Creo Simulate > Modeling Structure and Thermal Problems > Properties > Materials > Guidelines and Background > Material Types
  
Material Types
You can define properties for three types of material symmetry:
Isotropic — a material with an infinite number of planes of material symmetry, making the properties equal in all directions. You enter a single value for each property.
Orthotropic — a material with symmetry relative to three mutually perpendicular planes. You enter three values for each property.
Transversely Isotropic — a material with rotational symmetry about an axis. The properties are equal for all directions in one plane, the plane of isotropy. You enter two values for each property—one for the plane of isotropy, and one for the remaining principal material direction.
These types of material symmetry are independent for Structure and Thermal. Thus, a material may have both isotropic structural properties and orthotropic thermal properties.
You can assign isotropic materials to any entity that requires materials.
You can assign orthotropic and transversely isotropic materials to the following entities according the to model type:
3D
Plane Stress/2D Plate
All Other 2D Model Types
part
shell pair
shell idealization
shell idealization
surface
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