SOLIDWORKS Material Properties in Simulation
SOLIDWORKS Simulation uses material properties as the foundation to study designs. The default SOLIDWORKS material have many pre-defined material properties; however, users may need to define some of the material properties of default and custom materials before running a particular simulation study. For example, you may find that Mass Density and Yield Strength are pre- populated in a specific material but Specific Heat and Thermal Conductivity are not. The following document defines the custom material properties and the studies they are used in. Material Properties Dialogue Box You can create and edit custom materials, libraries and favorites from the materials dialogue box.
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Elastic Modulus The Elastic Modulus (Young’s Modulus) is the ratio of stress versus strain in the X, Y or Z directions. Elastic Moduli are used in static, nonlinear, frequency, dynamic, and buckling analyses.
Poisson's Ratio Poisson’s Ratio is the negative ratio between transverse and axial strain. Poisson’s ratios are dimensionless quantities. For isotropic materials, the Poisson’s ratios in all planes are equal. Poisson ratios are used in static, nonlinear, frequency, dynamic and buckling
Shear Modulus Shear Modulus (Modulus of Rigidity) is the ratio of shear stress to shear strain Shear Moduli are used in static, nonlinear, frequency, dynamic and buckling analyses.
Mass Density Mass Density is used in static, nonlinear, frequency, dynamic, buckling, and thermal analyses. Static and buckling analyses use this property only if you define body forces (gravity and/or centrifugal).
Tensile Strength Tensile Strength is the maximum that a material can withstand before stretching or breaking. Tensile Strength is used in pin bolt safety, fatigue, costing, factor of safety, linear static analysis, von Mises stress, Mohr-coulomb stress.
Compressive Strength Compressive Strength is the capacity of a material or structure to withstand loads reducing size. Compressive Strength is used in factor of safety, maximum von Mises, maximum shear stress, Mohr-Coulomb stress, Maximum Normal stress, Tsai-Hill Criterion, Tsai-Wu Criterion, max stress.
Yield Strength Yield Strength is the point at which the material will start to deform plastically. Yield Strength is used in pin bolt safety, fatigue, costing, factor of safety, linear static analysis, von Mises stress, Mohr-coulomb stress.
Thermal Expansion Coefficient The Coefficient of Thermal Expansion is defined as the change in length per unit length per one degree change in temperature. Coefficients of thermal expansion are used in static, frequency, and buckling analyses if thermal loading is used. Frequency analysis uses this property only if you consider the effect of loads on the frequencies (in-plane loading).
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Thermal Conductivity Thermal Conductivity is the efficiency in which material transfers heat energy by conduction. It is defined as the rate of heat transfer through a unit thickness of the material per unit temperature difference. The units of thermal conductivity are Btu/in sec oF in the English system and W/m K in the SI system. Thermal conductivity is used in steady state and transient thermal analyses.
Specific Heat Specific Heat of a material is the quantity of heat needed to raise the temperature of a unit mass of the material by one degree of temperature. The units of specific heat are Btu in/lbf oF in English system and J/kg K in the SI system. This property is used in transient thermal analysis.
Material Damping Ratio The material damping ratio allows the definition of damping as a material property. This property is used in dynamic analysis to calculate equivalent modal damping ratios.
Tangent Modulus Tangent modulus is the slope of the stress-strain curve at any specified stress or strain. Below the proportional limit the tangent modulus is equivalent to Young's modulus. Above the proportional limit the tangent modulus varies with strain and is most accurately found from test data. This property is used in determining the plasticity in the von Mises stress criterion.
Hardening Factor The Hardening Factor defines the proportion of kinematic and isotropic hardening. Used in the Tresca Model.
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Static Elastic Modulus, Shear Modulus, Poisson’s Ratio Coefficient of Thermal Expansion, Mass Density, Frequency Elastic Modulus, Shear Modulus, Poisson’s Ratio Coefficient of Thermal Expansion, Mass Density, Buckling Elastic Modulus, Shear Modulus, Poisson’s Ratio Coefficient of Thermal Expansion, Mass Density, Thermal Coefficient of Thermal Expansion, Mass Density, Thermal Conductivity, Specific Heat Design Elastic Modulus, Shear Modulus, Poisson’s Ratio Coefficient of Thermal Expansion, Mass Density, Factor of Safety Tensile Strength, Yield Strength, Compressive Strength NonLinear Elastic Modulus, Shear Modulus, Poisson’s Ratio Coefficient of Thermal Expansion, Mass Density, Linear Dynamic Elastic Modulus, Shear Modulus, Poisson’s Ratio Coefficient of Thermal Expansion, Mass Density, Material Damping Ratio Drop Tests Elastic Modulus, Shear Modulus, Poisson’s Ratio Coefficient of Thermal Expansion, Mass Density, Von Mises Criterion Tangent Modulus, Yield Strength, Compressive Strength, Tensile Strength, Mohr-coulomb Stress Criterion Yield Strength, Compressive Strength, Tensile Strength,
As always, if you have any further questions about SOLIDWORKS Material Properties or related issues, call or email GoEngineer Tech Support at 888-559-6167 or [email protected].
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