Materials and Devices

Materials are physical substances, and are the foundation of the Autodesk® CFD analysis. There are two distinct material types available in an analysis: fluids and solids.

Devices are models of physical devices, and include internal fans, centrifugal fans, resistances, check valves, rotating regions, Printed Circuit Boards, LEDs, Compact Thermal Models, Thermoelectric Coolers, Heat Exchangers, and Heat Sinks.

Materials and devices are assigned and created using the same processes and dialogs.

Work Flow

Each material type and device uses a slightly different workflow. The basic workflow is summarized as follows:

To assign a material with the quick edit dialog

1. Open the Material quick edit dialog. There are several methods:

   • Left click on the part, and click the Edit icon on the context toolbar.
   • Right click on the part, and click Edit...
   • Right click on the part name under the Materials branch of the Design Study bar, and click Edit....
   • Click Edit in the Materials context panel.

2. Select one or more parts.

3. Select the database from the Material DB Name menu.

4. Select the type from the Type menu.

5. Select the material from the Name menu.

6. Click Apply.

Optional: Indicate if properties vary, and specify the Environment conditions.

Alternative: Right click on a part, and select a material from the Favorites list.

Material Colors

Parts are colored by the applied material or device. The legend in the lower left corner indicates the color assigned to each material.

Material colors are automatically assigned, and can be changed on the Material Editor. To change the color of a material:

• Click Edit on the Material quick edit dialog to open the Material Editor.
• Click the Color Change... button.
• Select the color from the Select Color palette.

Colors are very useful for standardizing the appearance of materials in a material database.

To search for a material

If you cannot find a material on the quick edit dialog, open the Material Editor. (Click Edit... on the Material line.)

1. Click the List button to show the Material list.
2. To search by name, type the first few letters in the Search field.
3. To refine the search, select attributes from the Type and Database menus.
4. When you have found the material, click its name in the list.
5. Click OK. The quick edit dialog displays the material.

To create a material from an existing material

The Default material database contains at least one instance of every material type. A convenient way to create a new material is to use a Default material as an example. Because these materials are read-only, use the Material Editor to copy the original into a custom database, and modify the copy.

1. To open the Material Editor, click Edit... on the Material line of the quick edit dialog. (Alternatively, click Material Editor from the Materials context panel.)
2. Click the List button.
3. Find the material in the list, and left click on it.
4. On the Properties tab, select a database from the Save to database menu.
5. Modify the properties as needed, and optionally, specify a new name.
6. Optionally, click Save.
7. Click OK. The quick edit dialog displays the material.

To create a new material

In some cases, it is easier to create a new material instead of modifying an existing one.

1. To open the Material Editor, click Edit on the Material line of the quick edit dialog. (Alternatively, click Material Editor from the Materials context panel.)
2. Click the List button.
3. Right click on a custom database, and select New material. Select the material type.
4. Specify a name and enter properties.
5. Optionally, click Save.
6. Click OK. The quick edit dialog displays the material.

To modify an assigned material

1. Select the part, and open the Material quick edit dialog.
2. Click Edit on the Material line to open the Material Editor.
3. If the material is in the Default database, copy the material to a custom database.
4. Modify the properties.
5. Optionally, click Save.
6. Click OK
7. Click Apply on the quick edit dialog.

Design Study Bar

All applied materials are listed on the Design Study bar. Use the material branches to modify part appearance, material settings, and to suppress parts from the model.

Default Material Assignment

The default Material setting for every part in a new Scenario is "Unassigned". This is not a valid material setting for an analysis, so all parts must be assigned a material prior to running.

The purpose of this is to make it obvious if a material assignment is lost after updating the geometry of a Design. Additionally, assigning materials with Rules on Parts is simplified because it is clear which parts have materials, and which do not.

Before a Scenario can be run, a material must be assigned to all parts. An error is given if one or more parts are unassigned when the analysis is started.

You can define a default material by setting up a Default Material Rule. Click here for more information.