (that is, a miscible mixture of two or more pure substances in the gaseous phase). The Multi-Component Liquid model manages a Liquid Mixture material (that is, a miscible mixture of two or more pure substances in the liquid phase). These models are specified as either reacting or non-reacting.
• The Multi-Part Solid model and the more specialized Multi-Layer Solid model. Each manages multiple solid materials in a single physics continuum, mapped to individual parts.

Multiphase Mixture Material Model

The multiphase mixture material model is for simulating two or more immiscible phases, where each phase is composed of a pure gas or liquid substance, such as air and water.

The Multiphase Mixture model in Simcenter STAR-CCM+ manages objects that control properties for the mixture as a whole. The phase materials and equation of state specifications are managed with the Multiphase model.