CSV Format for Bulk Loading Material Properties

Materials can be read in bulk from an external .csv formatted text file.

The .csv file must contain a header row and one or more additional rows of materials. The units must be consistent with the SI or IPS values displayed on the dialog. Ensure they are specified in the proper format as no unit translation or checking is done here. The columns can be in any order.

CSV File Format

Table 1.
Section Content
Header Row

units, material-group, material-name, E, nu, rho, CTE, k, TYS, CYS, UTS, failure-criterion, stress- strain-curve-file-name, SN-curve-method, SN-stress-definition, SNSRI1, SNb1, SNb2, SNNC1, SNFL, SNStdErr,Membrane_SN-curve-method, Membrane_SN-stress-definition, Membrane_SNSRI1, Membrane_SNb1, Membrane_SNb2, Membrane_SNNC1, Membrane_SNFL, Membrane_SNStdErr, Bending_SN-curve-method, Bending_SN-stress-definition, Bending_SNSRI1, Bending_SNb1, Bending_SNb2, Bending_SNNC1, Bending_SNFL, Bending_SNStdErr, EN-curve-method, ENSf, ENb, ENc, ENEf, ENNp, ENKp, ENNc, ENSEe, ENSEp, SFFYZ, SFMYZ, SFFX, DEFYZ, DEMYZ, DEFX, TEFYZ, TEMYZ, TEFX, Cp
Material Rows
  • Col 1: units can be either “SI” or “IPS” and will define material units for the given row. The entire row must all be in consistent SI or IPS units as defined on the dialog fields. For example E must be in units of “pa” for SI or “psi” for IPS.
  • Col 2: material-group is a string
  • Col 3: material-name is a string
  • Col 4: E is Modulus of Elasticity
  • Col 5: nu is Poisson’s Ratio
  • Col 6: rho is density
  • Col 7: CTE is Coefficient of Thermal Expansion
  • Col 8: k is Thermal Conductivity
  • Col 9: TYS is Tensile Yield Strength
  • Col 10: CYS is Compressive Yield Strength
  • Col 11: UTS is Ultimate Tensile Strength
  • Col 12: failure-criterion must be one of the text strings “max-vm”, “max-shear”, “max-normal”, “christensen” or “not-specified”
  • Col 13: stress-strain-curve-file-name must be a .csv formatted text file in the same directory. This is optional and only required for non-linear materials.
  • Col 14: SN curve method. Either EstimateFromUTS, OneSlope, or TwoSlopes.
  • Col 15: SN stress definition. Either Amplitude or range.
  • Col 16: SN fatigue strength coefficient (SRI1)
  • Col 17: SN first fatigue strength exponent (b1)
  • Col 18: SN second fatigue strength exponent. Only required if TwoSlopes is specified (b2).
  • Col 19: SN Cycle limit of endurance/transition point (NC1). Must be greater than 1.0E+03
  • Col 20: SN Fatigue Limit. Only required if TwoSlopes is specified (FL).
  • Col 21: SN standard error
  • Col 22: Membrane SN-curve-method. Either EstimateFromUTS, OneSlope, or TwoSlopes.
  • Col 23: Membrane SN stress definition. Either amplitude or range.
  • Col 24: Membrane SN fatigue strength coefficient (SRI1)
  • Col25: Membrane SN fatigue strength exponent (b1)
  • Col 26: Membrane SN second fatigue strength exponent. Only required if TwoSlopes is specified (b2).
  • Col 27: Membrane SN Cycle limit of endurance/transition point (NC1). Must be greater than 1.0E+03
  • Col 28: Membrane SN Fatigue Limit. Only required if TwoSlopes is specified (FL).
  • Col 29: Membrane SN standard error
  • Col 30: Bending SN-curve-method. Either EstimateFromUTS, OneSlope, or TwoSlopes.
  • Col 31: Bending SN stress definition. Either amplitude or range.
  • Col 32: Bending SN fatigue strength coefficient (SRI1)
  • Col 33: Bending SN first fatigue strength exponent (b1)
  • Col 34: Bending SN second fatigue strength exponent. Only required if TwoSlopes is specified (b2).
  • Col 35: Bending SN Cycle limit of endurance/transition point (NC1). Must be greater than 1.0E+03.
  • Col 36: Bending SN Fatigue Limit. Only required if TwoSlopes is specified (FL).
  • Col 37: Bending SN standard error
  • Col 38: EN curve method. Either EstimateFromUTS or Slope
  • Col 39: EN fatigue strength coefficient (Sf)
  • Col 40: EN fatigue strength exponent (b)
  • Col 41: EN fatigue ductility exponent (c)
  • Col 42: EN fatigue ductility coefficient (Ef)
  • Col 43: EN cyclic strain hardening exponent (Np)
  • Col 44: Cyclic strength coefficient (Kp)
  • Col 45: EN reversal limit of endurance. Must be greater than 1.0E+05 (Nc)
  • Col 46: Standard error from elastic strain (SEe)
  • Col 47: Standard error from plastic strain (SEp)
  • Col 48: Modified Rupp scale factor FYZ (SFFYZ)
  • Col 49: Modified Rupp scale factor MYZ (SFMYZ)​
  • Col 50: Modified Rupp scale factor FX (SFFX)
  • Col 51: Modified Rupp diameter exponent FYZ (DEFYZ)
  • Col 52: Modified Rupp diameter exponent MYZ (DEMYZ)​
  • Col 53: Modified Rupp diameter exponent FX (DEFX)​
  • Col 54: Modified Rupp thickness exponent FYZ (TEFYZ)
  • Col 55: Modified Rupp thickness exponent MYZ (TEMYZ)
  • Col 56: Modified Rupp thickness exponent FX (TEFX)​
  • Col 57: Specific heat capacity

