Estimated and Not-Applicable Attributes

For selection data, it is essential that all records in the database have a consistent set of attributes and that the database is complete (free of missing data). To meet these requirements, it is sometimes necessary for attribute values to be estimated.

Not all attributes can be obtained from published sources, while some attributes are not relevant for some records. Therefore, the following approaches are sometimes used to ensure fully comparable data is available:

Estimated (*) values

Ansys databases sometimes uses expert estimates of data values, which are marked on the datasheet with an asterisk, *.

For an example, see 'Climate change (CO₂-eq) (typical grade production)' in MaterialUniverse.

'Not Applicable' values

Sometimes attibutes are not relevant for records, for example the attribute 'Dielectric Constant' for electrical conductors, since the dielectric constant is only relevant for electrical insulators.

These attributes are shown as 'Not Applicable' under the attribute value on the datasheet.

Functional attributes

The value of functional attributes is displayed as blank when 'Not Applicable', rather than displaying the text.

When the project parameter values are outside the data range specified by the (data stored in the) attribute, the attribute value is shown as 'Out Of Range'. Values that are 'Out Of Range' are considered to be 'Not Applicable' for the purposes of selection, and the same settings apply.

By default, records with 'Not Applicable' as their data value fail selection stages based on that attribute. For information about changing the selection settings, see Selection Settings.