Creating a Histogram
Selecting Elements
The Select Element section is used to determine which elements to collect data from. You can select the group or type of elements.
| Group | Type |
| Particle | All or any individual particle type (as specified in the Creator).Geometry |
| Geometry | All or any individual section (as specified in the Creator). |
| Contact | All or any combination of specific particle types or geometry sections. |
| Collision | All or any combination of specific particle types or geometry sections. |
Configuring the X-Axis
Click the X-axis tab and then select the attribute and component to plot on the X-axis. The attributes available in the list will depend on the elements previously selected. For more information on attributes, see Appendix A: Attribute Definitions.
The following table shows the attributes and components available for each element.
| Element | Attribute | Components |
| Particle | Angular velocity | Magnitude, X, Y, Z |
| Compressive force | N/A | |
| Diameter | N/A | |
| Distance | Define reference object* | |
| Kinetic energy | N/A | |
| Mass | N/A | |
| Potential energy | N/A | |
| Residence time | N/A | |
| Rotational kinetic energy | N/A | |
| Time | N/A | |
| Torque | Magnitude, X, Y, Z | |
| Total energy | N/A | |
| Total force | Magnitude, X, Y, Z | |
| Velocity | Magnitude, X, Y, Z | |
| Volume | N/A | |
| Custom property | Depends on number of elements | |
| Geometry | Time | N/A |
| Contact | Contact vector 1 | Magnitude, X, Y, Z |
| Contact vector 2 | Magnitude, X, Y, Z | |
| Distance | Define reference object* | |
| Normal overlap | N/A | |
| Normal force | Magnitude, X, Y, Z | |
| Tangential force | Magnitude, X, Y, Z | |
| Tangential overlap | N/A | |
| Time | N/A | |
| Custom property | Depends on number of elements | |
| Collision | Average normal force | Magnitude, X, Y, Z |
| Average tangential force | Magnitude, X, Y, Z | |
| Distance | N/A | |
| Duration | N/A | |
| Maximum normal force | Magnitude, X, Y, Z | |
| Maximum tangential force | Magnitude, X, Y, Z | |
| Normal energy loss | N/A | |
| Number of collisions | N/A | |
| Relative velocity | Magnitude, X, Y, Z | |
| Relative velocity normal | Magnitude, X, Y, Z | |
| Relative velocity tangential | Magnitude, X, Y, Z | |
| Tangential energy loss | N/A | |
| Time | N/A | |
| Total energy loss | N/A | |
| Velocity element A** | Magnitude, X, Y, Z | |
| Velocity element B | Magnitude, X, Y, Z |
- * If the attribute is set to Distance, you must define a point or plane from which the distance is measured. When distance is selected, the Define Reference Object section of the pane will be activated. Select Point or Plane and define its position and, for a plane, its distance from the origin.
- ** The velocity of the first element in the collisions. Similarly, for the second element.
X and Y axes are related. The attribute you choose to measure on the X-axis will limit those available to measure on the Y-axis. Similarly, if the Y-axis is configured first, the attributes available on the X-axis will be limited.
Configuring the Y-Axis
Click the Y-axis tab and select the element attribute and component to be plotted on the Y-axis. The attributes available in the list will depend on the elements previously selected and the attribute being measured on the X-axis. You can select a component type for certain attributes. This is used to determine which value will be plotted for a particular attribute component. For example, the maximum, minimum, or average particle velocity. For more information about attributes, see Appendix A: Attribute Definitions.
The following table shows the range of attributes, components, and component types available for each element.
| Element | Attribute | Components | Type |
| Geometry | Angular Velocity | Magnitude, X, Y, Z | Average, Max, Min, or CoG |
| Center of Mass | Magnitude, X, Y, Z | Average, Max, Min | |
| Compressive force | N/A | Average, Max, Min, or Total | |
| Distance | N/A | Average, Max or Min | |
| Pressure | N/A | Total Pressure, Max, Min | |
| Torque (element) | Magnitude, X, Y, Z | Average, Max, Min, or Total | |
| Total force | Magnitude, X, Y, Z | Average, Max, Min, or Total | |
| Velocity | Magnitude, X, Y, Z | Average, Max, Min, or CoG | |
| Custom property | Depends on no. of elements | Average, Max, Min, or Total | |
| Particle | Angular velocity | Magnitude, X, Y, Z | Average, Max, Min, or Total |
| Compressive force | N/A | Average, Max, Min, or Total | |
| Diameter | N/A | Average, Max, Min, or Total | |
| Distance | Define ref. object* | Average, Max or Min | |
| Kinetic energy | N/A | Average, Max, Min, or Total | |
| Mass | N/A | Average, Max, Min, or Total | |
| Number of particles | N/A | Total or Total in Range** | |
| Potential energy | N/A | Average, Max, Min, or Total | |
| Residence time | N/A | Average, Max, Min, or Total | |
| Rotational kinetic energy | N/A | Average, Max, Min, or Total | |
| Torque | Magnitude, X, Y, Z | Average, Max, Min, or Total | |
| Total energy | N/A | Average, Max, Min, or Total | |
| Total force | Magnitude, X, Y, Z | Average, Max, Min, or Total | |
| Velocity | Magnitude, X, Y, Z | Average, Max, Min, or Total | |
| Volume | N/A | Average, Max, Min, or Total | |
| Custom property | Depends on no. of elements | Average, Max, Min, or Total | |
| Contact | Contact vector 1 | Magnitude, X, Y, Z | Average, Max or Min |
| Contact vector 2 | Magnitude, X, Y, Z | Average, Max or Min | |
| Distance | Define ref. object* | Average, Max or Min | |
| Normal force | Magnitude, X, Y, Z | Average, Max, Min, or Total | |
| Normal overlap | N/A | Average, Max or Min | |
| Number of contacts | N/A | Total or Total in Range** | |
| Tangential force | Magnitude, X, Y, Z | Average, Max, Min, or Total | |
| Tangential overlap | N/A | Average, Max or Min | |
| Custom property | Depends on no. of elements | Average, Max, Min, or Total | |
| Collision | Average normal force | Magnitude, X, Y, Z | Average, Max, Min, or Total |
| Average tangential force | Magnitude, X, Y, Z | Average, Max, Min, or Total | |
| Distance | Define ref. object* | Average, Max or Min | |
| Duration | N/A | Average, Max or Min | |
| Maximum normal force | Magnitude, X, Y, Z | Average, Max, Min, or Total | |
| Maximum tangential force | Magnitude, X, Y, Z | Average, Max, Min, or Total | |
| Normal energy loss | N/A | Average, Max, Min, or Total | |
| Number of collisions | N/A | Total or Total in Range** | |
| Relative velocity | Magnitude, X, Y, Z | Average, Max, Min, or Total | |
| Relative velocity normal | Magnitude, X, Y, Z | Average, Max, Min, or Total | |
| Relative velocity tangential | Magnitude, X, Y, Z | Average, Max, Min, or Total | |
| Tangential energy loss | N/A | Average, Max, Min, or Total | |
| Total energy loss | N/A | Average, Max, Min, or Total | |
| Velocity of element A | Magnitude, X, Y, Z | Average, Max, Min, or Total | |
| Velocity of element B | Magnitude, X, Y, Z | Average, Max, Min, or Total |
* If the attribute is set to Distance, you must define a point or plane from which the distance is measured. When distance is selected, the Define Reference Object section of the pane will be activated. Selected the point or plane from which the distance should be measured. A point is defined by its xyz position and a plane by its orientation and distance from the origin.
** When the axis is set to measure the number of particles or number of contacts, you can plot either the total number of particles/contacts or the total number in a defined range. For example, counting only those particles with a mass between 0.1kg and 0.2kg or velocity between 2m/s and 5m/s. When the Total in Range option is selected, the Secondary Attribute section of the pane is activated. Select the attribute and component and enter the maximum and minimum values of that range to restrict the range.
Configuring Graph Settings
You can configure the settings for elements in a particular Time Step or over a range of time steps.
Time Steps
By default, Current Time Step is selected. To modify the Current Time step, use the Current Time control in the Viewer control pane at the right of the screen. For example, the following histograms show the distribution of particles traveling in particular velocity ranges - one one Time step, so each particle is only counted once, and the second for a range of 100 time steps.
Unselect Current Time Step to set a different start and end time. Grayed-out time steps indicate partial saves and may not contain all the data you want to plot.
Axis Range
The X and Y axis ranges can be determined automatically (from the values of the attributes selected) or entered manually. The number of intervals on each axis should also be defined. A greater number of intervals increases the accuracy of the chart.
Display Options
Click the Display Options button to open the dialog box.
Title
Specify the graph title.
X-label, Y-label
Enter manually, if required. Can also be determined automatically.
Show grid
Turns the interval grid on and off.
Show average value
Turns the display of a horizontal line showing the average value on and off.
Show minimum value
Turns the display of a horizontal line showing the minimum value on and off.
Show maximum value
Turns the display of a horizontal line showing the maximum value on and off.
Creating the Graph
After the axes have been configured and the Time Step and display options set, you can create the graph.
Click Create Graph to draw the graph and Clear Graph to clear it. If any setting is altered (including changing the units) click Create Graph again to view the modified graph.
To save the graph data, right-click the graph and then select Export as Text.
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