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User Interface
Simcenter STAR-CCM+ provides a Graphical User Interface generally known as the client workspace. This interface appears when you launch Simcenter STAR-CCM+ interactively.
Wizard Guide
This part of the documentation illustrates how Simcenter STAR-CCM+ is used for special application tools and projects.
Using the Thermal Comfort Wizard
This section explains the thermal comfort feature of Simcenter STAR-CCM+.
What is the Thermophysiological Occupant Model?
The thermophysiological regulation of the human body can be seen as a regulatory circuit consisting of a passive and an active system.
Passive System
Within the thermophysiological occupant model, the passive system captures thermal effects at global and local levels.
Contact Surface
This section describes the Contact Surface model.

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User Interface
Simcenter STAR-CCM+ provides a Graphical User Interface generally known as the client workspace. This interface appears when you launch Simcenter STAR-CCM+ interactively.
- Using the Simcenter STAR-CCM+ Workspace
  This chapter shows you how to use the various components of Simcenter STAR-CCM+, with a focus on the user interface.
- What Are the Important Concepts?
  This section presents the key concepts you come across when using Simcenter STAR-CCM+.
- Working with Simulation Objects
  Objects are the key components of Simcenter STAR-CCM+. They represent various aspects of a simulation and have properties that you can set as required for your particular problem.
- Automation
  The Automation node provides easy access to a number of frequently used automated processes.
- Expressions
  In Simcenter STAR-CCM+, you can define property values using expressions, which you write using a function language that is a subset of the C programming language. Expressions can define mathematical expressions or perform other operations, such as interpolating tabular data from XY tables in the simulation.
- Global Parameters
  Global parameters include scalar and vector physical quantities (for example, 120.0 K or [0.0, 1.0, 0.0] m) that can be defined once and used in multiple objects. Another type of global parameter is a file, currently used for the Replace Parts operation in Geometry > Operations and in Design Manager.
- Field Functions
  Field functions allow you to access fields (scalar or vector data that are evaluated at cells, vertices, or boundary faces) in Simcenter STAR-CCM+. You can use field functions to visualize the computed fields, to specify boundary and region values, or to define initial conditions.
- Engineering Units
  Simcenter STAR-CCM+ has flexible and customizable support for engineering units. The standard SI and USCS systems are built in, and you can add new units as desired. Physical quantities can be specified and displayed in any of these units. Individual quantities can be specified with new units on the fly by simply typing something like “80 mph”.
- Simulation Operations
  Simulation operations allow you to automate the solution processes in Simcenter STAR-CCM+ without using Java macros. Condition and loop operations provide the basic logic control common to many programming languages.
- Staged Physics
  In Simcenter STAR-CCM+, staged physics allows you to store multiple configurations of physics settings and apply them in sequence during a simulation. Simulation operations provide the framework in which physics stages are applied.
- Working with Volume Shapes
  A volume shape is a closed geometric figure that can be shaped as a block, cone, cylinder, or sphere.
- Simulation Guide
  The simulation guide is a single embedded document that you can edit within a simulation file. This document can contain formatted text, tables, images, and hyperlinks to nodes in the Simcenter STAR-CCM+ object tree or external web resources.
- Template Simulation Files
  Template simulation files allow you to define pre-configured setups for use in new simulations. When used in conjunction with query-based selection, template files present a powerful technique for automating repeat analyses on similar geometries.
- Scripting the Application
  Scripting allows you to work more efficiently by automating repetitive tasks.
- Working with User Code
  User code allows Simcenter STAR-CCM+ to be customized with functions written in a compiled language such as C, C++ or Fortran.
- Working with the Plugins Manager
  The Plugins Manager makes it possible to install and manage NetBeans modules for Simcenter STAR-CCM+.
- Simulation Assistants
  A Simulation Assistant provides a visual workflow within the Simcenter STAR-CCM+ user interface (UI).
- Wizard Guide
  This part of the documentation illustrates how Simcenter STAR-CCM+ is used for special application tools and projects.
  - Using the Fire and Smoke Wizard
    This section describes the fire and smoke wizard feature of Simcenter STAR-CCM+.
  - Using the Thermal Comfort Wizard
    This section explains the thermal comfort feature of Simcenter STAR-CCM+.
    - What is the Thermal Comfort Model? (deprecated)
      The thermal comfort model enhances simulation of passenger comfort inside a vehicle (typically an automobile).
    - What is the Thermophysiological Occupant Model?
      The thermophysiological regulation of the human body can be seen as a regulatory circuit consisting of a passive and an active system.
      - Passive System
        Within the thermophysiological occupant model, the passive system captures thermal effects at global and local levels.
        Body Heat Storage
        This section describes the body heat storage model.
        Metabolic Heat Production
        This section describes the metabolic heat production model.
        Internal Heat Transfer
        This section describes the internal heat transfer model.
        External Heat Transfer
        This section describes the external heat transfer model.
        Heat Balance
        This section describes the Heat Balance model.
        Clothing
        This section describes the clothing model.
        Contact Surface
        This section describes the Contact Surface model.
      - Active System
        The thermophysiological regulation is a system whose functioning is still not fully understood today. A description or a model for the thermophysiological regulation applies the relations of cause and effect that are obtained through experimental results.
      - Local Mean Vote
        Local Mean Vote (LMV) is an empirically derived thermal comfort index that can be used to assess local thermal comfort in a given environment. In TCM, LMV is predicted using correlations that accept a resultant skin temperature as input.
    - What is the Thermal Comfort Wizard?
      The thermal comfort wizard is a tool that provides a clear and structured approach to setting up a thermal comfort simulation.
    - What are TCM Passengers?
      Thermal comfort passengers are defined in the General Settings tab of the thermal comfort wizard.
    - What are TCM Boundaries?
      Thermal comfort boundaries are defined in the External Convection and Radiation tab of the thermal comfort wizard.
    - What is the Thermal Comfort Solver?
      Thermal comfort solver settings are defined in the Advanced Settings tab of the thermal comfort wizard.
    - Simcenter STAR-CCM+ Capabilities Related to Thermal Comfort
      This section outlines the Simcenter STAR-CCM+ features that are related to thermal comfort modeling.
    - Setting Up a Thermal Comfort Case
      This section outlines the process of setting up a passenger comfort case with the thermal comfort wizard.
    - Performing a TCM Simulation
      Once the TCM settings have been saved, the simulation can be run.
    - Post Processing a TCM Simulation
      The thermal comfort wizard has some additional post-processing capabilities that are specific to thermal comfort simulations.
    - Working with TCM Input Files
      This section describes the format of the external passenger.dat file, which is used with the thermal comfort wizard.
    - Working with TCM Output Files
      This section details the contents of the thermal comfort output file, passenger_tim_xx.txt, where xx refers to the passenger number in the simulation.
    - Bibliography
      This section lists the bibliographic references for the Thermal Comfort wizard.
  - Simcenter STAR-CCM+ E-Machines Performance Workflow
    The Simcenter STAR-CCM+ E-Machines Performance Workflow wizard allows you to import electric machine designs into Simcenter STAR-CCM+ for further analysis. For example, you can compute the 3D magnetic fluxes within the electric machine or set up a thermal analysis.
  - Using The IDF Import Wizard
    The IDF Import Wizard imports IDF (Intermediate Data Format) files into the 3D-CAD modeler in Simcenter STAR-CCM+.

