Post-Processing

Simcenter STAR-CCM+ allows you to post-process the solution after each iteration or time-step, (while the simulation is running), as well as when the simulation completes. For this reason, you generally create post-processing objects before running the simulation. Post-processing objects are also known as analysis objects.

All simulation data is stored in field functions. Field functions give you access to mesh data, geometry data, data computed by solvers, and to any data that is derived from solver data. You can also define your own field functions and access their data using the same post-processing objects as for simulation data.

Simcenter STAR-CCM+ provides three categories of post-processing object:

• Reports: Four different types of report exist, including one that accepts a user-defined expression in the same format as a user-defined field function. In order to obtain a history of the reported value, reports can be monitored while a simulation is running. You use a monitor object that triggers an update on the report at expected intervals.
• Scenes: If these scenes are created before you run the simulation, they are updated continuously as the solution progresses.
• Plots: You can create monitor and residual plots, XY plots, and histogram plots.

For each of these strategies, you generally choose the parts from which the solution data is extracted. These parts can be regions, boundary surfaces, geometry parts, or derived parts, depending on the type of analysis. Derived parts are additional lines and surfaces that you create in addition to the surfaces already present on geometry parts and regions.

Monitors are used to sample and save solution data while the simulation is running. Some monitor types are made available in response to the solvers you have active. Reports act as a source of data for monitors in addition to field and solver data.

Several features of Simcenter STAR-CCM+, including monitors, require that you define a trigger for when an update event occurs. See Triggers and Update Events.

For recording solution data on selected parts over time, Simcenter STAR-CCM+ provides the solution history (.simh) file. After saving one or more simulation history files in a simulation, you can access and replay the data over time or index ranges that you choose. See Transient Solution Data.

For data that have been obtained over time in a transient analysis, such as pressure data at a point, data set functions are provided. These data set functions permit spectral analysis through Fast Fourier Transforms and related tools.