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option in the pull-down menu for Type in the Properties window.

There is no requirement to set the region Type to anything other than Fluid Region as it has no effect on the meshing operations. However, setting the type is a good reminder of what type of region each part of the domain is and what type of prism layer mesh should be allocated to this region. The region icon will also change to reflect the new type. We can now proceed and define the boundary surfaces for each region.

Dening the Boundaries

The CAD import resulted in one boundary per region. CAD information that will distinguish one boundary surface from another is stored as patches within STAR-CCM+. One of the easiest ways of splitting a boundary surface into constituent boundaries is using this patch information. The reason for splitting is that we need to identify the flow boundaries, plus the interface boundary that will be used to indicate which surface planes are common to both regions and will require a conformal mesh condition.

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Repeat the above operation for the other two boundary patches, using the names specified in the table. Press the Close button on the Boundary Patches dialog when done. The completed list of boundaries for the fluid region is shown below:

The original boundary for the fluid region (Boundary 1) is now composed of surfaces that belong solely to the interface plane between the fluid and solid regions. This will make the interface definition easier later on by having all the surfaces in one boundary. Next we will rename the original boundary and set the boundary types for each. Renaming and Setting the Fluid Boundary Types The following boundary types will be used for each boundary in the fluid region:
Boundary Name Boundary Type

Boundary 1 (Interface) Inlet

Wall Velocity Inlet

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button to apply it.

The boundary types can now be set. For the Interface boundary node, the default Wall condition is appropriate and does not need to be changed. To set the type for the Inlet boundary, do the following: Select the Inlet node in the simulation tree. Select the Velocity Inlet option in the pull-down menu for Type in the Properties window. Repeat the above operation for the remaining boundary nodes in the table. The completed list of boundaries is shown below:

We can now proceed to extract the boundaries for the solid region. Extracting the Solid Boundaries The solid boundaries will be extracted using the same method as used for the fluid ones.

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The completed list of boundaries for the solid region is shown below:

The original boundary for the solid region (Boundary 1) is now composed of surfaces that belong solely to the interface plane between the solid and fluid regions. Next we will rename the original boundary and set the boundary types for each. Renaming and Setting the Solid Boundary Types The following boundary types will be used for each boundary in the solid region:
Boundary Name Boundary Type

Boundary 1 (Interface) Inner cylinder wall Outer cylinder wall Symmetry

Wall Wall Wall Symmetry Plane

Rename the Boundary 1 boundary as previously done for the fluid region: Select the Solid body>Boundaries>Boundary 1 node in the simulation tree, right-click and select Rename from the pop-up menu.

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Two new interface nodes will appear in the simulation tree, one for each region, as shown below:

These two new nodes compose the two halves of the in-place internal boundary interface between the fluid and solid regions.

Selecting the Meshing Models

The surface remesher and the polyhedral volume mesher will be used for this example, along with the prism mesher so that we can generate prism layers next to the walls of the fluid region. The generation of prism layers next to solid region walls will be disabled. Right-click on the Continua>Mesh 1>Models node and select Select

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Setting the Reference Values

To view the global reference values required for the selected meshing models, open the Continua>Mesh 1>Reference Values node. The following mesh inputs will be listed:

The following parameters will be used for this meshing tutorial:

Reference Node Name Property Name Value

Base Size Number of Prism Layers Prism Layer Stretching Prism Layer Thickness>Absolute Size Surface Curvature Surface Growth Rate Surface Proximity Surface Proximity

Value

1.0 m (default) 1.5 (default) 2.0 mm 36 (default) 1.3 (default) 4.0 0.0 (default)

Number of Prism Layers 1 Prism Layer Stretching Value #Pts/circle Surface Growth Rate # Points in gap Search Floor

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In the Properties window, set Value to 2.0 mm.

Repeat this for the other nodes in the list using the values supplied in the table.

Including Prism Layers on the Interface

The generation of an in-place interface between the fluid and solid regions also created a new node in the Interfaces node in the simulation tree. This node can control the mesh conditions on either side of the interface. By default, the option to grow prism layers on either side of the interface is set to off. In our case, we want prism layers on the fluid side only, since there is no requirement to include layers for the solid material region. To achieve this, we will enable the prism layer generation option for the interface but disable the generation of layers on the region level for the solid body. Select the Interfaces>In-place 1>Mesh Conditions>Interface Prism Layer

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node and set the Customize Prism Mesh option to Disable.

