[dersi]

Hi,

Can anyone explain the real difference between the two software packages?
Is STAR-CD only/mainly used for ICE simulations or it has other advantageous capabilities over STAR-CCM+ which is must-use/preferred in some specific application design?

[dersi]

come on guys, somebody should know the difference?

[Pauli]

StarCD has a command line. StarCCM+ doesn't.

Your original statement is correct. CD-adapco now markets StarCD solely for in-cylinder simulation. StarCCM+ is marketed for everything else.

[dersi]

Thanks Pauli,

But has this marketing reduced its capabilities in other CFD modeling areas?

[kyle]

If you are not doing ICE, and you don't already know Pro-Star/Star-CD, then you almost certainly want Star-CCM+.

Not only does Pro-Star have a pretty steep learning curve, but the version they are selling now is a bastardized slapped-together hybrid of Pro-Star and Star-CCM+. Pro-Star 3.26 was the last good version.

I really do miss the command line though.

[Pauli]

Prostar/StarCD still has its full feature set - so it is a capable code. On the software evolution timeline, StarCCM+ now probably has more features - chimera grids, 6dof, etc. Prostar/StarCD may have a

As kyle pointed out, Prostar 3.26 was the last good version. If the current Prostar 4.xx GUI worked as well as the 3.26 GUI, I'd mesh in CCM+ & setup/solve/post with Prostar/StarCD. That would give me a command line & divorce me from the burden called java macros.

[olesen]

Originally Posted by dersi

Hi,

Can anyone explain the real difference between the two software packages?
Is STAR-CD only/mainly used for ICE simulations or it has other advantageous capabilities over STAR-CCM+ which is must-use/preferred in some specific application design?

For (compressible) flows with anisotropic porosities, I am still not convinced by STARCCM.

[dersi]

Originally Posted by Pauli

Prostar/StarCD still has its full feature set - so it is a capable code. On the software evolution timeline, StarCCM+ now probably has more features - chimera grids, 6dof, etc. Prostar/StarCD may have a

As kyle pointed out, Prostar 3.26 was the last good version. If the current Prostar 4.xx GUI worked as well as the 3.26 GUI, I'd mesh in CCM+ & setup/solve/post with Prostar/StarCD. That would give me a command line & divorce me from the burden called java macros.

And if STAR-CD has still got its full feature set, why has CD-adapco changed the marketing of its premier commercial CFD package toward only ICE Simulations or I'm missing sth here?

[kyle]

Essentially, Pro-Star/Star-CD is End Of Life. The only reason they are still offering it is Star-CCM+ does not have proper ICE capabilities yet. Once it does, expect them to stop marketing Star-CD completely.

This is really unfortunate in my opinion. For all its faults, Pro-Star was an incredibly flexible and powerful meshing suite. Star-CCM+ either removes or obscures so much of the control that users once had over the mesh. You can no longer build an efficient structured mesh when you geometry allows it. Everything now must pass through their rigid meshing 'pipeline'. Star-CCM+ meshing is effortless when it works, but nearly useless when you need to do something unusual.

That said, I would certainly not pay money for Star-CD in 2012. You are essentially buying a product that the company does not want to support and is no longer actively developing.

[dersi]

Originally Posted by kyle

Essentially, Pro-Star/Star-CD is End Of Life. The only reason they are still offering it is Star-CCM+ does not have proper ICE capabilities yet. Once it does, expect them to stop marketing Star-CD completely.

This is really unfortunate in my opinion. For all its faults, Pro-Star was an incredibly flexible and powerful meshing suite. Star-CCM+ either removes or obscures so much of the control that users once had over the mesh. You can no longer build an efficient structured mesh when you geometry allows it. Everything now must pass through their rigid meshing 'pipeline'. Star-CCM+ meshing is effortless when it works, but nearly useless when you need to do something unusual.

That said, I would certainly not pay money for Star-CD in 2012. You are essentially buying a product that the company does not want to support and is no longer actively developing.

Thanks kyle, that's what I was guessing and if the rigid meshing 'pipeline' you mentioned is really the case with STAR-CCM+, putting an end to STAR-CD seems to be certainly dissapointing.

[TMG]

Kyle I think you will be pleasantly surprised by the latest additions to STAR-CCM+ meshing. In particular, the directed meshing components are there to specifically address the short comings of automated meshing when you need or want a structured or layered mesh. It has many of the same features of pro-STAR (patches, extrusions), but they are much easier to use. This is an area that will be expanded on version by version.

[dersi]

Originally Posted by TMG

Kyle I think you will be pleasantly surprised by the latest additions to STAR-CCM+ meshing. In particular, the directed meshing components are there to specifically address the short comings of automated meshing when you need or want a structured or layered mesh. It has many of the same features of pro-STAR (patches, extrusions), but they are much easier to use. This is an area that will be expanded on version by version.

... and if you are going to do some ICE simulation, can you still use STAR-CCM+ apart from the improved/enhanced meshing features with its current release?

[TMG]

I don't understand the question. You can use whatever version of STAR-CCM+ you want for whatever it does. It doesn't have all specialized physics and mesh motion features that people typically need for complete ICE analyses. That's what STAR-CD has that STAR-CCM+ doesn't have.

[dersi]

Sorry if I wasn't clear enough, I was just asking if one can still use STAR-CCM+ as an ICE modeling tool which you already explained.