Specifying the Target Mesh and Interpolation Method

Set up mapping targets to specify the target mesh, the interpolation method, and other mapping options. A mapping operation can have one or more targets of type Surface, Volume, or Beam.

To add a target:
  1. Right-click the Target Specifications node, select New Group and choose the type of target:
    • To map the source data to surfaces of a Simcenter STAR-CCM+ mesh or of an imported CAE mesh, choose a Surface target.
    • To map the source data to volumes of a Simcenter STAR-CCM+ mesh or of an imported CAE mesh, choose a Volume target.
    • To map pressure and shear stress, defined on one or more surfaces, to nodal forces and moments on an imported CAE beam, choose a Beam target.


  2. Depending on whether you created a Surface, Volume, or Beam target, specify the target mesh using the Target Surfaces, Target Volumes or Target Beams property.
    Target surfaces can either be 2D regions, region boundaries, or part surfaces in Simcenter STAR-CCM+, or surfaces defined on an imported CAE model. Target volumes can either be Simcenter STAR-CCM+ regions or parts, or volumes defined on an imported CAE model. You can specify multiple target surfaces or volumes at once.
    For a beam target, specify a single target beam. Additional target beams require additional mappers. A target beam can only be an imported CAE beam model.
  3. Set the Target Stencil property to specify the location on the target mesh where the data mapper interpolates the source data.
    For finite volume (FV) target meshes, the target stencil is typically either a cell (for target volumes) or a face (for target surfaces). For finite element (FE) target meshes, the target stencil is typically a vertex. When you map nodal rotations and displacements of an imported beam to target Simcenter STAR-CCM+ surfaces, set the target surfaces stencil to Vertex. See Target Reference.
  4. Specify the Interpolation Method that the mapper uses to interpolate data from the source to the target mesh.
    • For surface-to-surface coupling, the Exact and Approximate Imprinting schemes are globally conservative methods, but do not strictly satisfy local conservation. They result in more accurate solutions than the least squares methods when mapping from a fine to a coarser mesh. The Least Squaresscheme is more accurate locally and is a better choice in cases where the target and source surfaces have comparable mesh densities.
    • For surface-to-vertex coupling, Least Squares and Nearest Neighbor schemes are accurate for comparable mesh densities. When mapping data from a fine finite volume mesh to a coarse finite element mesh in aeroacoustic applications, use Conservative Enclosed Face or Conservative Maximum Distance.

    For more information on the available interpolation schemes, refer to Target Reference, and Solution Data Interpolation.

  5. Specify the transform to project targets on the sources.
    For more information on the available transforms, see Target Source Transform Reference.
    Additional expert properties are available. For the complete list of available options, refer to the section, Target Reference.