Contact Surface

This section describes the Contact Surface model.

The passenger is permanently in contact with the vehicle seat. Therefore, it is necessary to divide the skin elements at the contact segments into two different surfaces. This leads to two skin temperatures for a segment:

Skin temperature for the surface in contact with the seat
Skin temperature for the free surface

The effective temperature at the contact surface is replaced by the temperature of the seat $T_{C O N T A C T}$ . The dry heat flux is calculated only from heat conduction between the contact surface and the seat. Taking clothing into account, the thermal efficiency factor at the contact surface is given by:

F_{{T E}_{j}} = \frac{α_{{C L O T H}_{j}} \cdot F_{{S U R F}_{j}}}{α_{{C L O T H}_{j}} + α_{C O N T A C T} \cdot F_{{S U R F}_{j}}}

(62 63)

The dry heat flux then becomes:

{\dot{Q}}_{{D R Y}_{j}} = α_{C O N T A C T} \cdot F_{{T E}_{j}} \cdot A_{{C O N T A C T}_{j}} \cdot (T_{4, j} - T_{{C O N T A C T}_{j}})

(62 63)

The thermal efficiency factor $F_{T E}$ is used to modify all base values. For all further calculations, such as regulation or heat losses, the respective temperatures of the skin elements are used and so two separate values result.