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Materials Library

The Material Library module is a centralized database for managing the properties of all polymers and metals used in your catheter designs. It allows you to customize existing materials, add new proprietary blends, and share material data across different projects and team members.

Accessing the Material Library​

To open the material manager, navigate to the main menu bar and select Tools > Manage Material Library. This will open a dedicated dialog window where you can view and edit the current active material database.

Interface Overview​

The dialog provides a straightforward spreadsheet interface to manage your materials.

  • Search Filter: Located at the top left, this allows you to quickly find specific materials by typing part of their Name or Material Family.
  • Row Controls: Located at the top right, these buttons allow you to:
  • Add Row: Inserts a new, blank row at the bottom of the table.
  • Delete Row: Removes the currently selected material(s).
  • Move Up/Down: Reorders the selected material within the list.
  • Add Blend: Opens the Polymer Blend / Mass Loaded Additive tool (see "Create Custom Blend / Mass Loaded Extrusion" below).

Material Properties​

The main table displays the following physical and mechanical properties required by the simulation and analysis engines:

  • Name: A unique identifier for the material (e.g., "Pebax 72D"). This name will appear in dropdown menus throughout the Catheter Setup tab.

  • Material Family: A general classification (e.g., "Polymer" or "Metal").

  • Thermoplastic: A Yes/No toggle indicating if the polymer is a thermoplastic. This property is specifically used by the Flowdown Calculator module to determine if a layer will reflow during manufacturing.

  • Density: The mass per unit volume. The units (g/cm³ or lb/in³) adapt automatically based on your global unit preferences.

  • Modulus of Elasticity: Also known as Young's Modulus, this defines the material's stiffness or resistance to elastic deformation. Units are in MPa or psi.

  • Poisson's Ratio: A dimensionless value describing the material's tendency to expand in directions perpendicular to the direction of compression.

  • Tensile Strength: The maximum stress the material can withstand while being stretched before failing. Units are in MPa or psi.

Create Polymer Blend / Polymer + Additive​

VirtuCath™ includes a tool to quickly estimate the mechanical properties of a new material created by mixing two existing polymers, or by loading a base polymer with a particulate additive (radiopaque filler or lubricious filler). Open it from the menu bar with Materials > Create Custom Blend..., or from the Add Blend button in the Material Library.

  • Mode Selection: Choose between Polymer Blend or Polymer + Additive.
  • Polymer Blend Mode: Select two constituent polymers from your library. The calculation is an engineering estimate based on immiscible polymer blend assumptions.
  • Polymer + Additive Mode: Select a base polymer and a particulate additive. The bundled additive list includes radiopaque fillers (Barium Sulfate, Tungsten, Bismuth Subcarbonate, Bismuth Trioxide) and a lubricious filler (PTFE Micropowder). This mode models how heavy rigid fillers sharply increase density, modestly increase modulus, and reduce ultimate tensile strength due to stress concentrations around the particles.
  • Custom Additive: The additive dropdown ends in a Custom... entry. Selecting it reveals a Material Name field and unlocks the four property fields (Density, Modulus, Poisson's Ratio, Tensile Strength) for direct entry. The live preview recomputes as you type. To Save, all four numeric fields must parse and satisfy density > 0, modulus > 0, tensile strength > 0, and −1 < Poisson's Ratio < 0.5; the Material Name must be non-empty and must not collide with an existing library entry. If any check fails the dialog stays open and explains what's missing.
  • Blend Ratio (by mass): Use the slider or spin box to set the mass percentage for Material A (the base polymer). Material B's percentage is calculated automatically. The slider is bounded to 5–95% to keep both phases physically meaningful. The default ratio is 50/50 in Polymer Blend mode and 80% base polymer / 20% additive in Polymer + Additive mode.
  • Live Preview: As you change the ratio or selections, the resulting material's Density, Modulus, Poisson's Ratio, and Tensile Strength are recalculated and displayed alongside the side-by-side property panels for the two parent materials.
  • Save Blend: Click Save to add the new calculated material to your active library, making it available for catheter construction. Polymer + Additive blends are auto-named using the base polymer name and the additive loading (e.g., Pebax 72D (20% Barium) for a preset additive, or PEBAX 2533 (20% MyFiller) when using a Custom additive).

Data Management​

At the bottom left of the Material Library dialog, the Manage Library dropdown provides file operations for the database:

  • Load from File: Imports a previously saved material library. The library must be in a standard JSON format.

  • Save As: Exports your current, customized material library as a .json file. This is highly recommended for backing up your data or sharing custom material properties with other VirtuCath users.

  • Reset to Defaults: Reverts the entire library back to the original factory settings, erasing any custom materials or modifications you have made.

    • Note: A confirmation prompt will appear before this action is executed.
  • Catheter Setup Tab — assign these materials to layers in your catheter design.
  • Menu Bar — open the Material Library and the Custom Blend utility.
  • Model Accuracy and Confidence — material-property variation directly affects predicted stiffnesses; characterize and override library values for tightest agreement.