Elasticity Modulus

  • Elasticity modulus can be left blank when a stress-strain curve is defined. The elasticity modulus is calculated using the first two point on the curve.
  • If both elasticity modulus and the stress-strain curve are defined and if the elasticity modulus calculated from the curve is different from the elasticity modulus defined in Col 4, the stress-strain curve is edited to accommodate the elasticity modulus defined in Col 4.

Fatigue Curves

SN curves can be defined by EstimateFromUTS, OneSlope or TwoSlope options.
  • For EstimateFromUTS, columns 16-20 should be left empty.
  • For OneSlope, columns 16, 17, and 19 are mandatory.
  • For TwoSlopes, columns 16-20 are mandatory.
  • Column 15 is optional. Amplitude is used by default.
  • Column 21 is optional. A value of 0 is used by default.
Bending SN curves can be defined by EstimateFromUTS, OneSlope, or TwoSlope options.
  • For EstimateFromUTS, columns 24-28 should be left empty.
  • For OneSlope, columns 24, 25, and 27 are mandatory.
  • For TwoSlopes, columns 24-28 are mandatory.
  • Column 23 is optional. Amplitude is used by default.
  • Column 29 is optional. A value of 0 is used by default.
Membrane SN curves can be defined by EstimateFromUTS, OneSlope or TwoSlope options
  • For EstimateFromUTS, columns 32-36 should be left empty.
  • For OneSlope, columns 32, 33, and 35 are mandatory.
  • For TwoSlopes, columns 2-36 are mandatory.
  • Column 31 is optional. Amplitude is used by default.
  • Column 37 is optional. A value of 0 is used by default.
EN curves can be defined by EstimateFromUTS or Slope options.
  • For EstimateFromUTS, columns 23-28 should be left empty.
  • For Slope, columns 23-28 are mandatory.

Always leave a blank column in .csv file as a placeholder for non-mandatory fields if there isn’t a value associated.

Example File (mymaterials.csv)

units,material-group,material-name,E,nu,rho,CTE,k,TYS,CYS,UTS,failure-criterion,stress-strain-curve-file-name 
SI, myGroup, mySteel, 2.1311, 0.26, 8000, 1.5e-7, 50, 2.8e8, 2.8e8, 3.3e8, max-vm, my-stress-strain-xy-file.csv

Example File (my-stress-strain-xy-file.csv)

strain,stress 
0.00,0.00 
0.005,5.30e8 
0.4,5.30e8
Note: A .csv file with more detailed material data is located here: <install_directory>\SimSolid202X.X\Examples\Material Database\Import_CSV.csv.

Refer to Import Material from CSV for instructions on importing the file.