Define Materials

Use the Material Library tool to create, edit, delete, and import/export fluid, solid, or immiscible multiphase materials. Once defined, these materials can be referenced in any domain.

The Material Library dialog contains two tabs. The Materials tab lists information for default materials. These materials cannot be edited for deleted. The My Materials tab is used to manage custom materials.

Create Materials

Use the Material Library tool to create new materials.

  1. From the Flow ribbon, Setup tools, click the Material Library tool.


    Figure 1.
    The Material Library dialog opens.
  2. Under the Settings field, select a medium.
  3. Review the default materials in the Materials tab.
  4. Click the My Materials tab.
  5. Click to add a material of the selected medium.
    A material property dialog opens.
  6. For fluid and solid materials, cycle through each property tab at the top of the dialog, select a type, and input any necessary values.
    For properties with a piecewise linear or cubic spline type, define the x-axis by selecting a curve fit variable, then use the table and the plot area to define the varying property.
  7. For immiscible multiphase materials, select the two fluid materials and define the interface thickness and surface tension.
  8. Close the dialog to return to the Material Library.
    Created materials are appended to the My Materials tab. The total number of defined materials appears in parenthesis next to the tool icon.

Edit Materials

Use the Material Library tool to edit custom materials.

  1. From the Flow ribbon, Setup tools, click the Material Library tool.


    Figure 2.
    The Material Library dialog opens.
  2. Under the Settings field, select a medium.
  3. Click the My Materials tab.
  4. Right-click on a custom material and select Edit.
    A material property dialog opens.
  5. Edit the values in each of the material property tabs.
  6. Optional: Click the name in the top-left corner of the dialog to rename the material.
    This can also be done by double-clicking on the Name field in the Material Library.
  7. Close the dialog to return to the Material Library.

Delete Materials

Use the Material Library tool to delete existing materials.

  1. From the Flow ribbon, Setup tools, click the Material Library tool.


    Figure 3.
    The Material Library dialog opens.
  2. Under the Settings field, select a medium.
  3. Click the My Materials tab.
  4. Select a custom material to delete.
  5. Click .
Note: If a defined material is assigned to any solid body, you will not be able to delete it.

Import and Export Material Libraries

Use the Material Library tool to import and export defined libraries of materials.

  1. From the Flow ribbon, Setup tools, click the Material Library tool.


    Figure 4.
    The Material Library dialog opens.
  2. Click to export the entire material library.
  3. Click to import a previously defined material library.