Extract Vortex Cores over time

Problem:

How do I extract vortex cores over time?

Solution:

Use a Tecplot Macro to loop over time and extract the vortex cores at each time step.

Make sure Tecplot is aware of the variables representing your velocity field (Analyze->Field Variables menu).

The commands are as follow:

• Retrieve the number of time steps

$!EXTENDEDCOMMAND COMMANDPROCESSORID='extend time mcr'
  COMMAND='QUERY.NUMTIMESTEPS NUMTIMESTEPS'

• Loop over time

$!LOOP |NUMTIMESTEPS|
  $!EXTENDEDCOMMAND COMMANDPROCESSORID='extend time mcr'
    COMMAND='SET.CURTIMESTEP |LOOP|'
  [...]
$!ENDLOOP

• At each time step, extract the vortex cores

$!EXTENDEDCOMMAND COMMANDPROCESSORID = 'CFDAnalyzer4'
  COMMAND = 'ExtractFlowFeature Feature=\'VortexCores\' VCoreMethod=\'Eigenmodes\'
             ResidenceTime=1 SolutionTime=1   ExcludeBlanked=\'F\''

You may need to change the settings from the command above, depending on your dataset.

Download ExtractVortexCoresOverTime.mcr  from our handyscripts GitHub page.

Tip: For faster access, consider placing the macro in your Quick Macro Panel.