Material Object
The Material Object lets you define or change materials. Each material defines the material constants of the associated solids.
Reset
Sets all internal settings to their defaults.
Create
Creates a new material. All necessary settings have to be made previously.
Name ( name name )
Sets the name for the new material to be created using .Create.
Folder ( name foldername )
Sets the name for the new material folder to be created using .Create. If the name is empty, then the material does not belong to a folder.
Type ( enum{"PEC", "Normal", "Anisotropic", "Nonlinear"} key )
Sets the type for the material to be defined.
SetMaterialUnit( enum FrequencyUnit, enum LengthUnit )
Sets the frequency and length units for the material to be defined.
All relevant units for the frequency, like for the reference tangent delta (electric or magnetic), for the dispersion, tangent delta or surface impedance list will be displayed and interpreted accordingly to this frequency scale unit.
In similar way all (possibly) corrugation properties or coating of the material will be will be displayed and interpreted accordingly to the given length scale unit.
Available enum values for the FrequencyUnit field are { "Hz", "KHz", "MHz", "GHz", "THz", "PHz" }.
Available enum values for the LengthUnit field are { "m", "cm", "mm", "um", "nm", "ft", "mil", "in" }.
Once that frequency and length units are defined by means of SetMaterialUnit command, successive project changes in terms of global unit scale will not affect the material properties.
On the contrary a material defined without unit settings inherits the project global units. This means that in case of changes of the global units also the material properties will be scaled accordingly.
Delete ( name name )
Deletes an existing material with the specified name and all shapes the material is assigned to.
Rename ( name sOldName, name sNewName )
Renames the object specified by sOldName to sNewName.
NewFolder ( name foldername )
Creates a new folder with the given name.
DeleteFolder ( name foldername )
Deletes an existing folder and all the containing elements.
RenameFolder ( name oldFoldername, name newFoldername )
Changes the name of an existing folder.
Colour ( double red, double green, double blue )
Sets the color for a new material by double values ranging from 0 to 1.
Transparency ( double dValue )
Allows to changes the appearance from opaque (dValue = 0) to a transparency value up to 100. Setting will be ignored if .Wireframe is set.
Wireframe ( bool switch )
If switch is True, all solids associated with this material will be displayed as a wireframe.
Reflection( bool switch )
If switch is True, all solids associated with this material are displayed using reflective surfaces (usually applied to metallic surfaces).
Allowoutline( bool switch )
Determine whether outlines are allowed to be drawn for solids belonging to this material. The actual visibility of outlines also depends on the setting of the global outline state as well as the current selection. If switch is False, outlines will never be drawn for the corresponding solids.
Transparentoutline( bool switch )
If switch is True, outlines are also displayed when the corresponding solids are drawn transparently.
ChangeColour
Changes the appearance for an existing material specified by the .Name method to the settings given by the .Colour, .Transparency or .Wireframe method. Changes to other parameters will not be taken. The execution of this method will - in contrast to .Create - not be regarded as a structural change and though not require the deletion of results.
Epsilon / EpsilonX / EpsilonY / EpsilonZ ( double dValue )
Defines the relative electric permittivity. In case of diagonal anisotropic material, the parameters for the specific components of the diagonal electric permittivity tensor can be set with the respective methods.
Mue / MueX / MueY / MueZ ( double dValue )
Defines the relative permeability. In case of diagonal anisotropic material, the parameters for the specific components of the diagonal permeability tensor can be set with the respective methods.
Rho ( double dValue )
Sets the material density value of the material in kg/m³.
This setting is important for transient thermal simulations.
ReferenceCoordSystem ( enum{"Global", "Solid"} key )
Specifies whether the given material settings are to be interpreted in global coordinates or relative to local solid coordinates. By default, global coordinate settings are considered. The advantage of local solid coordinates is that if the material is applied to multiple solids the material orientation does not change when single solids are transformed. This is useful, in particular, for anisotropic materials. This setting will be ignored for other material types.
Please note that local solid coordinate settings are considered only by tetrahedral solvers.
CoordSystemType ( enum{"Cartesian", "Cylindrical", "Spherical"} key )
Defines the type of the coordinate system in which the material settings are given. This is meaningful, in particular, for anisotropic materials. This setting will be ignored for other material types. By default, all material settings are interpreted in Cartesian coordinates (x/y/z or u/v/w depending on the reference coordinate system specified under ReferenceCoordSystem). It is also possible to prescribe settings (like permeability, permittivity or conductivity) in cylindrical or spherical coordinates. To this end, the same commands are used (e.g. EpsilonX/EpsilonY/EpsilonZ), but they are interpreted as (R/phi/z) or (r/theta/phi), respectively.
