Simcenter STAR-CCM+

A broad library of turbulence models, from the common RANS approaches through to Detached Eddy Simulation (DES) and Large Eddy Simulation (LES), lets aerodynamic and hydrodynamic engineers match the model to the accuracy the problem demands. Typical uses include vehicle and aircraft aerodynamics, internal flow through ducts and valves, and marine hydrodynamics.

No single multiphase model suits every regime, so the software provides several, including Volume of Fluid (VOF) and Mixture Multiphase (MMP), that can be combined in one simulation with automatic switching between regimes. VOF and MMP now also run natively on GPUs, with phase change and surface tension supported, which shortens turnaround on free-surface problems such as tank sloshing.

SPH skips volume meshing entirely, which makes it quick to set up for gearbox lubrication, tyre splash and vehicle wading studies. You can refine particles locally where accuracy matters, couple SPH with the energy solver for conjugate heat transfer, and map a finite volume airflow field onto the particles to capture wind-driven sprays. Because SPH lives in the same environment, it benefits from the same automation and design exploration tools as every other solver.

Flow and particle physics are coupled in one environment, so there is no need to link separate tools. Choose between mesh-based and mesh-free DEM approaches depending on the application, and apply contact model templates across many particle phases at once. It is a strong fit for mining and mineral processing, where conveyors, chutes, mills and earthmoving equipment all depend on how bulk material flows.

Reacting flow models couple tightly with heat transfer, radiation, multiphase reactions and surface chemistry, so you can study flame dynamics, thermal wear, conversion and selectivity in a single simulation. GPU acceleration now extends to detailed chemistry and to Lagrangian spray models for turbomachinery combustors, considerably reducing solve times on these demanding cases.

Multi-time-scale technology solves conjugate heat transfer problems quickly, even when fluid and solid thermal behaviour evolve at very different rates. That makes it well suited to electronics cooling, battery packs, vehicle thermal management and powertrain cooling. Transient thermal comfort models also show how cabin conditions affect passengers over a full drive cycle.

Choose from steady-state noise source models, direct DES and LES approaches, propagation models and an acoustic perturbation equations (APE) solver. In hybrid workflows, flow turbulence is converted into acoustic sources that feed a finite element acoustic model, which then predicts how the sound travels, reflects and is absorbed in its surroundings.

Finite volume CFD and finite element solid mechanics run in one interface, covering static, quasi-static and dynamic problems, including nonlinear geometry and assemblies with bonded or sliding contacts. You can also carry fluid temperatures into the solid to evaluate thermal stress without leaving the CFD environment.

A dedicated finite element solver handles fluids dominated by diffusion and viscous or viscoelastic behaviour, with models for free surfaces, partial filling, viscous heating, film casting and short fibres. Engineers in consumer products, food and beverage, and waste processing use it to reduce energy and raw material use while improving product reliability.

Electromagnetic, coolant flow and thermal effects can be solved together in one simulation, which is essential for predicting hotspots in e-motors. A newer finite element magnetic field solver speeds up full 3D e-machine analysis while keeping torque and loss predictions accurate, and magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) models cover plasma arcs, gas-blast circuit breakers and welding.

Automatic defeaturing, manual surface repair and automated surface wrapping clean up imperfect geometry without tedious rework. Surface wrapping and surface remeshing are both parallelised across CPU cores, which noticeably shortens preparation on large models such as complete vehicles or plant equipment.

Supported mesh types include tetrahedral, trimmed hexahedral, polyhedral, two-dimensional, extruded, directed, prism layer, advancing layer and thin meshes, and they can be combined in one simulation. Global, local and user-defined controls give you precise command over quality, while adaptive mesh refinement lets the solution decide where extra resolution is needed. Enhanced quality prism layers stay intact around tight corners for faster, more robust convergence.

Overset meshing, six-degree-of-freedom (6-DOF) body motion and rotating or translating machine behaviour are all built in. You can model products as installed, drive geometry changes for design studies and define detailed motion sequences that mirror how machines actually operate.

Native automation lets you create robust, reproducible workflows without writing a line of code. When you need more control, record, edit and replay Java macros and plug them into your wider automation ecosystem. Simulation templates capture best practice so every engineer on the team runs a study the same way.

Check CAD model robustness, expose design variables and run design of experiments (DOE) or stochastic studies to see how outputs respond to small changes in inputs. The Intelligent Design Exploration add-on uses the SHERPA optimisation algorithm to find better designs in fewer runs, without requiring you to be an optimisation specialist.

Define the design envelope, inlets and outlets, and the solver progressively carves away geometry that hinders your objective until an efficient flow path remains. It is integrated at no extra cost, and automatic penalty updates keep constraint-heavy optimisations stable without manual tuning. Combined with additive manufacturing, the organic shapes it produces become practical to build.

Built-in processing such as fast Fourier transforms and correlation functions helps you dig into transient and interdependent data. For design studies, you can spot links between geometry and performance, rule out infeasible designs early and test robustness against variation. Scene linking and solution field subtraction show exactly what changed between two designs or two runs.

Realistic shadows, reflections, textures, volumetric rendering and custom colour maps help communicate complex flow and thermal behaviour. Animation tools built into the software bring models to life for design reviews, management and customers who don't work with CFD every day.

Interrogate data fields, sweep section planes, create isosurfaces and trace streamlines in an immersive session that colleagues can join from other locations. Augmented reality passthrough with hand tracking projects results onto real prototypes, making design reviews faster and far more intuitive.

The licensing model is designed to grow with your computing resources, so adding cores or GPUs does not force you to rethink your whole setup. Talk to Simutron about the option that fits your team size, hardware and simulation volume.

The CPU solver technology has been ported directly to GPU, so results stay consistent whichever hardware you use and you can switch freely between the two. GPU support covers multiphase VOF and MMP, combustion chemistry and rotorcraft virtual disk models, runs on AMD GPUs under Windows as well as other supported hardware, and scales more efficiently across multiple GPUs. Built-in energy reporting also shows how much power each simulation uses.

Simcenter X™ runs Simcenter STAR-CCM+ on optimised Amazon Web Services (AWS) infrastructure with on-demand capacity, so you can absorb peak workloads without buying hardware or building cloud expertise in-house. Simcenter X Advanced adds one licence spanning CFD, mechanical, systems and multidisciplinary design analysis and optimisation (MDAO) tools.