{"id":31686,"date":"2021-10-26T17:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-10-26T21:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/simcenter\/?p=31686&#038;preview=true&#038;preview_id=31686"},"modified":"2026-03-26T06:49:35","modified_gmt":"2026-03-26T10:49:35","slug":"simcenter-star-ccm-2021-3-released-whats-new","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/simcenter\/simcenter-star-ccm-2021-3-released-whats-new\/","title":{"rendered":"Simcenter STAR-CCM+ 2021.3 Released! What&#8217;s new?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed aligncenter is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"WHAT\u2019S NEW Simcenter STAR-CCM+ 2021.3 #WhatsNewSimcenter #SimcenterCFD\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/rgqwBzdgiuo?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Batteries that are reliable, yet more powerful. Airplanes that are faster, yet more efficient. Heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems that are comforting, yet greener. Structures that are lighter, yet more stable. Turbomachines that are powerful, yet cleaner. More than ever, engineers need to turn the complexity of their products into a competitive advantage. In this race for faster innovation, simulation is the key to success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Simcenter STAR-CCM+ 2021.3 delivers a host of exciting new features and enhancements to help you further streamline your simulation workflows and increase their fidelity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-background has-large-font-size\" style=\"color:#ffffff;background-color:#009999\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/support.sw.siemens.com\/en-US\/product\/226870983\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">To download Simcenter STAR-CCM+ 2021.3, please visit the Support Center<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:58px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-color\" style=\"color:#009999\">Faster,\u202fintegrated setup&nbsp;for battery electro-thermal analysis <\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>In the\u202fhighly\u202fcompetitive\u202fvehicle electrification\u202fmarket, simulation turnaround time is critical. With the\u202fnew batteries workflow, you can now perform electro-thermal simulations of battery packs entirely within Simcenter STAR-CCM+, dramatically shortening model preparation time and increasing productivity. The workflow also leverages a new equivalent circuit model, fully configurable within Simcenter STAR-CCM+ and enabling 10 times faster electro-thermal simulations while providing high fidelity prediction of heat losses and electrical behavior.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-video aligncenter\"><video controls poster=\"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/10\/SimcenterBatteriesFastChargeCFD_CCMCellTemp.png\" src=\"https:\/\/videos.mentor-cdn.com\/mgc\/videos\/5400\/f4f76dff-24dc-4824-a7ae-d70499c363a0-en-US-video.mp4\"><\/video><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The new workflow for battery electro-thermal simulations allows for significantly improved simulation setup times<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-background\" style=\"color:#ffffff;background-color:#009999\"><b><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/simcenter\/battery-pack-thermal-simulation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Learn more about the new battery electro-thermal <\/a><\/b><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/simcenter\/battery-pack-thermal-simulation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">simulation workflow in Simcenter STAR-CCM+<\/a>  <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-css-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:58px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-color\" style=\"color:#009999\">Faster bulk material simulations with the meshfree Discrete Element Method<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Fluid flow can\u202foften be\u202fneglected when you simulate\u202fbulk materials for heavy equipment and process industry applications. With the meshfree DEM approach in 2021.3, geometries no longer need to be watertight and there is no need to create volume meshes or use overset meshing technology for such cases. This saves you lots of valuable engineering time and significantly reduces time to solution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-video aligncenter\"><video controls poster=\"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/10\/PM-554_GeneralExtruderMeshFree_2021.3_1920x1080_v2.png\" src=\"https:\/\/videos.mentor-cdn.com\/mgc\/videos\/5400\/fc678690-3101-4ba5-95ed-25205a12012f-en-US-video.mp4\"><\/video><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Meshfree DEM simulation of a twin extruder<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-background\" style=\"color:#ffffff;background-color:#009999\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/simcenter\/meshfree-dem-pragmatic-engineering\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Explore how to unlock the potential of the meshfree discrete element method (DEM)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-css-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:58px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-color\" style=\"color:#009999\"><strong><strong>Faster\u202fmesh\u202fgeneration for aerodynamics simulation<\/strong>s<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>External\u202faerodynamics simulations require high-quality near-wall meshes to capture turbulent flows in and around complex geometries. Simcenter STAR-CCM+ 2021.3 delivers a brand-new capability to generate\u202fanisotropic\u202fsurface meshes with the\u202fpolyhedral\u202fand advancing\u202flayer\u202fmeshers (ALM), ensuring an optimized mesh distribution and refinement on wings, fins, propellers, and rotor blades while delivering a reduction in overall cell count of up to 70%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-video aligncenter\"><video controls