For cylindrical coordinates (R,phi,z), the first component means the radial direction, where the radius R is the distance to the z/w axis. The second component prescribes the angular direction, where the azimuth phi is the angle to the x-z-plane (u-w-plane). The third component is the longitudinal direction and coincides with the Cartesian z/w component.
For spherical coordinates (r,theta,phi), the radius r specifies the distance to the origin, theta is the inclination (zenith angle) measured from the z-axis, and phi is the azimuth (angle to the x-z-plane/u-w-plane).
Please note that non-Cartesian coordinate settings are considered only by tetrahedral solvers.
Sigma / SigmaX / SigmaY / SigmaZ ( double dValue )
Set the electric conductivity. In case of diagonal anisotropic material, the parameters for the specific components of the diagonal tensor can be set with the respective methods.
AddJEValue ( double dJValue, double dEValue)
This method enables you to define a specific nonlinear J-E curve by adding point by point. Based on this curve, the dependency of electric conductivity on E-field is computed. Please note that not all solvers can currently support the nonlinear electric conductivity.
ResetJEList
Deletes the nonlinear J-E curve.
SigmaM / SigmaMX / SigmaMY / SigmaMZ ( double dValue )
Set the magnetic conductivity. In case of diagonal anisotropic material, the parameters for the specific components of the diagonal tensor can be set with the respective methods.
Temperature Dependent Materials
AddTemperatureDepEps ( double dTemperature, double dValue )
This method enables you to define a specific temperature dependency curve for electric permittivity by adding point by point. Use with .Type set to "Normal".
ResetTemperatureDepEps
Deletes the temperature dependency curve for electric permittivity.
AddTemperatureDepMue ( double dTemperature, double dValue )
With this method a new point for temperature dependency of magnetic permeability can be specified. Use with .Type set to "Normal".
ResetTemperatureDepMue
Deletes the temperature dependency curve for magnetic permeability.
AddTemperatureDepSigma ( double dTemperature, double dValue )
With this method a new point for temperature dependency of electric conductivity can be specified. Use with .Type set to "Normal".
ResetTemperatureDepSigma
Deletes the temperature dependency curve for electric conductivity.
AddHBValue ( double Hvalue, double Bvalue )
This method enables you to define a specific nonlinear H-B curve by adding point by point. Use with .Type set to "Nonlinear".
ResetHBList
Deletes the nonlinear H-B curve.
NLAnisotropy ( bool bUseAnisotropy )
Specifies whether the nonlinear material is purely isotropic or not. If the flag is set True, laminated materials are considered in this context which can be specified via a stacking factor and a stacking direction. By default, purely isotropic material is assumed (bUseAnisotropy = False), i.e. stacking settings are ignored.
This setting applies only to materials of type Nonlinear.
NLAStackingFactor ( double dFactor )
Sets the fraction of the layers in the laminated material. The fraction of each layer is the ratio of the thickness of the nonlinear part to the thickness of the entire layer including the insulation. By default, this fraction is 1 (dFactor = 1), which is equivalent to isotropy.
This setting applies only to materials of type Nonlinear with NLAnisotropy switched on.
NLADirectionX ( double dDirX )
NLADirectionY ( double dDirY )
NLADirectionZ ( double dDirZ )
Set the stacking direction which is perpendicular to the layers (lamination direction) of the stacked material. Depending on the chosen coordinate system (NLACoordSystem), the direction is interpreted either in global coordinates or in the coordinates of the local solid coordinate system (provided there is one). By default, the direction points into X-direction (dDirX = 1.0, dDirY = dDirZ = 0.0).
This setting applies only to materials of type Nonlinear with NLAnisotropy switched on.
Please note that the direction set by NLADirectionX/Y/Z is interpreted either in global or local solid coordinates, depending on the setting ReferenceCoordSystem (see Basic Material Parameters). When the type "Solid" is chosen, it is required that each solid with this material has a local solid coordinate system. When there is no local solid coordinate system available, the stacking direction will be interpreted in global coordinates. By default, the stacking direction is interpreted in global coordinates.
The advantage of choosing local solid coordinates is that only one material has to be defined for solids with different orientations.
This setting applies only to materials of type Nonlinear with NLAnisotropy switched on.
