Getting Started Guide - CFD Modeling using STAR CCM+

Welcome to the course on “CFD Modeling using STAR CCM+”. As you have just begun this course, here is a short document which will guide you on how to proceed with this course. This course could be typically finished in 6 weeks. Below is a week by week planner which will help you to get the best out of this course!!

If you have any queries during any of the lecture, feel free to contact me on mytutor@learncax.com. You can also schedule a live WebEx/Skype sessions with me to resolve your queries.

This is the overall plan designed based on my experience with previous students. The timelines are rough estimation about how much time is necessary for this course. This does not mean that you should complete your course in given timeline only. The idea is to get correct knowledge of the subject. So do not hesitate to modify this plan and extend the timeline if necessary. It is also assumed that you are not going to have any long break in-between the course. I also suggest you not to do this as you may need to repeat few lessons in that case.

Also please note that as this is among the latest course offering by LearnCAx, the course content is updated continuously based on feedback from Students and recommendations by Tutors.  Due to this you may see some content being modified or added in your course profile throughout your course duration. When you activate your course first 3 weeks content will be displayed on your learning management system. After three weeks, each weeks content will be upgraded on weekly basis. 

Week 1

Following are the tasks you can try to achieve in the first week. The main objective is to get familiar with our Learning Management System (LMS) and to get and overview of what CFD is?

  • Get yourself familiar with LearnCAx LMS 
  • Read the course guide 
  • Watch & Understand the Introduction to CFD lecture videos 
  • Solve the Unit Test -1 
  • Solve the Unit Test -2 

Week 2

The objective of second week of learning is to complete CFD foundation module. After completing this module you would have good understanding of CFD and three important steps in CFD viz. pre-processing, solution and post-processing. 

Also this second week’s module is based on fundamentals of CFD. It is a general purpose theory module which is designed for multiple software studies including STAR CCM+, Ansys Fluent and Ansys CFX. The fundamentals remain the same irrespective of any software you use based on finite volume method. Hence please do not be confused if you find reference to other software like Ansys Fluent or Ansys ICEM CFD during this week’s video content. As compared to first week, these are bit heavy target to keep, but I believe that you have already accelerated your learning process.

  • Watch & Understand the CFD equations and numerical solutions lecture videos
  • Watch & Understand the Finite Volume Method lecture videos
  • Email us your queries if any
  • Opt for an optional Webex/Skype video conferencing session to resolve your queries. 

Week 3

The objective of this week is to develop understanding and expertise in geometry creation and modification process using STAR CCM+. The aim of this week is to teach you how to create CAD model for CFD. Before starting geometry you will also get instructions on how to install STAR CCM+ software at your end for practice. In this week you will also familiarize yourself with the overall CFD analysis workflow within the software STAR CCM+. It is expected that you start the geometry assignments which I will provide to you at start of this week. It is also recommended that you practice the general purpose tutorials from CD Adapco. By the end of this week you are expected to gain expertise in handling geometry creation and modification in STAR CCM+ and prepare your own CAD model for CFD. 

  • Watch & Understand STAR CCM+ training installation videos
  • Watch & Understand Introduction to STAR-CCM+ Workflow videos
  • Watch & Understand Geometry Modeling in STAR CCM+ videos
  • Start the 2D Sketching assignment
  • Start the 3D CAD assignment
  • Practice the introduction tutorial from CD Adapco
  • Practice the geometry tutorial from CD Adapco
  • Opt for an optional Webex/Skype video conferencing session to resolve your queries. Please inform us in advance for time slot.

Week 4

The main objective of week 4 is to gain expertise in mesh generation process using STAR CCM+. All videos during week 4 will be focused on teaching your different aspects of the mesh creation process. It is expected that your complete the mesh generation assignment which I will provide you at the start of this week. Also it is highly recommended that you practice the general purpose tutorials on meshing from CD Adapco. 

  • Watch & Understand STAR CCM+ Meshing videos
  • Practice the meshing assignment from CD Adapco
  • Start the meshing assignment
  • Email us your queries if any
  • Opt for an optional Webex/Skype video conferencing session to resolve your queries. Please inform us in advance for time slot.

Week 5

In this week you will learn the entire process of physics modeling using STAR CCM+. Laminar, turbulent flow and heat transfer modeling techniques will be taught to you during this week. You are expected to complete the CFD solution setup assignment as well as general purpose tutorial from CD Adapco during this week. Also you are recommended to start the course project during this week. I will send you all the necessary files for course project as well as assignments. By the end of this week you will become familiar with conceptualizing and solving your own CFD problem in STAR CCM+. 

  • Watch & Understand STAR CCM+ Physics modeling lecture videos
  • Practice the incompressible flow tutorial from CD Adapco
  • Start the CFD solution assignment
  • Start the course project
  • Email us your queries if any
  • Opt for an optional Webex/Skype video conferencing session to resolve your queries. Please inform us in advance for time slot.

Week 6

Most of the required basic learning is finished by end of Week 5. The week 6 is dedicated towards teaching you how to extract and present CFD result using various result analysis techniques in STAR CCM+. During this week you will also complete the course project and submit the project report to me for evaluation. 

  • Watch & Understand Analyzing results in STAR CCM+ lecture videos
  • Email us your queries if any
  • Opt for an optional Webex/Skype video conferencing session to resolve your queries. Please inform us in advance for time slot.
  • Submit through email a short report (word document or presentation or PDF) on the course project by end of this week
  • Certificate of course completion will be sent you via courier after evaluation of project and assignment reports submitted by you.

Course Closure

By the end of six weeks, you should submit the reports on course project. I will review the reports and if needed you may need to work for some more time to do the required modification.

After completion of the review process, your course coordinator will send you the course certificate.