Simcenter STAR-CCM+ How to create a conformal and structured mesh in porous media

This article demonstrates a method for generating a conformal and structured mesh in porous media using directed mesh. The directed mesh was previously limited to meshing only CAD geometries, this limitation was rectified with Simcenter STAR-CCM+ V13.06. 

A similar process to what is demonstrated in this article can be followed with the extruded mesh. The directed mesher will be replaced by surface extruder + volume extruder; the rest of the process will remain the same. 

Steps-by-step Instructions:

1. Create a periodic contact between the surfaces interfacing the porous region in the inlet and outlet region. 
2. Set the periodic contact to have translational periodicity and set it to be a "Mesh Only Contact".
3. Generate a polyhedral mesh for the inlet and outlet region. This will initialize the periodic contact. 
4. The periodic contact ensures that we get a conformal mesh on the two surfaces with the periodic contact. 
5. Create a directed mesh for the porous region. Select "Use Existing Mesh" for the source mesh. This will extrude the mesh from the source surface. 

See also:
Getting Started with Directed Meshing
Walkthrough to Generate Conformal Interfaces on Both Sides of a Directed Mesh Region
How to create Internal Walls with the Directed Mesher
How can I create a directed mesh without a CAD part?
Creating a structured mesh using Directed Mesh and Pattern tool
Pre-Processing > Meshing > Directed Meshing