Adding a material to the PV Elite/CodeCalc material database

Intergraph CAS
Ray Delaforce

This is a simple process, but things have to be done in the right order. To aid you in this task
there is a help system which is readily available. It is included in the appendix at the end of this
article.

There are two ways of adding a material to the material database:

1. You can use an existing material, which you can rename and modify the properties, or,
2. You can add a completely new material, adding all the properties

Using an existing material and modifying it

In the first example, we are going to modify an existing PV Elite material. To open the material
data base, see the instruction in the index at the end of this article. Your screen will look like
this:

To choose an existing material, click this button:

From the Material Database shown here, select a material by clicking on it. I have chose SA-516
70. You notice that the material now appears in the Material Name field:

Now press this Icon to tell the programme that this is the material you have chosen:

Now change the Material Name like this (use your material name):
Now change all the properties include the allowable stress values:

Once you have changed all the values in which you are interested, press the save icon to save
your work:

Now press the merge button to merge the new material into the PV Elite/CodeCalc material
database:
Simply close the program by clicking on the close button:

Finding the Material in the Material Database

When you want to select the material you have just entered into the material database, look for it
at the bottom of the list as shown here:

Adding a Material to the material Database without using an existing material

This is also a simple process. Open the Material Base editor as shown in the Index to this
article. You should get this screen:
Look for the plus (+) button and click on it:

You will get a new entry in the material list:

You will see the same entry in the field called Material Name:
Change the name to the name of the material whose data you want like this:

Now fill in all the information

Now, to save the information, press the save icon:

Then press the merge icon:

Close the Material editor by clicking on the Close button:

You can find the material at to bottom of the list when you are selecting a material:
There are different Material Databases available

If you are using PV Elite to add a new material to the material database, you have a choice as can
be seen here:

They are edited in the same way, but be careful; for example, the EN 13445 need a lot more
information, and if you forget to include it, the calculations may be looking for information that
is not there.

Special case with ASME Materials

Let us look for a moment at the editor, when we want to add a material to the ASME material
data base. When you open the material editor (see the Index for instructions), you get some
choices:

As you see, you can add a material to the Division 1 or the Division 2 material database. There
are other choices too. At the bottom of the editor you can click on the Options tab like this:
You can add a material to the Pre-99 material database if you so choose. You can figure out how
to do this very easily.

Index

In PV Elite, to get to get help, go to ToolsEdit/Add MaterialsEdit ASME user database.

In CodeCalc, to get help, go to ToolsEdit/Add Material/Edit ASME material database.

You will be presented with this dialog screen:

Place your cursor in any field, such as the one shown above, and press the <F1> key. You will
then get the Help screen which will look like this: