Single Layer Materials
To add a single-layer material, choose Single Layer Material () from the global Materials node’s context menu or the Layers submenu on the context menu of a Materials node in a component. Then, a Material node is created with some additional settings (see The Settings Window for Material) and a Shell property group (see Geometric Properties (Shell)) with a default thickness of 10−4 m. You can also switch an Material node into a single-layer material by adding a Shell property group and define a thickness, and it can also turn into a single-layer material when you specify a value for the requested thickness in the Material Contents table, which appears when a layered shell feature requests the material properties from a standard material. The thickness for a single-layer material can be defined as a numerical value, a parameter, or an expression. Such an expression can, for example, be a function of the coordinates so that a surface with variable thickness can be described.
If a single layer in a laminate has a variable thickness, you can define that layer in either a separate Layered Material or in a Single Layer Material.
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When using a Layered Material, apply the scaling expression in a Layered Material Link, and then use a Layered Material Stack to build the complete laminate.
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When using a Single Layer Material with an expression for the thickness, use a Layered Material Stack to build the complete laminate.
Single-layer materials provide a quick way to define data for a nonlayered material to be used in physics feature designed for layered materials. Using a single-layer material is equivalent to defining a Layered Material with only one layer and then referencing it through a Layered Material Link. A single-layer material can be linked by a Layered Material Link, and it can also be a stack member of a Layered Material Stack or a switch member of a Switch for Materials.