The generation of prism layers for the boundaries in the solid region is now disabled. However, if you decided to specify custom values for a boundary belonging to this region then it would override the region level specification. There is no requirement to do this for this example.

Running the Surface Remesher

Since the surface remesher and volume mesher models have been selected in tandem then we could proceed and generate both meshes in one go. However, for training purposes, we will first generate the surface remesher mesh and view it before proceeding with the volume meshing. To do this, either: Press the toolbar; or (Generate Surface Mesh) button in the Mesh Generation

Select Mesh>Generate Surface Mesh from the pull-down menu on the

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Manifold Surface Wrapping Tutorial

This tutorial demonstrates how to use the surface wrapper to extract the internal fluid surface from a collection of parts representing an intake manifold assembly. The wrapper is run several times in order to present the general iterative nature of the tool when dealing with new or unfamiliar geometries. With each iteration, additional features and options are included in order to better improve the overall fidelity of the resultant wrapped surface. With experience, the user can utilize the wrapper and get the desired result in one or two iterations on geometries that they are familiar with. The geometry used in the tutorial is shown below.

The manifold assembly is composed of several parts, including the main body, mounting struts, air-flow sensor, control valve and directional flow baffles. Most parts are in their original CAD form and have not yet been prepared to be used for a CCM or CFD type of analysis. One approach for preparing the geometry would be to do a lot of manual or hand fixing to remove unwanted surfaces and stitch together remaining ones to form a closed volume geometry. For a simple case with only a few parts this is sometimes a realistic solution. However, as the number of parts and overall complexity increases, manual repair becomes inefficient, if not

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The surface wrapper can be a very fast and efficient process of extracting both internal and external surfaces from CAD type geometries. The wrapper model has a wide range of options to deal with different starting scenarios, not all of which need to be used for a specific case. In this respect, successful use of the wrapper is (initially) somewhat of a black art due to the holistic approach taken and the numerous paths available. For example, tweaking some of the basic input values to deal with a particular feature can sometime have a big effect on the overall result. Repeated use of the wrapper however will build up a wealth of experience which can be transferred from one case to another and provide the user with a robust approach to solving surface preparation problems.

Objectives
The general objectives of this tutorial are: Perform an internal surface wrap on an industrial type assembly starting from CAD parts. Highlight best practises for wrapping and provide guidelines on how to identify issues and resolve them using the surface wrapper tools. Provide alternative methods for dealing with certain issues. Provide a general methodology for tackling cases that require the surface wrapper to be used. Demonstrate the robustness and efficiency of the surface wrapper within STAR-CCM+. Specific tasks that are undertaken include: Importing multiple CAD files and combining regions. How to use the fill polygonal patch option to cap open boundaries. Setting the wrapper properties and reference values. How to use the leak detection tool. How and when to implement contact prevention. Surface refinement for a boundary. It is assumed that the user has a general knowledge of STAR-CCM+ already and has completed the earlier two meshing tutorial examples.

Importing the CAD Parts

Create a sub-directory for the tutorial called manifoldWrap. Copy the tutorial Parasolid Transmit files (which contains the geometry definition)

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Use the mouse buttons to rotate the model so that viewing direction shown below is seen:

The tessellation density is sufficient in this case for the surface wrapper to be used and still extract a reasonably good surface definition.

Combining Regions and Identifying Important Boundaries

The import process created 11 new regions, labelled Body 1 through Body 11. These can be seen by opening the Regions node in the simulation tree. The current surface wrapper implementation works only on one region at a time so the individual regions must be combined before proceeding. In the Regions node, select Body 1 through Body 11, right-click and select

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Repeat the above process for the other boundaries listed in the table. The completed list of updated boundaries is shown below:

Note that you can right-click on the Boundaries node and select Refresh to re-sort the list alphabetically.

