Define temperature-dependent materials

This topic covers the procedure for adding temperature-dependent materials for use in simulation studies. You may want to use a temperature-dependent material for thermal and nonlinear simulations such as:

• Thermal
• Thermal stress
• Nonlinear static stress
• Quasi-static Event simulation
• Dynamic Event simulation

1. Click (Simulation workspace > Setup tab > Materials panel > Manage Physical Materials).

2. Choose an existing material from the Fusion Material Library, to use as a starting template for your temperature-dependent material. Click the arrow and pencil icon that appears at the right end of the line to add the material to the Favorites library and display the properties for editing.

3. Under the Identity tab in the right side of the expanded dialog, define the following properties:

   • Type in a suitable Description for the new material.
   • Choose an appropriate Type option from the pull-down list is different from the template material that you selected.
   • Optionally, define any other properties under this tab that you want to specify (Comments, Manufacturer, and so on).

4. Optionally, under the Appearance tab, revise any of the properties you want changed (Color, Reflectance, Translucency, and so on).

5. Click on the Physical tab. The Basic Properties are initially displayed. Only the Density value is relevant for temperature-dependent materials within thermal and nonlinear simulations. However, the other basic properties are required when using your temperature-dependent materials within linear, non-thermal simulations. In the latter case, the material properties are not temperature-dependent but constant.

6. Define the Basic material properties (Young's Modulus, Poisson's Ratio, Density, Thermal Expansion Coefficient, Specific Heat, and so on). Expand the Basic Thermal, Mechanical, and Strength settings groups as needed to access the various input fields.

7. Activate the Advanced Properties checkbox.

8. Click the Advanced Properties button, being careful not to click on the checkbox again, which would deactivate the Advanced Properties.

9. Ensure that the Material Model option is set to Isotropic.

10. From the Behavior drop-down list, choose Temperature Dependent. A set of tables appear for entering multiple values of each property versus temperature. Specify at least two data points for each table, being sure that the range of temperature data encompasses the full range of thermal results expected from the simulation. Be sure to keep temperature data points sorted into ascending order. You can right-click a row to delete it or insert a blank row.

    Specify temperature-dependent data points for the following properties:

    • Specific Heat
    • Thermal Conductivity
    • Thermal Expansion Coefficient
    • Young's Modulus (modulus of elasticity)
    • Poisson's Ratio
    • Yield Strength
    • Ultimate Tensile Strength

    Alternatively, you can click Show Plot to preview the curve and add data points by double-clicking in the display. Adjust data points by dragging the marker in the display or editing the numbers in the table.

    Note: The default material units are specified using the Material Unit Display drop-down menu in the Unit and Value Display group of the Preferences dialog. You cannot override the default units within the Advanced properties tables. To define material properties using different units, change the program preferences.

11. Click Apply to save the properties of your new material.

12. Optionally, perform one of the following two steps:

    • If you have created a Temperature-Dependent category within the Favorites library, click and drag your new material into the Temperature-Dependent group. The categories appear in the tree at the left side of the dialog immediately beneath the Favorites heading.

      Note: The material will continue to be listed in the top-level of the Favorites library, but the Category field will now identify it as Temperature-Dependent. To filter the list to display only temperature-dependent materials, select that category from the tree. This filtering technique applies to any other categories you might define for organizational purposes.

    • If you have created a custom user library for temperature-dependent materials, right click the material name among the listed materials in the Favorites library. Choose Add to > Temperature-Dependent Materials from the context menu. (Substitute the actual name of your library that appears, if different from the suggested library name).

Once you have created a temperature-dependent material definition, you apply it to a simulation in the same manner as for any type of material.