Assign Materials to Parts

Assign pre-existing or user-generated materials to the model's parts, components, and element/node sets.

The Assign Material dialog is dynamic and changes the list of available parameters based on the fatigue module selected.

Note: HyperLife supports only amplitude based curves, unlike OptiStruct which supports both amplitude and range.
Tip: Hover over parts in the modeling window to display the part name, status, and material.
  1. Click the Material tool.
    Figure 1.


    The Assign Material dialog opens.
    Figure 2.


  2. From the Assign Material Data tab, select either Parts or Sets from the drop-down menu at the top of the dialog.
    Part lists or sets are obtained from the results model imported into HyperLife. The Summary field details the number of elements for each part.
    Tip: Click part/set names in the Assign Material dialog to isolate the selected component in the modeling window.
  3. Enable the checkboxes next to the components/sets that are to be evaluated.
    Tip: Use the guide bar to select multiple components in the modeling window.
    Note: The Assign Material Data tab will look slightly different if you're performing a seam weld analysis. After selecting a part or a set, click Find Weld Toe, Root to find adjacent attached components. You will also notice two material, standard error, and fatigue limit categories: B and M. M stands for membrane and B stands for bending.
    Figure 3.


  4. Click either the Material DB tab or the My Material tab.
    Note: When creating an FOS material, the material database is not available.
  5. Right-click on a material and select Add to Assign Material List from the context menu.
    Figure 4.


    Note: For EN calculations, a warning is shown if there is no Poisson's Ratio available for the assigned material. Click Yes in the dialog to proceed with a default value of 0.3.
  6. Return to the Assign Material Data tab and select an option from the Material drop-down menu.
    The Material list is populated with the materials selected from Material Database and My Material. A list of verified materials available in the database for SN and EN calculation can be found at MATDAT and efatigue.com.
  7. Optional: For SN and EN, use the Scale and Offset fields to enter values for individual components or sets.
    Scale and Offset are used to modify the combined stress calculated during the stress/strain history generation.
  8. Optional: Define additional parameters for parts/sets by clicking in each box and entering a value or selecting an option from a drop-down menu.
    If the model results file contains thickness details, the Thickness column should automatically be updated to reflect those values.
Tip:
  • Use the selection icons to quickly select all, none, or reverse your selection of parts/sets.
  • Click to display the plot curve for a material.
  • Apply a parameter's value to all the parts/sets by right-clicking on a parameter and selecting Apply current value to all Parts/Sets.