A Database of Advanced Material Properties: New Developments and Possibilities for CAE Usage

Viktor Pocajt
Key to Metals AG

This paper describes innovative elements in a large database of advanced material properties for metallic materials, and recently polymers, ceramics and composites. This database, called Extended Range, relies on a proprietary methodology that combines property acquisition and assessment, and it is integrated into the Key to Metals database in order to provide the global engineering community with mechanical and physical properties needed for advanced CAE (Computer Aided Engineering) and FEA (Finite Element Analysis) calculations and simulations. The “standard” Key to Metals dataset for a material includes international cross-reference tables, composition, mechanical and physical properties at various temperatures, heat treatment diagrams and more. While these properties suffice for conventional structural calculations in the linear range, they cannot fulfill the needs of advanced nonlinear calculations, nor suffice for calculations regarding plasticity, fatigue, crack growth, time-related deformation etc. Information on these advanced properties is very hard to find and this evident lack of knowledge about material properties poses one of the highest risks in structural design, accounting for over 29% of structural failures. In Extended Range, advanced material properties have been divided to (1) stress-strain curves, (2) formability curves, (3) cyclic properties, (4) fracture mechanics, and (5) creep properties. The biggest challenge in providing these properties for a large number of engineering materials and service conditions is a general scarceness of experimental data. Besides collecting and consolidating information for more than 14.000 materials and 100,000 datasets from more than 800 references, a specific set of algorithms has also been developed for streamlining and assessing/interpolating properties under various conditions (service temperature, heat treatment etc.). The paper will provide an insight into newly developed algorithms and functionalities, such as flow stress flow strain curves, formability diagrams, interpolation for various strain rates, statistical approach to cyclic properties and a new method for property assessment based on material comparison. Highlights of the new database of polymer, ceramic and composite materials will be given as well, especially from the point of view of advanced properties. Also, new data export functionalities and integration possibilities with CAE tools will be presented.