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Introduction
PFC3D_EV is PFC3D with a new user-interface. The underlying calculation engine remains robust and reliable, but the user-experience is completely altered and enhanced.
To get an idea, the list of new or improved features provided below gives an overview (it is far from comprehensive). If you want a closer look, try the selection of movies that show the new PFC3D_EV in operation. Also, a demo version of PFC3D_EV is available from our Demo page.
Further Information
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New User Interface (GUI)
PFC3D_EV provides an alternative user interface to the native PFC3D 4.0 interface. In summary, the PFC3_EV achieves the following major objectives: all plotting uses accelerated 3D graphics, which dramatically increases rendering speed to the screen; all plotting control is available interactively, with all tools – both specification tools and manipulation tools – suitably near-at-hand to the user; a built-in editor provides native data file editing, and data files open in the PFC3D editor may be run directly; project management is now feasible with the implementation of the project file and the use of the project pane (see the "Project Management" topic); program configuration and project settings are easily accessible and specified in a single location (the "Options" dialog).
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Customizable Layout
PFC3D_EV uses floating and docking windows that may be arranged in any manner the user wishes. Four built-in layout options are provided (click on the first four tabs to view the different built-in layouts). User-created, custom layouts may be saved and applied to future projects (the last pair tabs illustrate two of the numerous possibilities). As the "User 1" tab shows, it is possible to keep multiple plot windows (or any other kind of window, for that matter) open simultaneously using these capabilities.
For a more in-depth look at the PFC3D_EV interface and layout options please visit the PFC3D_EV movies page here.
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Project Management
Work in PFC3D_EV is saved in a new file type: the Project file. The Project file references Data Files, Save States and Plot Files in one location. A Project file can be shown in the Project window. The Project window displays all files associated with a Project, and allows the user to quickly open or close those files.
Project files and the Project window simplify project management.
A Project window, displaying all the associated files of a project. Colored icons have been loaded and gray icons have not.
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Data File Editor
Any text file may be loaded into the PFC3D_EV editor. In addition to providing common edit functions (cut, paste, select, etc.) the editor features a syntax highlight tool that will indicate problematic lines in the current data file. The editor also contains a command (found on its toolbar or on the right-click context menu) to execute the active data file.
An open data file with highlighted sections after the "Validate Syntax" tool has been used. The highlights indicate syntax errors; correcting the error causes the highlighting to be removed.
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Enhanced Visualization I:
Enhanced/Expanded Plotting
PFC3D_EV overhauls and re-envisions PFC3D plotting, the result of which is that all model information may now be plotted. The physical properties of balls, clumps, bonds, walls and the optional features in PFC3D can now be visualized in an intuitive and interactive manner. The enhancements in this area are extensive: balls, clumps and walls can be colored by displacement, out of balance force and moment, translational and rotational velocity and more. Vector quantities associated with balls, clumps and walls can be plotted. Further, conditions such as velocity fixity and specified properties can also be visualized.
Several new plot items have been added to visualize contacts and bonds. This includes several methods of graphically representing contacts and bonds which can be colored according to any property. Lastly, PFC3D_EV also provides a rich set of additional new visualization tools and options, such as clip boxes, scale boxes, imported AutoCAD (DXF) renderings, and more.
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Enhanced Visualization II:
Radically Improved Rendering
PFC3D_EV uses accelerated 3D OpenGL-based graphics. This results in blazingly fast rendering times, even for very large models, and introduces a range of new rendering techniques/utilities previously unavailable, including: transparency, mapping, "shrink factors," and complex clipping planes (wedge, octant).
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Enhanced Visualization III:
Interactive Model Information
In PFC3D_EV the user may mouse-click on any plot item (ball, clump, bond, wall, fluid element etc) to raise a dialog window showing the ID and information associated with the state of that entity. For example, clicking on a ball brings up an extensive dialog showing the location, velocity, force and other properties of the ball. Further, the information dialog contains links to related entities in the model. One can navigate from a ball to each of the contacts on the ball to the bond information to walls to thermal properties and to fluid elements.
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Automatic Frame Capture
Using the "Movie" section of the "Options" dialog, the user may set any open plot in PFC3D_EV to be captured as a set of bitmap frames. The set may later be turned into a movie with the user's preferred movie media-building tool. As seen in the image, setting the plot to be frame-captured is a matter of checking one box. The dialog also provides controls for the capture frequency (specified in calculation cycles), bitmap type (format), size, and name of the captured frames.
The Options dialog, showing that three plots have been set to produce captured frames when the program cycles.
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Additional Features
FISH
- Local variables
- Function arguments
- Command-line debugging
- Improved error messages
- Vector types
- Dynamic arrays
- Zone field data functions
- C++ FISH intrinsic plug-ins
Plots
- Interactive clipping box
- Iso-surfaces
- Line profile
- Zone group plot showing internal group boundaries
- Equal angle stereonet of principal stress/strain orientations, as well as FISH extra values
- DXF files
- FISH function plotting
- Scale box
Misc.
- Improved C++ Constitutive Model plug-in interface.
- Improved GROUP range element.
- FISH range elements.
- User-defined scalar, vector, and tensor fields.
- CYSoil model.
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