Applying Lighting in a Scene

When Simcenter STAR-CCM+ renders objects in a scene, virtual lights within the scene control the illumination of object surfaces and any data rendered on them. As well as allowing you to turn lights on or off and reposition them, Simcenter STAR-CCM+ allows you to activate advanced rendering effects that use the same set of lights.

Effective lighting in a scene can improve the comprehension of the simulation results that you choose to display. Finding the right number of lights, their positions, and their intensity, is likely to require several iterations as you try different combinations in a scene.

All lights are directional lights (infinitely far away with no falloff). Lights move with the camera, which is controlled by the view, and always shine on the camera's focal point. The position of the lights are specified using the angles of Elevation and Azimuth expressed in degrees with respect to the camera. Negative azimuth values move the lights counter-clockwise as seen from your point of view; positive values move them clockwise. The following table contains examples showing the effect of various light positions.

Headlight position (shining in direction of the camera view)
  • Elevation =0
  • Azimuth =0
 Light above the focal point, shining down
  • Elevation =90
  • Azimuth =0
 Light above and in front of the object, shining from the left side
  • Elevation =45
  • Azimuth =-20






Two modes are available for lighting and shading:
  • Per Vertex Lighting is a relatively economical method for calculating lighting effects by interpolating among vertices.
  • Per Pixel Lighting requires more graphics processing power than Per Vertex Lighting, but gives superior results. This option allows you to apply lighting effects to streamlines.
  1. To switch between lighting modes, select the Lights node within a scene and set Lighting Model to Per Vertex Lighting or Per Pixel Lighting.
  2. To turn a light on or off, change its position, or control its intensity or color:
    1. Within the Lights node for a scene, select the [light] and activate or deactivate Enabled.
    2. Continue to set the other properties of the light and observe the effect of the change in the scene.
      For details on the light properties, see Light Properties.
  3. If you want to restore all light properties to their default values, right-click the Lights node and select Restore Default Lighting.


For other actions available on the Lights node, see Lights Node Actions.