Preform element (3D) - Preform Properties dialog

The Preform Properties tab of the Preform element (3D) dialog is used to specify the properties of the preform elements.

To access this dialog, select the preform elements on your model, click (Geometry tab > Properties panel > Edit), or right-click and select Properties, then select the Preform Properties tab.

Dialog elements

Widget	Explanation
Preform (3D)	Enables you to specify the preform (fiber mat) material. If you need to make changes to an existing preform, select the preform and then click Edit.
Preform Orientation (1st principal direction)	Specify the orientation of the fiber mat preform in the 1st principal direction, in global coordinates. For example: Along the x-axis: dx=1, dy=0 dz=0. Along the y-axis: dx=0, dy=1, dz=0. 45° from the x and y-axes: dx=1, dy=1 and dz=0.
Preform Orientation (2nd principal direction)	Specify the principal direction 1 of the fiber mat preform in global coordinates. For example: Along the x-axis: dx=1, dy=0 dz=0. Along the y-axis: dx=0, dy=1, dz=0. 45° from the x and y-axes: dx=1, dy=1 and dz=0. Note: The orientation in the 3rd principal direction is calculated from the values you enter for the 1st and 2nd principal directions.
Adjust preform orientation to follow along the local surface	Enables you to change the preform orientation, automatically, to follow along the part surface. This option is selected by default.
Adjust porosity and permeability with local thickness	A cavity with varying thickness, but reinforced with the same preform, can result in different porosity, and, therefore, permeability. To deal with this situation, the solver can change the local values of porosity and permeability based on the local part thickness and the reference thickness, when this option is checked. By default, this option is off.