Activating the Wrapper Model

The next step after organizing the boundaries is to close or cap off any open boundaries or large holes in the surface so that the wrapper can determine what pertains to be inside the geometry and what is outside. Not all holes need to be closed at this time as the wrapping process can naturally close holes that are of approximately the same order as the specified target size for the surface. To assist with the hole detection process, we will activate the surface wrapper model now and specify initial surface sizes so that the leak detector can be invoked to check for any holes we may have missed. The leak detection tool also contains a sub-set of the surface repair tools, which we can use initially to close the gaps in the model. Right-click on the Continua > Mesh 1 > Models node and select

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Setting the Initial Reference Values

For the leak detector to be used, some initial first guess reference values need to be specified for the surface minimum and target sizes. We will use relative size specification for this tutorial, using a base size of 0.1 m, which is approximately the width of the main manifold body. Select the Continua > Mesh 1 > Reference Values > Base Size node. Set the base size Value in the Properties window to be 0.1 m. The above setting is shown below:

The surface minimum and target size can be set next based on the base size value. As initial guesses, we will take use one tenth of the base size for the target size and half of this value for the minimum size. Select the Reference Values > Surface Size > Relative Minimum Size node. Set the Percentage of Base value to be 5.0 (equivalent to 5 mm).

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surface without having to visit each value in turn. The default value of 100.0% means that the original values are applied without alteration.

Decreasing the Percentage value will increase the resultant triangulation density in the wrapped surface.

Capping the Geometry

As we are extracting the internal volume of the manifold, then a mostly watertight import surface must be supplied as a starting point. We can achieve this by capping-off the open inlet and outlet boundary areas in the manifold. The capping-off process does not need to be exact as small gaps and slits can be closed by the wrapping process itself. Two different tools are available to help close off holes, namely the polygonal patch fill and the hole filler. The polygonal patch filler is a quick and easy way of closing arbitrary shaped holes which may not have a closed loop definition and/or be planar. The process literally patches up the surface by creating faces that cover the hole area completely. The hole filler is a more exact method of filling well defined holes by using a closed loop

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The result of the hole fill on the outlet pipes is shown below:

All the major holes in the geometry are now closed so we can proceed to run the leak detector.

Running the Leak Detector

The surface wrapper is now ready to run and produce a wrapped surface based on the supplied reference values. As a pre-cursor to doing this, its sometimes a good idea to run the leak detection scheme prior to doing the first wrap so that any remaining holes that may have been missed during surface cleanup will come to light. Performing a leak detection before doing a wrap is possible as long as the appropriate Reference Values and model options are set. Using these settings, it is possible to construct the underlying octree matrix and detect whether holes larger than the wrapper surface sizes exist. If they do, then a leak will occur and the wrap will not proceed as expected. The source of the leak will be highlighted by the tool using a path from the interior source point to the exterior target point. Note that leaks are not desired because they cause an inversion in the wrapping process, which results in the incorrect volumes being wrapped. To perform a leak detection, do the following:

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Note that if a hole was detected then you should use the polygonal patch filler as described earlier to quickly patch the leak area as indicated by the tool. The leak detector can then be re-run by pressing the Recompute Template+Paths button again. Alternatively, the reference values and/or model options can be adjusted so that the wrapper closes any marginal holes itself. Press the Close button on the dialog to close the tool.

Removing the Feature Curves

Feature curves for the manifold assembly were created during the import process, based on a sharp edge angle of 30 degrees. The surface wrapping process however normally does not require feature curves in the starting surface as it will generate its own set of features based on the supplied Wrapper Feature Angle reference value (also 30 degrees by default). These new feature curves will supersede any coincident ones in the input surface, so the original ones should be deleted in this instance. Leaving the feature curves in could lead to double features being created very close together, resulting in artificial refinement areas for the wrapper. The reason for generating feature curves during the import process was so that they could be used during the hole filling process for surface repair. Note that feature curves pertaining to surface features on planar surface should be kept if the feature is to be retained in the wrapper result (as opposed to those representing edges). To delete the feature curves, do the following: Open the Regions > Body 1 > Feature Curves node, select all the feature curves (1 through 1 11), right-click and select Delete from the pop-up menu.

