In the structure generation modules (available under Model in the menu bar), the material parameters of the Material IDs in the structure can be entered before the structure is created. In most cases, there is the option Material (ID XX) and a button with the color and material name on it. Clicking on the material opens the Material Selector dialog where another material can be chosen.

An example for the selection of the constituent materials in FiberGeo is shown below. For each fiber type, the material can be selected by clicking the corresponding button.

The Material Selector dialog opens, and all materials stored in the current material database are available. At the top left, the number and color of the currently selected Material ID can be seen.

On the left side, the Material Type and the name of the currently selected material are given. Additionally, use the Information field to enter, e.g., an additional description of the role of the material in the structure. Below, there is the possibility to Open & Edit the Material Database to check or change the parameters of this material. The Material Database is described under Edit and expand the GeoDict material database.

On the right side, all available materials can be browsed. Either by directly typing the name in the Search bar, or, after grouping by Type, Topic, or Property, scrolling through the list. The currently selected material is highlighted in blue.

The main way to differentiate between materials is the Material Type. Available are Fluid, Solid, and Porous Solid, which is a mix between pore and solid. There are two special material types, which are Pore and Undefined. The type Pore can be described as a voxel containing nothing, especially no solid material and has 100% porosity. For Undefined materials nothing is known about the material and all parameters are set to Not Defined.

For many materials one or more Topics can be entered. This could be an application field or an aggregate state. For example, the predefined material Air has the topics Gas and Filtration.

When grouping materials by Property, a material appears only in those groups where the corresponding properties are defined. The predefined material Air is listed under the properties Fluid Density / Viscosity, Mechanical Properties as well as Thermal and Electrical Conductivity as for all of these fields parameters were set for Air.

Click OK to save the selected material for this Material ID and to close the material selector.

The constituent materials for the structure currently in memory can be changed by selecting Settings → Select Constituent Materials in the menu bar.

Alternatively, click the corresponding icon in the toolbar.

In the following, the workflow for changing the material which is assigned to Material ID 01 from Carbon Fiber to Glass is demonstrated using the example structure below.

The Select Constituent Materials dialog shows the material information of all Material IDs that are present in the currently loaded structure. Clicking on the plus icon next to Material shows all 256 Material IDs. The icon changes from plus to minus to hide the Material IDs which are not present in the current structure.

At the top, the current temperature is shown and can be changed. The temperature unit can also be changed, available are K, °C, and °F. This is important if temperature dependent properties are considered.

Located at the top right is the button to Open & Edit Material Database. The Material Database is explained in the section Edit and expand the GeoDict material database.

On the left side, the Material IDs, their assigned material, and its color are shown. Please refer to Material Colors for more details on how to change the color.

The button next to it opens a report of the relevant parameters for this Material ID.

On the right side of the Select Constituent Materials dialog, all available parameters are grouped into several tabs. For materials from the Material Database, you can check the saved parameters. For some of the parameters, multiple material laws can be defined in the Material Database, please refer to chapter Edit existing material database entries for more details.

If multiple material laws are defined for a material, you can select the desired one in a drop down menu.

For Manual materials, which are not stored in the material database, you can define the necessary parameters in this dialog. It is also possible to define multiple material laws by clicking on the + icon at the end of a line to add a new material law. Delete additional laws by clicking on the – button.

The material of a Material ID can be changed by clicking on the material name. Then, the Material Selector dialog opens and the desired material can be selected.

Click on Run to apply the selected materials and their properties and update the structure. Please note that the structure including the redefined materials is not saved as a structure file (.gdt) automatically.

When a structure is imported in GeoDict (e.g., from a µCT-scan), its constituent materials can be set during the import. By default, the material with Material ID 00 is set to Pore (Fluid), whereas all other Material IDs are set to Manual (Solid). You can change the material by clicking on the corresponding material button and choosing the desired material in the Material Selector dialog.