Use a 1D Plot Group (
) to plot graphs of, for example, a value that varies with time or a frequency spectrum, using options to use FFT with a time-dependent solution. You can also use 1D plot groups to create cross-section plots for solutions in 2D and 3D models. Normally the plot axes (
x-axis and
y-axis) use linear scaling but, depending on the plotted data, it might be beneficial to display the graphs using a log scale on the
x-axis or
y-axis. From the
Graphics window’s toolbar, click the
x-Axis Log Scale (
) and
y-Axis Log Scale (
) buttons to use a log scale on the
x-axis and
y-axis, respectively. If you use two
y-axes, there is also a
Secondary y-Axis Log Scale (
) button. Click again to return to a linear scale. For a log scale on an axis, COMSOL Multiphysics tries to show values like 10
{integer} (for example, 10
1 or 10
−2); if it is not possible to show more than three ticks like 10
{integer}, the software instead shows regular numerical values on the axis such as 1, 2, 5,10, 20, 50, 100; and finally, if these regular values are not possible to display, the axes show uniformly distributed regular values. For information about panning and zooming of graph plots in 1D Plot Groups, see
Panning and Zooming in 1D Graph Plots.
You can step through time, eigenvalues or eigenfrequencies, or parameter values using the Plot Previous (
) and
Plot Next (
) buttons at the top of the plot group nodes and their plot nodes. You can also use the F6 and F7 keyboard shortcuts to step to the previous or next solution, respectively. For a parametric sweep with multiple parameters, the buttons step through the innermost parameter only. To move to the solution associated with the first or last time, eigenvalue, or parameter value, click the
Plot First (
) or
Plot Last (
) button. For models with multiple levels of parameters and time, for example, use the list to the right of the
Plot Last button to choose the level for which you want to step through the solutions (see
Figure 21-5).
The Polar Plot Group node (
) creates a graph for
polar plots: plots of a function in polar coordinates: the radius
r and the angle
θ. This is useful for visualizing, for example, a radar cross section or other similar polar plots for electromagnetic or acoustic wave models. The available plot types and settings for the
Polar Plot Group node are similar to those for the 1D Plot Group.
Select a Dataset. Depending on the type of data, also specify, for example, the time, frequency, or eigenvalue selection. You can also select parameters from parametric sweeps.
For Parametric Sweep studies, also select an option from the
Select via list:
Stored output times or
Interpolated times.
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If Stored output times is selected, the Times section is auto-filled with information from the selected Dataset.
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If Interpolated times is selected, enter Times.
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For some solution Datasets, you can select the
Load case to use in the plot group (if any load cases exist).
For some Solution datasets, select a Parameter selection (freq):
All,
First,
Last,
From list, or
Manual.
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If From list is selected, select the Parameter values from the box that displays.
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If Manual is selected, enter Parameter indices (1-91) (the actual indices depend on the number of solutions). Or click the Range button ( ) to define an Integer Range.
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If you have defined a compatible configuration (see Configurations), which is typically a Multiselect Solution, the you can choose
From configuration from the
Solution parameters list (the default is
Manual). With
From configuration, choose a compatible configuration from the
Configuration list to use its settings for the solution parameters such as the time, eigenvalue, or parameter values to use.
From the Solution at angle (phase) list, choose
From dataset (the default, with the angle from the dataset added) or
Manual, to add a user-defined phase (in degrees) in the
Phase field below.
Select Save plot data to save the plot data in the model. This section only appears for the manual setting of the option for saving plot data. See
Saving Plot Data in the Model.
The Title type is automatically generated by default (the
Automatic option). Select
Custom,
Manual,
Label, or
None as needed. See
Plot Titles for Plot Groups and Plot Types for more information.
From the Color list, choose
Custom to define a custom color for the title, or choose one of the predefined colors (the default is
Black).
Manually enter axis labels by selecting the x-axis label and
y-axis label check boxes for 1D plot groups.
If you have more than one plot in the plot group, you can use two y-axes. Select the
Two y-axes check box to add a secondary
y-axis to the right of the plot. Then you can also select the
Secondary y-axis label check box to add a label for that
y-axis in the associated text field. At the bottom of this section, a list of all graph plot and annotation nodes under this plot group that can use the secondary
y-axis appears. In the
Plot on secondary y-axis column, select the check boxes for the plots and annotations that you want to plot on the secondary
y-axis. You can also specify that a plot should use the secondary
y-axis in each plot’s
Settings window’s
y-Axis section, where you can select or clear the
Plot on secondary y-axis check box.
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If the plot data for two plots have the same x-axis data range and the same slope of the y data, the plots will overlap when plotting them on two y-axes. The following workarounds are available to avoid that one plot hides the other:
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Select the Flip the x- and y-axes check box in cases where flipping the data for the axes may provide a better visualization. Switching the data also switches the axis labels if they are not specified manually.
Select the Manual axis limits check box to edit the limits already assigned based on the dataset. For 1D plot groups, this is for the
x minimum,
x maximum,
y minimum, and
y maximum. If the plot uses two
y-axes, you can also specify the
Secondary y minimum and
Secondary y maximum. For Polar Plot Groups, this is for the
r minimum and
r maximum. Additionally, for Polar Plot Groups, the following settings are available:
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Select the Symmetric angle range check box if you want the plot to display angles as +/−180 degrees around zero instead as a full 360 degree revolution.
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From the Zero angle list, choose Right (the default), Up, Left, or Down to specify the direction of the zero angle.
