SOLIDWORKS Simulation Material Properties

SOLIDWORKS Simulation uses material properties as the foundation to study designs. The default SOLIDWORKS material has 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. This article 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.

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).

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 the 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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