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Producing a Basic Wrap

By default, the surface wrapper will attempt to extract the largest internal volume from the region definition. This specification is made via the Regions > Body 1 > Mesh Conditions > Volume of Interest Specification, shown below:

The other options available are External, Seed Point and Nth Largest, each of which allow you to specify the eternal or specific internal volumes to be wrapped. The largest internal volume is the option we want for this case. The surface wrapper can now be run based on the initial settings supplied for the reference values: Press the toolbar; or (Generate Surface Mesh) button in the Mesh Generation

Select Mesh > Generate Surface Mesh from the pull-down menu on the main display. The output of the surface wrapper will be shown in the Output window and status shown in the status bar. When it is complete, the message Surface Wrapper Completed will appear. To view the result: Right-click in the current scene and select Apply Representation > Wrapped Surface.

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In a similar way, the channels in the valve were also defeatured since the feature size (approximately 2.5 mm wide) is much less than the target size. We would have to have a target size of the same order as the feature in order to capture this detail (this will be described later in this tutorial). We can easily improve on the first wrap result by tweaking the reference settings and including additional options to deal with feature specific issues. The remainder of this tutorial will concentrate on improving each geometry feature in turn, identifying the issue and the solution to rectify the problem. The following items will be covered: Improving the manifold body fidelity and curvature. Sensor definition. Capturing the channel details (if desired). Flange resolution. Valve area resolution in general. Baffle intersection and resolution.

Improving the Manifold Body Fidelity and Curvature

We will start by improving the general manifold body fidelity and curvature, which is controlled via the reference surface target and minimum size. Reducing both of these values will have a significant impact on the general model fidelity immediately: Set the Percentage of Base value in Continua > Mesh 1 > Reference Values > Surface Size > Relative Minimum Size to be 2.5 (2.5 mm). Set the Percentage of Base value in Reference Values > Surface Size > Relative Target Size to be 8.0 (8.0 mm). When changing the target size, it is sometimes prudent to re-run the leak detector to check that the specified surface sizes havent decreased such that holes that previously were automatically filled are now relatively large enough to allow a leak. In this case we will proceed and re-run the surface wrapper as before: Press the toolbar; or (Generate Surface Mesh) button in the Mesh Generation

Select Mesh > Generate Surface Mesh from the pull-down menu on the main display.

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Improving the Sensor Part Denition

The wrapped surface for the sensor area currently looks like this:

As can be seen, the sensor part is joined to the bottom surface of the manifold body, which is not desirable. This is happening because the clearance between the sensor and the base is approximately 2 mm, which is less than the current target surface size of 8 mm. In other words, the wrapper octree process is unable to detect or see the space between the two parts, since the triangle size it is using is much bigger than it. One obvious solution is to reduce the target size locally for both parts, but this would mean that the manifold base would have to be split into different boundaries, which may not be possible given the coarseness of the import surface. An easier solution, which does not involve splitting of boundaries, is the application of a contact prevention set to inform the wrapper that the two boundaries should not be joined together during wrapping. Additionally, a floor value is set to indicate the triangle size that should be used in the space between the two parts, which will determine the octree refinement in the area. A value smaller than the gap size will need to be used (typically one half or one quarter of the distance). Note however that, just because a search floor value has been set, doesnt guarantee that the two boundaries will not be joined. The floor value is simply a stopping size for

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Improving the Channels Denition

Based on the current reference target size of 8 mm, the three channels that exist in the manifold cross pipe have been defeatured. The location of the channels in the current wrap is shown below:

Depending on the requirements of the flow analysis, this may be a desirable result, as it simplifies the geometry without adversely affecting the flow solution. The defeaturing occurs as the channels themselves are approximately 2.5 mm wide and the octree triangles in this area are based on the target size, which means it cannot capture the detail. A localized target size on the order of the channel width will be required if we are to maintain this feature. To improve the resolution of the channel we must first separate them out into a different boundary so that boundary specific wrapper values can be applied. Since we are modifying the underlying boundary arrangement, we have to eliminate all but one of the surface representations. Since the wrapped surface is not complete yet, we will delete it and work on the original import representation. Clear away the wrapped surface to leave the original import representation by pressing the (Clear Generated Meshes) button. Click the Yes button in the Clear Generated Meshes dialog that appears.

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When the process is complete, right-click on the scene and select Apply Representation > Wrapped Surface in the pop-up menu. The scene will update the display with the new result.