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From the Angular unit list, choose Degrees (the default) or Radians.
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From the Rotation direction list, choose Counterclockwise (the default) or Clockwise to specify the direction in which the angle increases.
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For the 1D Plot Group, and as needed, select the following check boxes: Preserve aspect ratio,
x-axis log scale, and
y-axis log scale. If the plot uses two
y-axes, you can also select the
Secondary y-axis log scale check box
. Select the
Preserve aspect ratio check box to preserve aspect ratio and keep the distances on the
x-axis and
y-axis equal. The second part is not possible to achieve if one of the
y-axes uses a log scale. However, the first part stays active; that is, if you zoom on one of the axes, all of the axes will be equally transformed (scaled).
Clear the Show grid check box if you do not want to include a grid in the plot.
Select the Manual spacing check box to edit the following fields: For 1D plot groups, this is for the
x spacing and
y spacing fields
. For Polar Plot Groups, this is for the
r spacing and
θ spacing (SI unit: degrees) fields.
For 1D plot groups, also specify extra grid points on the x-axis and
y-axis in the
Extra x and
Extra y fields. If the plot uses two
y-axes, you can also add extra grid points for the secondary
y-axis in the
Secondary extra y field. For Polar plot groups, this is for the
Extra θ and
Extra r fields.
If you have added Graph Plot Style configuration nodes (see
Configurations), you can choose to use one for the plot style settings in the graph plot nodes under this plot group. To do so, choose it from the
Configuration list. The plot style settings that are then takes from the configuration will be grayed out in the settings for the graph plot nodes in this plot group.
Select the Show legends check box to display legends for the quantities in the graph and, if using a
Color Expression subnode, color legends.
Specify the position of the graph legends for the plots in the plot group. From the Layout list, choose
Inside graph axis area (the default) to show the legends within the graph plot limits, or choose
Outside graph axis area to show them outside of the graph plot limits. From the
Position list, when
Inside graph axis area has been selected, select
Upper right (
) (the default),
Upper middle (
),
Upper left (
),
Middle right (
),
Center (
),
Middle left (
),
Lower right (
),
Lower middle (
),
Lower left (
), or
Manual. If you choose
Manual, define the relative position (0–1) in the
x-position and
y-position fields. If
Outside graph axis area was selected, choose
Bottom (
),
Left (
),
Right (
) (the default), or
Top (
).
If Inside graph axis area has been selected, you can also change the value in the
Maximum relative width field from the default value of 0.5 to some other values between 0 and 1. Doing so can be useful if a legend text is too wide for the default width, for example.
For color legends, select or clear the Show maximum and minimum values check box to show or hide those values from the top and bottom of the color legends. Also select the
Show units check box to display a unit above the color legend, if desired.
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Select Alternating ( ) to position the first color legend to the right of the plot, the second color legend to the left of the plot, and so on.
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Select Bottom ( ) to position the color legends horizontally at the bottom of the plot window.
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Select Left ( ) to position the color legends to the left of the plot.
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Select Left double ( ) to position the color legends to the left of the plot with two color legends positioned on top of each other (tiled vertically).
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Select Right ( ) to position the color legends to the right of the plot. This is the default position.
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Select Right double ( ) to position the color legends to the right of the plot with two color legends positioned on top of each other (tiled vertically).
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To override the automatic formatting of the numbers on the axes, select the Manual axis settings check box. Then adjust the formatting using the following settings:
From the Notation list, choose
Automatic to let the program choose decimal notation or scientific notation (E-notation) depending on the values of the displayed numbers. Choose
Scientific to only use scientific notation.
Select the Use common exponent check box (selected by default) to use a common exponent at the end of each axis. Clear this check box to instead display the full numbers, including the exponents, next to the corresponding axis tick. One of these formats may be better suited to display the axes if the plot window is small, for example.
Select the Show trailing exponent check box to display all numbers based on the precision used, including trailing zeros (for example, 5 is then displayed as 5.000 when the precision is set to 4).
In the Precision field, enter a positive integer (default: 5) for the numerical precision (number of digits displayed).
To override the automatic formatting of the numbers in the color legend, select the Manual color legend settings check box. Then adjust the formatting using the following settings:
From the Notation list, choose
Automatic to let the program choose decimal notation or scientific notation (E-notation) depending on the values of the displayed numbers. Choose
Engineering to use engineering notation, or choose
Scientific to only use scientific notation.
Select the Use common exponent check box (selected by default) to use a common exponent above the color legend. Clear this check box to instead display the full numbers, including the exponents, next to the corresponding levels in the color legend. One of these formats may be better suited to display the color legend if the plot window is small, for example.
Select the Show trailing exponent check box to display all numbers based on the precision used, including trailing zeros (for example, 5 is then displayed as 5.00 when the precision is set to 3).
In the Precision field, enter a positive integer (default: 3) for the numerical precision (number of digits displayed).
Select a Plot window. The
Graphics window is the default, but any other plot window can be selected, or select
New window to plot in a new window. Select the
Window title check box to enter a custom title (except for the
Graphics window), which is then available in the
Plot window list for all models. Click the
Add Plot Window button (
) to add a plot window to the list of available windows.
Use a combination of datasets and plots to create a cross-section point plot and cross-section line plot. To add plots to a group, right-click the 1D Plot Group node to select as many as needed. Each plot group can have several plots combined to create a meaningful representation of the data.
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See Table 21-11 for a summary of all the available plot types, including links to each plot described in this guide.
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