Mechanical APDL Basic Analysis Guide

• You can give your material library files meaningful names that reflect the characteristics of the data
  they contain. For example, the name of a material library file describing properties of a steel casting
  might be STEELCST.SI_MPL. (See Creating (Writing) a Material Library File (p. 16) for an explanation
  of file naming conventions.)


• You can design your own directory hierarchy for material library files. This enables you to classify and
  catalog the files by material type (plastic, aluminum, etc.), by units, or by any category you choose.

The next few paragraphs describe how to create and read material library files. For additional information,
see the descriptions of the /MPLIB,MPREAD, and MPWRITE commands in the Element Reference.

1.1.4.6. Format of Material Library Files

Material library files are command files. The file format supports both linear and nonlinear properties.
You can reuse material library files because the commands in them are written so that, once you read
a material property set into the database, you can associate that set with any material number you
wish.

1.1.4.7. Specifying a Default Read/Write Path for Material Library Files

Before you create any material library files, define a default read path and write path for those files:
Command(s):/MPLIB,R-W_opt,PATH
GUI: Main Menu> Preprocessor> Material Props> Material Library> Library Path

Note

The ANSYS-supplied material library is located at <drive:>\Program Files\Ansys

Inc\v150\ANSYS\matlib.

In place of R-W_opt, specify READ (to set the read path),WRITE (to set the write path), or STAT to see
what read and write paths currently are in use. In place of PATH, specify the path to be used for mater-
ial library files.

1.1.4.8. Creating (Writing) a Material Library File

To create an archival material library file, perform these steps:

1. To tell the program what system of units you are using, issue the /UNITS command. For example,
   to specify the international system of units, you would issue the command /UNITS,SI. You cannot
   access the /UNITS command directly from the GUI.


2. Define a material property using the MP command (Main Menu> Preprocessor> Material Props>
   Isotropic). To do so, you must specify a material number and at least one material property value
   (for example, magnetic permeability or MURX).


3. From the PREP7 preprocessor, issue the command shown below:

MPWRITE,Filename,,,LIB,MAT

Filename is the name to assign to the material library file. Issue MPWRITE (Main Menu> Preprocessor>
Material Props> Material Library> Export Library) and specify the filename for the material library
file.

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Getting Started