poster=\"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/10\/Anisotropic-Meshing-on-a-Wing.png\" src=\"https:\/\/videos.mentor-cdn.com\/mgc\/videos\/5400\/e8e2bd3f-c3d4-48a0-a12c-f3dedb825f22-en-US-video.mp4\"><\/video><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Generation of an anisotropic surface mesh on an airplane body<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>But we did not just stop there. Simcenter STAR-CCM+ 2021.3 now also generates the polyhedral advancing layer bulk mesh in parallel to further accelerate the meshing process. Together\u202fthese meshing enhancements allow you to better capture the complexity of external aerodynamics while speeding up your simulations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-background\" style=\"color:#ffffff;background-color:#009999\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/simcenter\/why-anisotropic-meshing-increases-your-happiness\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Find out how to speed up aerodynamics simulations with anisotropic meshing and parallel ALM<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-css-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:58px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-color\" style=\"color:#009999\">Increased realism for HVAC aeroacoustics&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Today&#8217;s end customers are more sensitive to thermal and acoustic ride comfort than ever before. With Simcenter STAR-CCM+ 2021.3, we introduce a new method for hybrid aeroacoustics simulations\u202fof HVAC systems\u202fusing\u202fthe\u202fLighthill wave model. The new approach is\u202fless sensitive to mesh refinement and solver settings, making it easier and faster to produce more consistent\u202fand reliable\u202fresults for designing low noise HVAC systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-video aligncenter\"><video controls poster=\"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/10\/HVAC_Aeroacoustics_Lighthigh-Wave-Model.png\" src=\"https:\/\/videos.mentor-cdn.com\/mgc\/videos\/5400\/6985c1cd-505e-4282-a3d8-614950fcb917-en-US-video.mp4\"><\/video><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Reliable aeroacoustic simulation of an HVAC duct using the new Lighhill wave model<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-background\" style=\"color:#ffffff;background-color:#009999\"><b><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/simcenter\/aeroacoustics-cfd-lighthill-wave-model\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">R<\/a><\/b><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/simcenter\/aeroacoustics-cfd-lighthill-wave-model\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">ead more about how to increase the fidelity and consistency of your HVAC aeroacoustic simulations<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-css-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:58px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-color\" style=\"color:#009999\">Quickly and accurately predict&nbsp;structural vibration&nbsp;modes&nbsp;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Selecting a time step size for&nbsp;transient structural analysis&nbsp;with confidence&nbsp;requires knowledge of the&nbsp;natural&nbsp;vibration modes.&nbsp;Simcenter&nbsp;STAR-CCM+ can now extract vibration mode shapes and frequencies both&nbsp;for&nbsp;the unstressed initial configuration of a structure as well as during the simulation&nbsp;of the stressed structure. The eigenvalue analysis for normal modes in the modal analysis for solid mechanics enables you to ensure that complex transient structural vibration is correctly captured&nbsp;without relying on other structural analysis tools.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-video\"><video controls poster=\"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/10\/Eigenvalues-Modal-Analysis.png\" src=\"https:\/\/videos.mentor-cdn.com\/mgc\/videos\/5400\/a6e845fc-bed0-42b7-a25a-ee21756fc18d-en-US-video.mp4\"><\/video><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Enhanced insights into structural simulation of a wing through Eigenvalue analysis for normal modes<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-background\" style=\"color:#ffffff;background-color:#009999\"><b><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/simcenter\/exciting-days\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Find out more about fluid-struture interaction simulation in Simcenter STAR-CCM+<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-css-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:58px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-color\" style=\"color:#009999\">Get&nbsp;insights into turbine performance faster and more easily<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>One of the challenges in developing gas turbines is in making meaningful comparisons between&nbsp;design candidates. With the internal flow being highly complex, circumferential averaging is essential&nbsp;for&nbsp;characterizing&nbsp;the overall behavior of the machine.&nbsp;The latest release of&nbsp;Simcenter&nbsp;STAR-CCM+&nbsp;brings&nbsp;new tools to make design-to-design comparisons easier, removing the need for custom field functions when creating&nbsp;x-y plots of averaged flow parameters.&nbsp;This will enable you to gain insights faster and more easily than before,&nbsp;thanks to an improved workflow and faster averaging of results.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-video\"><video controls poster=\"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/10\/Turbo1Daverage.png\" src=\"https:\/\/videos.mentor-cdn.com\/mgc\/videos\/5400\/5e183ceb-0116-4fdc-bc44-87e488953c7e-en-US-video.mp4\"><\/video><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">1D averaging the 3D solution on a plane or surface from a turbomachinery simulation<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-background\" style=\"color:#ffffff;background-color:#009999\"><b><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/simcenter\/gas-turbine-cfd-driving-innovation-with-data-and-insight\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Explore more capabilities to gain insights into turbomachinery performance with Simcenter STAR-CCM+<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-css-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:58px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-color\" style=\"color:#009999\">&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>These are just a few of the new features in&nbsp;Simcenter&nbsp;STAR-CCM+ 2021.3 that help you model the complexity of today&#8217;s products&nbsp;with more ease and faster than ever.