IES VisualPlate User's Guide
Material Properties
The material properties for plates and line stiffeners are defined using materials from either the IES Material Databases or the Custom Material Database as discussed below.
Several common material databases are included with VisualPlate listed under IES in the Material Database dialog box. These materials can not be modified or removed from the system. Contact IES Technical Support to suggest additional libraries of materials for IES to include in the database.
Custom materials can be created in VisualPlate which are stored in the Custom Data Files. To add a custom material to the database in VisualPlate, click the Add Custom Material button in the Material Database dialog box. Use a General Material Type or choose the appropriate Material Type and edit the Defining Properties as needed. Custom materials can be used by VisualPlate, VisualAnalysis, ShapeBuilder, and other IES products (except Quick-products).
All IES materials are assumed to be linear, isotropic and elastic. VisualPlate makes common use of orthotropic materials, like wood, but does so using isotropic properties. VisualPlate utilizes four primary properties: modulus of elasticity, Poisson's ratio, thermal coefficient of expansion, and weight density. Specific material types have additional properties that need to be defined (e.g. steel has yield stress, concrete has compressive strength, etc.).
The database consists of XML data files. XML is a text based format which is commonly used for data-exchange and can be edited easily using a simple text editor (NotePad++ is recommended since it is freeware and offers XML syntax highlighting). Microsoft Word and similar programs are not recommend as they have a tenancy to corrupt the format.
Look for instructions and examples, in the Customer\Materials folder. Database files can be copied to other computers where IES products are installed. Files that are no longer needed can be deleted. Files can be edited to change data or to remove shapes or shape categories. Make sure to backup the customized files.