Solid material configuration
Solid Material Configuration in Twin Fabrica
In Twin Fabrica, materials require proper configuration for thermal simulations. This involves setting key physical properties and linking the material to specific geometrical entities in your model. This guide walks through configuring an existing solid material, using "Copper" as an example.
📝 Note: This guide assumes the material already exists in the project. The creation of a new material from scratch is covered in a separate section.
1. Access the Material Settings
To begin, open the material configuration panel by either:
- Double-click the material name in the project tree (left panel), or
- Select the material and click the Edit button in the bottom bar.
This opens the configuration interface for defining thermal properties.
2. Define Key Thermal Properties
For thermal simulations, three essential physical properties are required:
- Thermal conductivity – indicates the material's ability to conduct heat.
- Specific heat capacity – the amount of energy required to change the material's temperature.
- Mass density – the mass per unit volume.
These are the minimum input parameters needed for simulation functionality.
Advanced property types, such as space-dependent or temperature-dependent behavior, are covered in a separate tutorial.
3. Add Descriptive Labels
Start by adding labels or descriptions for each required property.
These labels help organize material data, especially when working with multiple materials.
Twin Fabrica automatically generates label names based on the material name (e.g., Copper_conductivity), but you can customize them for clarity during setup and post-processing.
4. Input Numerical Values
Enter the actual physical values for the material properties:
- Ensure that units are consistent with your simulation environment.
- Verify that the values accurately reflect the behavior of the real-world material.
Accurate inputs at this stage are crucial for realistic simulation results.
5. Save the Configuration
After entering all required values, click the Save button to store the material configuration.
The material is now ready for assignment to geometrical components in the model.
6. Assign the Material to Geometry
To associate the material with the mesh:
- Select the material from the Material labels list on the left-hand side.
- On the right-hand panel, locate the geometrical entities you want to assign the material to.
- Use the checkboxes to apply the selected material to those parts of the geometry.
This assignment ensures each part of the model is properly defined for simulation.
7. Verify Material Assignments
Once materials have been assigned:
- Confirm that all geometrical entities in your model have been linked to a material.
- Twin Fabrica will display a status indicator at the bottom of the interface to confirm whether all assignments are complete.
⚠️ Important: You cannot proceed to build the full-order model unless every entity has a valid material assigned. Any unassigned region will block simulation, as the solver requires physical properties for all parts of the geometry.