The Layered Material Link node () provides a bridge from a Layered Material, located under Global Definitions, to a physics feature residing in a component. A physics feature designed to work with layered materials cannot directly reference a Layered Material. The Layered Material Link node is located in the Layers submenu under a Materials node.

Select a Coordinate system defining the principal directions of the laminate. The orientation of each layer, given in the Layered Material node, is a rotation from the first coordinate axis of this coordinate system. Only Boundary System coordinate systems can be selected.

Choose a Position — Midplane on boundary, Down side on boundary, Up side on boundary, or User defined. This controls the possible offset of the layered material from the geometrical boundary on which the mesh exists (the reference surface). For User defined, enter a value for the Relative midplane offset. The value 1 corresponds to Down side on boundary, and the value -1 corresponds to Up side on boundary. Values may be outside the range -1 to 1, in which case the reference surface is outside the laminate.

The Position setting is only used by physics features where the physical behavior depends of the actual location, such as structural shells.

By clicking the Layer Cross Section Preview () button, you get a preview plot of the layered material, including the location of the reference surface (Figure 9-12). The height of the laminate in the plot is controlled by the value of the Thickness-to-width ratio specified in the Preview Plot Settings for the selected layered material.

In some cases, a single standard material definition is needed on the same boundary as a layered material. This can, for example, be the case if two different physics interfaces are active on the same boundary, but only one of them supports a layered material definition. You can select any nonlayered material from the Material list. This selection is completely analogous to using a Material Link.

By clicking the Go to Material () button, you can jump to the settings for the selected material.

Click the Add Material from Library button () to add a global material from the material libraries or a new blank global material. The added material then becomes the one selected in the Material list.

Select a layered material from the Material list. You can also select a Switch for Materials.

By clicking the Go to Material () button, you can jump to the settings for the selected material.

Click the Add Layered Material button () to add another Layered Material or a Switch. The added material then becomes the one selected in the Material list.

See the documentation for Material Contents for the Material node.

The Value column will usually contain the string Layer, indicating that the actual value is layer dependent.

See the documentation for Appearance for the Material node.