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📚Material Database

The Material Database is provided by the Grasshopper component Material Library (Elastic), implemented as MaterialPresetElastic. It allows you to quickly select standard grades (steel, concrete, timber, plastic) and automatically generate consistent elastic material properties for Alpaca4d.

How it works

The component reads a set of JSON databases embedded in Alpaca4d:

  • steel_properties.json

  • concrete_properties.json

  • timber_properties.json

  • plastic_properties.json

Each database contains typical values for:

  • E: Young’s modulus (stored in MPa, converted internally to ([kN/m²])).

  • G: Shear modulus (if provided).

  • ρ: Density ([kg/m³]).

  • Additional information specific to each material type (e.g. characteristic / mean values for concrete and timber).

You select:

  • Model: Uniaxial or nD.

  • Type: material family (e.g. Steel, Concrete, Timber, Plastic).

  • Grade: specific grade (e.g. S235, C30/37, etc.).

The component then creates:

  • A Uniaxial elastic material (UniaxialMaterialElastic) when Model = Uniaxial.

  • An nD elastic isotropic material (ElasticIsotropicMaterial) when Model = nD.

Inputs and outputs

  • DatabasePath (optional): Path to a custom JSON material database with the same schema as the built‑in ones. If provided, this custom database is merged into the available types and grades.

  • Material: Resulting material object (Uniaxial or ND) ready to be connected to sections or elements.

Usage notes

  • Use the Material Database whenever you need standard elastic materials without manually entering (E), (G), (ν), and (ρ).

  • You can still override or create fully custom materials using the dedicated Uniaxial and nD material components.

  • Custom JSON databases are useful for company‑specific libraries or national standards not included in the default set.

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