CapeSym

Table of Contents

Slicing

The interior of a template or solution may be examined by slicing it. A model may be sliced along any of the three Cartesian axes by three different methods: entering the slice plane location, selecting the slice plane using the cursor, or slicing at the maximum temperature. When a solution is sliced, temperatures are interpolated at the slice plane. To examine a slice, use the mouse to rotate the view or select one of the view point items from the View menu. In the case of keep x > mouse click, selecting Left view will orient the slice face straight on. A model may be unsliced using the Unslice commands from the View menu.

Note: Slicing a large data set, especially one containing a solution through time, may be computationally intensive since the graphics for every time point is recomputed. While the slice is being computed the application window will display a progress bar.

Slicing at Location

To slice a solution or template at a particular x, y, or z value, open the at x location..., at y location..., or at z location... dialog from the slicing submenus of the View menu.

The at z location... Dialog

The dialog displays the location of the last slice plane and the range of allowable locations. The last slice plane location could be from manual slicing or slicing at max. temperature, so the Slice Location dialog can also be used to find out where a slice is located. The dialog also allows the user to select which part of the model to display: the part above the slice plane or the part below the slice plane.

Slicing with Cursor

To manually slice, select one of the “mouse click” slicing options in the View menu. The slice plane is selected by positioning the knife-like cursor at the desired location and pressing the left mouse button.

Manual slicing menu items include choices for keeping the part above or below the slice location. For example, selecting keep x > mouse click will slice the model such that all x values above the click point are retained and all those below the click point are removed, as shown in the figure below.

Holding the Ctrl key down while slicing prevents the slice tool from being released, which allows another slice to be made without returning to the menu to reselect the slice tool. The slice tool can be released (without slicing) by hitting the Escape key.

Slicing at Max. Temperature

Automatic slicing at the maximum temperature uses the first (x,y,z) location at which the maximum temperature was found over the entire solution. Slicing to keep x > max. temp. x sets the slice plane at this x value, and leaves the part of the solution greater than the slice plane. Slicing to keep x < max. temp. x sets the slice plane at the x value, and leaves the part of the solution less than the slice plane. Slicing in the y- and z-directions work in a similar fashion.

Working with Multiple Slices

Slicing can be done on different axes in sequence to create a compound slice. For example, the above figure shows a slice of first keep y > max. temp. y, followed by a slice of keep x < max. temp. x. Different methods of slicing can be combined on different axes.

The Restore all command from the Unslice submenu unslices all the slice planes. To unslice just a single axis, select the appropriate Slice Location dialog and enter zero for the slice position while keeping the part above this value.

The program retains a list of prior slice locations that can be redisplayed using the Last slice command (Ctrl+L) from the Unslice submenu. The Last slice command can be used more than once to display the whole sequence of the prior slice locations. Prior slices are displayed repeatedly in a loop for as long as the Last slice command is invoked. The list of prior slices is cleared whenever a template is opened, and can also be cleared by the Clear last slices command from the Unslice submenu.