Electro-thermal analysis, bulk material simulation and aerospace get new features.
Multiphysics Computational Flow Dynamics Software and Real-World Conditions
Siemens describes its Simcenter STAR-CCM+ software as “a multiphysics computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software for the simulation of products operating under real-world conditions.” The tool is valuable for users trying to simulate flow relating to several different fluids and boundary conditions.
The 2021.3 release of Simcenter STAR-CCM++ adds features and upgrades performance with the biggest changes made in the areas of batteries, discrete elements, aerodynamics and HVAC. Other areas like vibration simulation and turbine studies also get a boost. A crowd-sourced suggestion box is still around as well.
Integrated Workflow for Electro-Thermal Analysis
The electrification of the world’s vehicles requires almost every vehicle supplier to get a little smarter and more sophisticated when it comes to batteries. Siemens recognizes that international regulations are on the way with respect to safety rules and is working to help its customers create safer batteries. Thermal runaway, a situation where a battery gets hot enough to catch the entire vehicle on fire, is outlined as the major safety risk in a blog post by Gaetan Damblanc.
The company says that the best value of a thermal simulation tool, for battery manufacturers, is predicting the battery cell’s heat generation rate with strong accuracy. Engineers can then understand the hot spots that occur during a battery cycle and use that information to choose the best possible cooling strategy. Air cooling, liquid cooling or phase-changing material cooling can be used to draw heat energy away from the battery and, in extreme cases, a simulation study might show that the battery geometry requires a complete redesign.
Meshfree Discrete Elements and Aerodynamic Analysis Gain Features
Oleh Baran talks about running a simulation on an excavation bucket using the discrete element method (DEM)—the best way he knows how to model the bulk flow of rocks and soil for the study. Discrete elements require a good deal of computing power as well as trade-offs between selecting the fastest solution and creating the most true-to-life model. Simcenter STAR-CCM+ 2021.3 now offers a meshfree discrete element workflow to ensure that the best possible results can be pulled from a study even when bulk material is involved.
In the aerodynamics realm, Konstantinos Karamolegkos wants his users to spend less time meshing. He says that meshing is an integral part of simulation and that the mesh needs to be of high quality to ensure quality results. However, the best way to innovate in CFD is often to have a large array of designs and evaluate them all at the same time.
Simcenter STAR-CCM+ 2021.3 is equipped with a “semi-automated anisotropic quad surface mesher that can generate high-aspect-ratio cells to capture high curvature geometries.” This means that less time is spent meshing but that more actual meshes are generated and less computing power is used.
Aeroacoustics, HVAC, and Crowdsourcing the Next Release
Aeroacoustics and HVAC simulation are also the recipients of new features in this release. The new Lighthill Wave model neglects the effect of the flow field on sound propagation. Lighthill Wave modeling is less sensitive to variation and allows for the use of coarser meshes, ultimately saving time in a study. Pressure can work with a less accurate convergence and require fewer solver iterations per time step.
Simcenter STAR-CCM+ is also holding true on its commitment to listen to its customers within the Ideas portion of its user community. In this space, users can offer suggestions for future additions to the software, help each other with bugs and workarounds, share best practices and brag on their best nonproprietary accomplishments. It’s interesting to be able to watch people discuss what might eventually become the content of Simcenter STAR-CCM+’s next release.
