Defining an Orthotropic Material

To define an orthotropic material:

  1. Create a custom material based on an existing material with similar properties to the orthotropic material that you want to create.
  2. On the Properties tab of the Material dialog box, select Linear Elastic Orthotropic in Model Type.
  3. From the FeatureManager design tree, select the reference geometry to define the orthotropic material directions.
    The selected reference geometry appears in the Reference geometry box.
    When a plane (or a planar face) is used as a reference geometry, Dir 1 of the plane aligns with the orthotropic material's X-direction, Dir 2 of the plane with the material's Y-direction, and the normal to the plane with the material's Z-direction.

    The table lists the orientation of the orthotropic material directions, when you select one of the Front, Right, or Top plane as a reference geometry.

    To identify Dir 1 and Dir 2 of the reference plane, select the plane as the reference geometry when applying restraints or loads and select Show Preview. Hover over the applied load or restraint in the PropertyManager to see the tooltip with the direction of the plane.

    Reference Plane Dir 1 and Dir 2 Alignment Orthotropic Material Direction (X,Y, Z-direction)
    Front

    Dir 1 aligns with the global X-axis

    Dir 2 aligns with the global Y-axis

    Normal to the plane aligns with the global Z-axis

    The X-direction aligns with the global X-axis

    The Y-direction aligns with the global Y-axis

    The Z-direction aligns with the global Z-axis
    Right

    Dir 1 aligns with the global Z-axis

    Dir 2 aligns with the global Y-axis

    Normal to the plane aligns with the global X-axis

    The X-direction aligns with the global Z-axis

    The Y-direction aligns with the global Y-axis

    The Z-direction aligns with the global X-axis
    Top

    Dir 1 aligns with the global X-axis

    Dir 2 aligns with the global Z-axis

    Normal to the plane aligns with the global Y-axis

    The X-direction aligns with the global X-axis

    The Y-direction aligns with the global Z-axis

    The Z-direction aligns with the global Y-axis
  4. Enter the values of the material properties.
  5. Click Apply and Close.