As shown in the close-up above, the channels are now very well defined and have sharp edges in the circumferential direction.

Improving the Flange Denition

There are two sets of flanges in the manifold assembly, one between the inlet pipe and manifold body and the second between the cross-pipe and the manifold, which represent high curvature areas in close proximity to one another. The flange opposite parts are also not joined to one another.

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When the process is complete, STAR-CCM+ will update the display with the new result.

As shown in the close-up above, the flanges are now well defined and have a sharp edges in the circumferential direction.

Improving the Valve Denition

The surface size used for the valve geometry is reasonable but due to the proximity to the cross pipe surface, the surface wrapper defeatures the gap

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When the process is complete, STAR-CCM+ will update the display with the new result:

As can be seen, the valve is now well defined and does not intersect the side wall of the cross-pipe.

Improving the Bafe Denition

The baffles within the geometry are initially represented as intersecting surfaces which pass through the outlet pipes emerging from the manifold body. The surface wrapper can detect these surfaces and automatically inflate them, so that a small thickness is introduced into the shape of the

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Using the Built-in Wrapper Bafe Ination with Contact Prevention To improve the surface definition using the default built-in wrapper baffle inflation option depends simply on including a contact prevention set for the baffle boundaries (which determines the resulting inflation thickness) and increasing the surface triangulation on the baffles themselves. This is similar to the technique outlined earlier in the tutorial for improving the sensor definition. An alternative method also exists for including thin baffles which will be explained here but not presented in detail. If no inflation is required for the baffle surface, then you should delete (or even better, dont import in the first place) the baffle parts and proceed with the wrapping process as explained up until this portion of the tutorial. In other words, perform a surface wrap without the baffle boundaries existing. Then, import the baffle surfaces (which will create a new region) and combine this new region back with the original one which is already wrapped. Next, use the boundary intersection process to intersect the baffles with the wrapped surface and use the manual surface repair tool to delete any superfluous faces that are exterior to the geometry. Finally, convert the baffle boundaries to interfaces. The surface is now ready to be used as the starting point for the surface remeshing step of the process, which will result in a high quality, zero thickness interior wall being created for the baffles. To continue and use the surface wrapper to perform the baffle inflation, follow the instructions below. A single group contact prevention can be used in this instance, since the baffles all belong to one boundary and the manifold body to another. A small search floor value will need to be used due to curvature occurring in two different directions at the intersection of the baffles and manifold pipes. The search floor will also have some influence over the thickness used for the baffle inflation. Right-click on Regions > Body 1 > Mesh Values > Contact Prevention and

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A close up of the baffle intersection area is shown below:

Using the Offset Tool to Inate the Bafes Manually The surface preparation offset tool can be used to manually inflate surfaces so that they have a thickness associated with them. The inflation can take place in any specified direction and can be done on more than one boundary at a time. By inflating the surfaces, the wrapper can then more easily deal with the resultant closed body shape and incorporate the feature as part of the final surface while maintaining a good definition. The baffle inflation will be performed directly on the import surface. The current wrapped surface representation is not needed so for this reason it will be deleted to simplify the process: Clear away the wrapped surface to leave the original import representation by pressing the (Clear Generated Meshes) button. Click the Yes button in the Clear Generated Meshes dialog that appears. The current scene display will show the imported surface. The surface preparation tools can now be accessed: Right-click on the Representations > Import node and select

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A close up of the baffle intersection areas is shown below:

In this instance, the wrapper has incorporated the inflated body into the main geometry and left a well defined void to represent the baffle.

What To Do Next
The surface wrapper always provides a closed surface definition. If the features of interest have been adequately captured by the wrapping process then the next step is to improve the overall quality of the triangulation so that a volume mesh can be made. This can be done by using the surface remesher model. As a starting point, the same surface sizes as used for the wrapper can be used for the remesher, but some boundaries may require different sizes in order to optimize the triangulation for the volume meshing process. To change boundary or reference sizes without invoking the surface wrapper again, it is necessary to break the pipeline and both remove the surface wrapper model and delete the original surface import representation. This way, the wrapped surface becomes the starting point for the surface remeshing process.

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