Calculating solid properties

Use the Solid Properties Check command to verify the solid properties of the elements in your model. You can use Solid Properties Check, for example, to calculate the total mass of your model, including structural and nonstructural mass, along with the principal moments of inertia. You can also use Solid Properties Check to have the software graphically indicate the location of the model's center of gravity along with the principal axes about the center of gravity. Solid Properties Check is useful, for example, if you want to validate that the mass of the FEM appropriately matches the mass of the associated part.

Supported solid property calculations

The Solid Properties Check command evaluates:

• The model's volume

• Structural, nonstructural, and total mass

• Mass center of gravity about the global coordinate system (axes of origin)

• Mass moments and products of inertia about the model's center of gravity, global coordinate system, and a specified reference coordinate system

• Principal mass moments of inertia (the products of inertia are zero, by definition)

• The total surface area of selected 2D elements in your model

• The total length of selected 1D elements in your model

The ability to calculate the total surface area of selected 2D elements, for example, is helpful when you want to tune the mass of your model. For instance, if you have a 2D mesh on a panel, and you know that the total mass of the panel should be slightly higher, you can use the Solid Properties Check command to query the surface area of the 2D elements in the panel. You can then use that information to adjust the Non Structural Mass value that you specified in the Physical Property Table assigned to the mesh.

For more information on the calculations the software performs, see Understanding the solid property calculations.

Solid properties calculations for Simcenter 3D Thermal/Flow, Electronic Systems Cooling, and Space Systems Thermal

If you are working in the Simcenter 3D Thermal/Flow, Simcenter 3D Electronic Systems Cooling, or Simcenter 3D Space Systems Thermal environment, the Solid Properties Check command computes a slightly different set of properties. The software does not calculate mass moments and products of inertia or the principal moments of inertia, and it does not determine the location of the principal axes. Instead, it computes:

• The surface area for convection and radiation.

• The thermal capacitance of your model.

The thermal capacitance of your model is equal to the model's mass multiplied by its specific heat. The Solid Properties Check command reports three different values for thermal capacitance:

• Structural mass capacitance

• Nonstructural mass capacitance

• Total thermal capacitance (structural mass capacitance + nonstructural mass capacitance)

See Simcenter 3D Thermal/Flow, Electronic Systems Cooling, and Space Systems Thermal considerations for more information.

Solid properties calculations for Samcef

In the Samcef environment, the Solid Properties Check command does not compute solid properties of composite elements.

Where do I find it?

Application	Pre/Post
Prerequisite	A Simulation or FEM file as the work part and displayed part
Command Finder	Solid Properties Check

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Calculating solid properties, Simcenter 3D 2021.1 Series

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