Calculating the velocity magnitude in Tecplot 360 or Focus

Calculation, Tecplot 360 March 9, 2011

Problem: How can I calculate the velocity magnitude in Tecplot 360 or Focus? Solution: There are two methods, which are described below: General method (works in Tecplot 360 and Focus) In this method, the mathematical definition of vector magnitude is entered and the calculated result is stored in a new variable.  After loading your data, do the following: Go to Data > Alter > Specify Equations and enter the following equation: {Velocity Magnitude} […]

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RLM cannot bind Web Server port 5054, exiting

License Server, RLM, Tecplot 360 June 7, 2010

Problem: The Reprise License Manager will not start and my debug.log file includes a “Cannot bind Web Server port 5054, exiting” error. What happened and how can I fix it? Solution: If you start the Reprise License Manager (RLM) without a license key in the RLM installation directory and then try to shut down RLM, it will not shut down. If you try to start RLM again, you will encounter […]

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Variable names different than those in Fluent.

Fluent, Tecplot 360 June 3, 2010

Problem: I loaded some data into Tecplot from Fluent and the variable list came out different than I expected in Tecplot. Some of the variable names have t-1 or t-2 after them. Some of them have #1 or #2 or #3 after them. What is Tecplot doing with the names of the variables? Solution: Fluent allows for different variables in one zone than in another while Tecplot requires that all […]

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Assigning different colors to zones

Contours, Tecplot 360 May 28, 2010

Problem: Tecplot 360 2006 Tecplot Focus 2006 and earlier versions of Tecplot products assigned different colors to zones whereas Tecplot 360 2008 Tecplot Focus 2008 and later products assign black to all zones by default. Is there a way to change this default to make the Tecplot 360 and Tecplot Focus 2008 versions behave like the 2006 and earlier versions? Solution: Yes. Please check your tecplot.cfg file in your Tecplot […]

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Polar Contour plot

Contours, Polar Plot, Tecplot 360 May 13, 2010

Problem: Is there any way to show my polar data as a polar contour plot in Tecplot 10? Solution: Since Tecplot doesn’t have the built-in ability to have Polar contour plots each case may require its own special adjustments. But here are the general guidelines. Load the polar data into Tecplot in Polar line mode. The Tecplot default for Polar plots is to assign the first variable to Theta axis […]

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Failed to create OpenGL context

Crash, Startup, Tecplot 360 March 9, 2010

NOTE: This Knowledge Base article only applies to Tecplot 360 2025 R1 and previous. Starting with Tecplot 360 2025 R2, the graphics engine was changed from OpenGL to Vulkan. Problem: I saw this message after installing Tecplot on a 64 bit Linux Red Hat machine. How do I fix it? Solution: This message means that the computer does not support OpenGL. Please be sure your computers graphics card supports OpenGL […]

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Options File commands

Configuration, Tecplot 360 February 10, 2010

Problem: What sort of commands can I put in the Options file for the Reprise License Manager (RLM)? What functionality does it have? Solution: Here are some of the commands you can use in the ISV Options file (tecplot.opt) to control access to Tecplot 360/Focus with some examples mixed in (360 = Tecplot 360). Reserving licenses: RESERVE 1 360 USER robert RESERVE 1 360 HOST mainline The first line reserves […]

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How to calculate the circulation around a vortex core.

Calculation, Tecplot 360, Vortices January 28, 2010

Problem: I extracted a vortex core using the Tecplot CFD Analyzer, and now I want to calculate the circulation around the core. How can I do this? Solution: If you can define a closed path in your data over which to integrate, you can calculate circulation using the Integrate dialog. Open the dialog by choosing “Perform Integration” from the Analyze menu. In the Integrate dialog that appears, for Type of […]

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Kriging algorithm

Calculation, Tecplot 360 January 18, 2010

Problem: How does Tecplot calculate Kriging interpolation? Solution: Kriging and the Semivariogram. A semivariogram is a function that determines the relationship between distance and the variance of the data. Tecplot models the semivariogram with a spherical model using the range and zero value specified in the Kriging dialog as well as the variance of the variable(s) selected to krig.  Here are the details: For each variable selected Tecplot calculates the variance […]

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