ThermalType (enum {"PTC", "Normal", "Anisotropic"} key )
Allows to set the thermal material type:
|
PTC |
Perfect Thermal Conductor - this is the thermal equivalent to PEC. Temperature- and Heat-sources can be assigned to PTC material surfaces. |
|
Normal |
Isotropic material with a homogeneous material distribution |
|
Anisotropic |
Anisotropic material with a homogeneous material distribution |
ThermalConductivity / ThermalConductivityX / ThermalConductivityY / ThermalConductivityZ ( double dValue )
Defines the thermal conductivity of a material. In case of diagonal anisotropic material, the parameters for the specific components of the diagonal thermal conductivity tensor can be set with the respective methods.
HeatCapacity ( double dValue )
This parameter defines the specific heat capacity in [kJ / (K kg)]. This setting is relevant only for transient thermal simulations.
BloodFlow ( double dValue )
The Bloodflow coefficient is a parameter of the bioheat equation. It determines the influence of blood at a certain temperature inside the tissue volume V. The reference temperature for the bloodflow (usually: 37 C) can be defined in the thermal solver specials dialog boxes of the stationary- and the transient solver.
MetabolicRate ( double dValue )
The Basal metabolic is a parameter of the bioheat equation. It describes the amount of heat which is produced by tissue per volume V.
VoxelConvection ( double dValue )
This parameter allows to consider convection processes on voxel models. Typically this parameter is used with a material describing skin. For coarse voxel models it is advisable to use fat in addition. Only voxel-background material surfaces are taken into account.
ResetNLThermalCond
Delete the nonlinear thermal conductivity curve.
AddNLThermalCond ( double dTemperature, double dValue )
Adds a new data point for the dependence of isotropic thermal conductivity on temperature. Parameter dTemperature must be specified in the current temperature units. If anisotropic thermal type has been selected, all three components of thermal conductivity are set to dValue.
AddNLThermalCondAniso ( double dTemperature, double dValueX, double dValueY, double dValueZ )
Adds a new data point for the dependence of anisotropic thermal conductivity on temperature. Parameter dTemperature must be specified in the current temperature units. If normal thermal type has been selected, thermal conductivity is set to dValueX.
ResetNLHeatCap
Delete the nonlinear specific heat capacity curve.
AddNLHeatCap ( double dTemperature, double dValue )
Adds a new data point for the dependence of specific heat capacity on temperature. Parameter dTemperature must be specified in the current temperature units.
MechanicsType (enum {"Unused", "Isotropic"} key )
This list allows to select if the material should be used with isotropic properties for the simulation.
YoungsModulus ( double dValue )
This parameter defines the stiffness of an isotropic elastic material. It is normally measured in GPa, or kN/mm2. The typical values vary between 0.01 GPa (rubber) and over 1000 GPa (diamond). It is important to know the value of this material parameter very well, since it has a large influence on the accuracy of the solution.
PoissonsRatio ( double dValue )
This parameter defines the scale of the transverse contraction of a longitudinally stretched body. This parameter can vary between -1 and 0.5, whereas most of the materials are characterized by a positive Poisson's ratio.
ThermalExpansionRate ( double dValue )
The expansion coefficient is the strain of a body, if its temperature changes by 1 K. This value is utilized to compute strain induced by an external temperature field.
ResetTempDepYoungsModulus
Delete the temperature dependent Young's modulus curve.
AddTempDepYoungsModulus ( double dTemperature, double dValue )
Adds a new data point for the dependence of Young's modulus on temperature. Parameter dTemperature must be specified in Kelvin.
GetNumberOfMaterials long
Returns the number of materials.
GetNameOfMaterialFromIndex ( long index ) string
Returns the material name for the material specified by the zero-based index index < .GetNumberOfMaterials - 1.
GetTypeOfMaterial( name name) string
Returns the material type.
GetColour ( name name, double_ref red, double_ref green, double_ref blue )
Returns the current color values of the material named name in the parameters red, green and blue. The color values vary between 0 and 1.
GetEpsilon ( name name, double_ref EpsX, double_ref EpsY, double_ref EpsZ )
GetMue ( name name, double_ref MueX, double_ref MueY, double_ref MueZ )
GetSigma ( name name, double_ref SigmaX, double_ref SigmaY, double_ref SigmaZ )
GetSigmaM ( name name, double_ref SigmaMX, double_ref SigmaMY, double_ref SigmaMZ )
GetRho ( name name, double_ref Rho )
Returns the specific material parameter for the material specified by name in the respective double variables.
Returns True if the material specified by name exists.
.Type ("Normal")
.Colour ("0", "1", "1")
.Wireframe ("False")
.Transparency ("0")
.Epsilon ("1.0")
.Mue ("1.0")
.Rho ("0.0")
.Sigma ("0.0")
.SigmaM ("0.0")