&nbsp;Leverage&nbsp;Simcenter&nbsp;STAR-CCM+ to innovate&nbsp;today,&nbsp;for a better tomorrow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-background has-large-font-size\" style=\"color:#ffffff;background-color:#009999\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/support.sw.siemens.com\/en-US\/product\/226870983\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">For more information on all the new features or to download Simcenter STAR-CCM+ 2021.3, please visit the Support Center<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-vivid-cyan-blue-color has-text-color\"><strong>Crowd-sourcing innovation for outstanding CFD software<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Also, we invite you to our new Ideas platform allowing Simcenter STAR-CCM+ users around the globe to help shape the future direction of the software. \u201cIdeas\u201d allows you to suggest, vote, and comment on ideas to improve Simcenter STAR-CCM+.&nbsp;This will ensure a continuous stream of new features and enhancements that match your demands and enable you to achieve your engineering goals.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"462\" height=\"500\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/06\/Community_Ideas_Small.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-28894\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-vivid-cyan-blue-background-color has-text-color has-background\" style=\"color:#ffffff\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/simcenter\/cfd-software-development-with-a-little-help-from-my-friends\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Find out more about the new home for your ideas and submit them today to improve Simcenter STAR-CCM+<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-css-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:58px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-background has-large-font-size\" style=\"color:#ffffff;background-color:#000029\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.plm.automation.siemens.com\/global\/en\/account\/sign-up.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>Don&#8217;t want to miss out on any updates and the latest news on Simcenter STAR-CCM+<\/strong>? <strong>Sign up for our newsletter<\/strong>!<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.g2.com\/products\/simcenter-star-ccm\/reviews?utm_source=review-widget\" title=\"Read reviews of Simcenter STAR-CCM+ on G2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"full-width\" style=\"max-width: 200px\" alt=\"Read Simcenter STAR-CCM+ reviews on G2\" src=\"https:\/\/www.g2.com\/products\/simcenter-star-ccm\/widgets\/stars?color=gray&amp;type=read\" \/><\/a><script>(function(a,b,c,d){window.fetch(\"https:\/\/www.g2.com\/products\/simcenter-star-ccm\/rating_schema.json\").then(e=>e.json()).then(f=>{c=a.createElement(b);c.type=\"application\/ld+json\";c.text=JSON.stringify(f);d=a.getElementsByTagName(b)[0];d.parentNode.insertBefore(c,d);});})(document,\"script\");<\/script>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Simcenter STAR-CCM+ 2021.3 delivers exciting new features and enhancements to further streamline your simulation workflows and increase their fidelity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14176,"featured_media":31800,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spanish_translation":"","french_translation":"","german_translation":"","italian_translation":"","polish_translation":"","japanese_translation":"","chinese_translation":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1,179],"tags":[242],"industry":[],"product":[513],"coauthors":[714],"class_list":["post-31686","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-product-updates","tag-computational-fluid-dynamics-cfd","product-simcenter-star-ccm"],"featured_image_url":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2021\/10\/Simcenter-STAR-CCM-2021.3_rev3.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/simcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31686","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/simcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/simcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/simcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14176"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/simcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31686"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/simcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31686\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":70423,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/simcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31686\/revisions\/70423"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/simcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31800"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/simcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31686"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/simcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31686"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/simcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31686"},{"taxonomy":"industry","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/simcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/industry?post=31686"},{"taxonomy":"product","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/simcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product?post=31686"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/simcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=31686"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}