Simcenter STAR-CCM+ Don’t like the default simulation tree? Create your own custom one!

Summary

Do you find the simulation tree in Simcenter STAR-CCM+ illogical? Are there a lot of features you seldom use? Maybe you have a template setup where you only change a few things between runs? If this is the case a custom simulation tree might be what you are looking for. This feature has been available in STAR-CCM+ for a while but can be tricky to find.

Details

The simulation tree in Simcenter STAR-CCM+ is where everything happens, it´s where you define your geometry, where you set up your mesh, define boundary conditions and set up post processing. It is long, deep and packed with features. But, at times it can also be quite overwhelming. Expand a few nodes and the scroll wheel on your mouse becomes your best friend.

Note that the simulation tree includes everything that STAR-CCM+ can offer, but just because you want to cook pasta for dinner doesn’t make you bring out all your kitchen utensils. You take out what you need.

This is where the custom simulation tree comes in play. Click the figure in the top right corner of the simulation tree window and select “New Custom Tree”.
 

A window appears next to your default simulation tree. Now drag nodes from the default tree to your custom one. Note that you can drag any “level” of the tree into your new one, it does not matter whether it is the top node such as “Regions” or if it is a leaf node deep down in the tree such as “Velocity Magnitude” as in a velocity inlet boundary condition.
 

You can create how many custom trees as you want, and they can both be found under the button in the top right corner as well as under Tools in the simulation tree. Now you can name them according to the operation you are currently working on (geometry setup, Solver setup, Post Processing etc.).

If you have created your custom tree or trees you might not need the default one. Then go to the top right button and select your preferred custom tree as “Initial Tree View”.

 This makes it appear as a tab between the “Simulation” and “Scene/Plot” tabs and you can close the extra custom tree window and access it in the original simulation tree window.