Weighted versus Arithmetic Averages and Tecplot

Question: Why is there a difference in Tecplot’s integration average results and the average, or mean, I am calculating over all the data values? Example:  I have nodal data and I want to calculate average U velocity on the following domain (see Figure 1). When I use the integration average feature (Analyze>Perform Integration…>Average>U), I calculate 38.90 m/s. But when I calculate the average over all the nodal U values in […]

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Verifying Surface Normals in Integral Calculations

Problem: How do I verify the direction of my unit surface normal vectors to make the correct integrations? If my surface normals point in an inconsistent direction from one timestep to another, how do I correct the value of my integral? From the User’s Manual: “Integrations involving surface unit normals, such as Mass Flow Rate, and Forces and Moments integration, rely on surface unit normals pointing in a consistent direction. […]

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Fixing Incorrectly Spaced Dashed Lines in EPS Format Export

Problem: When I export an image of my dashed XY plot as a .EPS file, the dash spacing is altered and irregular. Detailed Example Case: When I export the plot to eps file and open it, the patterns of the dashed and dash-dotted lines are inaccurate. The pattern interval is not uniform and sometimes the dot in the dash-dotted line vanishes. These are highlighted in red: Plot before exporting (correct […]

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Invalid Connectivity Error Message when Slicing

Problem: I receive the following error when trying to create slices in my data: “Invalid Connectivity found when slicing cell ### from source zone #…” Solution: With the new option of Polygonal Slice mesh, which is meant to preserve the original mesh structure, invalid meshes create a bad cell in a slice. This is why the error is appearing. In many cases, the slices can be generated when switching to […]

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Add-on cannot be loaded.

Problem: I wrote an add-on that runs fine on my machine. But when a co-worker tries to load it on his PC he get the message: Add-on xxx.dll cannot be loaded. (126): The specified module could not be found. Solution: 1. Make sure that the add-on is compiled as a release build. 2. Verify that the add-on dll is located in a directory which is in the current path. 3. […]

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Animation is incomplete

Problem: I am creating an animation file with a macro but not all changes that I make to my plot appear in the animation. Solution: There are two possible solutions: For each plot change that should appear in your animation enter a $!RedrawAll command then an $!Export command. If you use any $!Drawgraphics commands be sure $!Drawgraphics = Yes is placed before the $!RedrawAll command.