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Add-ons
Simcenter STAR-CCM+ comes with add-ons that provide a dedicated approach for simulations of specific engineering applications—the Electronics Cooling Toolset and the Simcenter STAR-CCM+ In-cylinder Solution.
Simcenter STAR-CCM+ In-cylinder Solution
Simcenter STAR-CCM+ In-cylinder Solution provides a simplified approach within Simcenter STAR-CCM+ to perform transient moving-mesh simulations of internal combustion engines (ICE).
Piston Motion
To model the motion of the piston, Simcenter STAR-CCM+ In-cylinder requires specific information about the engine geometry.

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Add-ons
Simcenter STAR-CCM+ comes with add-ons that provide a dedicated approach for simulations of specific engineering applications—the Electronics Cooling Toolset and the Simcenter STAR-CCM+ In-cylinder Solution.
- Electronics Cooling Toolset
  The Electronics Cooling Toolset provides a simplified approach within Simcenter STAR-CCM+ to perform simulations of thermal management for electronics devices—from design to solution analysis.
- Simcenter STAR-CCM+ In-cylinder Solution
  Simcenter STAR-CCM+ In-cylinder Solution provides a simplified approach within Simcenter STAR-CCM+ to perform transient moving-mesh simulations of internal combustion engines (ICE).
  - ICE Mechanism
    The development and improvement of internal combustion engines comes from a systematic analysis of the in-cylinder flow. Simcenter STAR-CCM+ In-cylinder is capable of simulating the in-cylinder flow of reciprocating internal combustion engines that operate on a four-stroke or a two-stroke cycle at steady speed.
  - Geometry Requirements
    For the automated setup of an internal combustion engine in Simcenter STAR-CCM+ In-cylinder, the geometry that you import must meet certain criteria. These criteria concern the file format as well as the positions and names of bodies and faces.
  - Valves Motion
    Simcenter STAR-CCM+ In-cylinder models the motion of valves using valve lift curves.
  - Piston Motion
    To model the motion of the piston, Simcenter STAR-CCM+ In-cylinder requires specific information about the engine geometry.
  - Fuel Injection
    Simcenter STAR-CCM+ In-cylinder provides methods for predicting the charge motion in an internal combustion engine—from fuel injection to fuel evaporation to air-fuel vapor mixing.
  - Combustion and Ignition
    Simcenter STAR-CCM+ In-cylinder offers efficient methods for simulating the combustion process in an internal combustion engine.
  - Mesh Strategy
    Simcenter STAR-CCM+ In-cylinder generates a trimmed mesh with automatic volumetric refinements to account for various flow characteristics within the flow domain. For a cylinder sector model, Simcenter STAR-CCM+ In-cylinder generates an axisymmetric mesh.
  - Solution Analysis
    Simcenter STAR-CCM+ In-cylinder allows you to analyse the solution of an ICE simulation while the simulation is running as well as when the simulation completes.
  - Simcenter STAR-CCM+ In-cylinder Workflow
    To set up, run, and post-process an engine cycle problem in Simcenter STAR-CCM+ In-cylinder, you work through the nodes from top to bottom.
  - Simcenter STAR-CCM+ In-cylinder Troubleshooting
    If you encounter problems when setting up or running an ICE simulation, check these common problem scenarios for advice on how to proceed. Also consult the Knowledge Base on the Support Center portal.
  - Simcenter STAR-CCM+ In-cylinder Reference
    Simcenter STAR-CCM+ In-cylinder provides specific right-click actions and properties for the various objects in the object-tree.
  - Simcenter STAR-CCM+ In-cylinder Formulation
- Application Productivity Tools
  Application Productivity Tools (APTs) are specialized add-ons that allow you to focus on specific applications. These tools are available as plugins for Simcenter STAR-CCM+.

Piston Motion

To model the motion of the piston, Simcenter STAR-CCM+ In-cylinder requires specific information about the engine geometry.

Using these geometry properties, Simcenter STAR-CCM+ In-cylinder moves the piston along the negative z-axis, where the offset from TDC position is calculated as:

Figure 1. EQUATION_DISPLAY

{P i s t o n}_{z} = P P O + S / 2 \cdot \cos ({C A}_{c y c l e}) + C R L \cdot \sqrt{1 - {(\frac{S / 2 \cdot \sin ({C A}_{c y c l e}) + P O}{C R L})}^{2}} - \sqrt{{(C R L + S / 2)}^{2} - {P O}^{2}}

(569)

where:

$S$ is the specified Stroke.
${C A}_{c y c l e}$ is the cycle wrapped crank angle in deg (repeats 0 to cycle length).
$C R L$ is the specified Connecting Rod Length.
$P O$ is the specified Pin Offset. See Piston Motion Modification.

$P P O$ is the specified Piston Position Offset. Alternatively, you can specify the Compression Ratio $CR$ of your engine. In this case, Simcenter STAR-CCM+ In-cylinder calculate $P P O$ as:

Figure 2. EQUATION_DISPLAY

PPO = \frac{V_{TDC} (1 - CR) + \frac{π}{4} B^{2} S}{\frac{π}{4} B^{2} (CR - 1)}

(570)

where:

$V_{TDC}$ is the cylinder volume at TDC with the valves closed.
$B$ is the specified Bore.

For information on the specified values, see Engine Reference—Cylinder Dialog.

Piston Motion Modification

Simcenter STAR-CCM+ In-cylinder allows you to simulate engines with piston pins and crankshafts that are offset from the cylinder axis. An offset piston pin or crankshaft has the effect of advancing or retarding the piston TDC and BDC position relative to the crank angle.

The pin offset in Simcenter STAR-CCM+ In-cylinder is defined as the distance between the piston pin axis and the crankshaft axis. The sign of the pin offset depends on the rotational direction at the upper half of the crank and on the direction from the piston pin axis to the crankshaft axis.

The following image illustrates the convention that is used for the pin offset sign:

If the two directions are the same, then the pin offset has a positive value. If the directions are reverse to each other, then the pin offset sign is negative.