Objective:

Learn how to create a material with specific properties. 

Applies to:

• Simulation
• Topology Optimization
• Creating FE Models

Procedure:

There are three options for materials in nTop, Isotropic, Orthotropic, or creating an Anisotropic material from a Unit Cell Homogenization. Isotropic materials have the same properties in every direction, whereas orthotropic materials have properties that vary in three directions. An example of an orthotropic material is wood and an example of an isotropic material is steel. 

nTop also has a selection of sample materials under the Design Analysis section in the Ribbon. 

1. Figure out if your material is isotropic or orthotropic and add the correct block. In this example, we are going to be building Inconel 625, an isotropic material. 

• • Add an Isotropic Material block.

2. Determine which properties you want to use:

• • Linear Elastic Property
    • Young's modulus
    • Poisson's Ratio
  • Thermal Expansion Property
    • Alpha
  • Thermal Property
    • Conductivity
    • Specific heat

3. Add the Property blocks to the Isotropic Material Property List. Use the '+' to add more inputs to the list. 

• • Add in the Linear Elastic Property
  • Add the Isotropic Thermal Property

4. Add the values for each input to create the material. 

If you are going to be using a material quite often, we recommend creating the material in a standalone Notebook and saving it as a Custom block with no inputs. 

And that’s it! You’ve successfully created a material. 

Are you still having issues? Contact the support team, and we’ll be happy to help!

Download the Example file:

• Example file

More on this topic:

• How to create an FE Model with multiple materials
• How to run a thermal analysis
• How to create an FE Model