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Fluids
Prepare and run a computational fluid dynamics simulation.
Materials and Libraries
Create materials, assign materials to parts, and organize them into libraries.
Creating Materials
A small library of common materials is included in Inspire, but you can also create your own materials.

Welcome
What's New
Discover new features and enhancements.
Get Started
New to Inspire? Learn the basics here.
Tutorials
Start using Inspire with our interactive tutorials.
Parametric Modeling
Create parametric sketches, geometry, and PolyNURBS with construction history and variables.
Implicit Modeling
Create implicit models with primitives, lattices, point clouds, fields, offsetting, Booleans, inverting, smoothing, morphing, and filleting.
Structures
Set up your model and run a structural analysis or optimization.
Motion
Set up and run a motion analysis, plot the results, and export the results.
Fluids
Prepare and run a computational fluid dynamics simulation.
- Overview
  Read a high-level overview of Inspire Fluids with usage notes directly from the Fluids product team.
- System Requirements
  A list of supported operating systems and minimum requirements for hardware and memory.
- Materials and Libraries
  Create materials, assign materials to parts, and organize them into libraries.
  - Parts and Materials Table
    The Materials tool opens the Parts and Materials table, which is used to create, import, assign, and otherwise manage materials.
  - Assigning Materials
    Assign materials to parts using the Materials tool or the right-click context menu.
  - Creating Materials
    A small library of common materials is included in Inspire, but you can also create your own materials.
  - Importing and Exporting Materials
    Use the My Materials tab on the Materials table to import or export materials.
  - Modifying the Standard Material Library
    Inspire includes a default material library of standard materials in your installation directory. This default library can be edited to create a custom library.
  - Changing the Default Material or Library
    Modify the default material or default standard material library in the Preferences.
  - Using Multiple Material Libraries
    Set up an environment variable to use multiple libraries.
- Domain
  Define the solid and fluid domains for the Fluids simulation.
- Conditions
  Include at least one inlet and one outlet, and define the fluid and thermal boundary conditions.
- Run
  Run and review the results of a Fluids analysis.
- Best Practices
  Read workflow tips and usage recommendations from the Fluids product team to help improve your simulation results.
- Troubleshooting
  Need help troubleshooting a problem in Inspire Fluids? Check out our troubleshooting topics.
Design Explorer
Evaluate designs by using geometric variables and applying a design-of-experiments (DOE) or optimization method. We recommend fully constraining your sketch when sketch variables are used in the design exploration.
Manufacture
Set up and run a basic porosity or thinning analysis.
Print 3D
Prepare and run an additive manufacturing simulation, and export a file for 3D printing.
Rendering
Adjust the materials and environment of objects in the scene to create a photorealistic image.
Inspire Python API
Learn how to access the Inspire Python API including online help, quick start demos, and the Extension Manager.
Reference
View the glossary, frequently asked questions, and errors and alerts.
Keyboard Shortcuts and Mouse Controls
Learn keyboard shortcuts and mouse controls for common operations.

Creating Materials

A small library of common materials is included in Inspire, but you can also create your own materials.

New materials are saved locally in the C:\Users\<user>\Documents\Altair directory.

A material is defined by four or five parameters that characterize basic linear properties:

Elastic modulus, E (also known as Young's modulus)
Poisson's ratio, Nu
Density
Yield Stress
Coefficient of thermal expansion (only used when temperatures have been added to a load case)

If you wish to create new materials, these properties are easy to find in most material handbooks or from websites that list the properties of materials.

Click the Materials icon on the Structure or Fluids ribbon.

Tip: To find and open a tool, press Ctrl+F. For more information, see Find and Search for Tools.
Click the My Materials tab at the top of the table.
Click the Create Material + icon. A new material is added at the bottom of the table.
Rename the material by clicking in the Material field twice to make it editable.
Select a cell to define the material's E, Nu, Density, and Yield Stress.
Define a Coefficient of Thermal Expansion if your model includes temperatures.
To assign this new material to a part in your model, click the Parts tab.
Click a material name to the right of a part in the table and choose a material from the list.