What’s New in Simcenter STAR‑CCM+ 2205: Your Guide to the Latest CFD Enhancements 🚀

Mikala O'Connor
Jun 26
2 min read

From smarter meshing, faster multiphysics solvers, and streamlined workflows. Here’s a breakdown of the key enhancements in Simcenter Star CCM+ 2205 and how they boost CFD productivity.

Virtual Body Motion for Moving Objects

Traditionally, moving-body simulations relied on overset meshes—two overlapping grids that can be tricky to configure. With the Virtual Body feature (introduced in 2502), STAR‑CCM+ uses a single background mesh alongside virtual object definitions. This simplifies setup, improves stability in tight-gap scenarios (like bottle-filling or paint-dipping), and enhances scalability

Impact: Easier, more stable moving-body CFD simulations with less manual work setting up meshes.

Boundary Interface Caching

Sliding mesh setups—common in turbomachinery and mixers—can suffer from performance bottlenecks due to interface recalculations at every time step. The new Boundary Interface Caching Strategy solves this by caching mesh interface data and reusing it across timesteps

Impact: Significant speedups in rotating‑body and transient simulations on both CPU and GPU.

Stages Workflow for Multi‑Stage Simulations

Complex simulations often span multiple regimes—like steady to transient or rotating to non-rotating states. The Stages feature lets you break setups into discrete stages with distinct models, all within a user-friendly interface—no scripting required

Impact: Faster, safer, and more flexible handling of multi-stage simulations, including aeroelastic and turbomachinery workflows.

Smoothed-Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) & Complex Fluid Models

STAR‑CCM+ continues to refine its meshing techniques and solver reach. While SPH and enhanced non-Newtonian fluid models appeared in versions post-2205, the meshing efficiency groundwork for these capabilities was laid earlier

Impact: Improved support for complex fluid behaviors (like suspensions, emulsions, yields) and faster mesh generation for sophisticated CFD cases.

GPU-Accelerated Thermal & Aerodynamics Solvers

The 2200 series saw the arrival of GPU-enabled solvers for thermal management and aerodynamics. STAR‑CCM+ now offers both CPU and GPU-native solvers for Vehicle Thermal Management (VTM) and sliding mesh analysis, with consistent accuracy across platforms .

Impact: Dramatic speed gains—in some cases more than 30%—by leveraging affordable GPU hardware to process complex multiphysics simulations faster.

Bottom Line: What 2205 Delivered!

🚗 Faster simulations of rotating/moving parts through cached interfaces and single‑mesh motion methods
🛠️ Cleaner setup with no-code staged workflows for multi‑physics scenarios
💡 Greater solver power, including GPU integration and advanced fluids capabilities
📈 Direct productivity boost, especially for turbulent, transient, and multi-stage CFD analyses