Plotting Results

Results are explored with two parts of the Solver that work together: the Plotter Options tab of the Solver panel selects what to plot, and the Results plot, docked on the right, draws it. You can plot while a run is in progress to watch fronts develop.

Choosing what to plot

In Plotter Options, start with the Plot type:

Column: variables inside the packed column (the usual choice).
Boundary conditions: variables at an inlet or outlet stream of a step.
KPIs: a performance metric against cycle number.

Column variables

For a Column plot you choose:

X-axis: Position or Time, each with its own unit (see below).
Cycles: Single cycle (then pick the Cycle) or All cycles, which overlays every logged cycle and is the quickest way to check cyclic steady state.
Steps: tick each step to plot; several steps are drawn together.
Variable group: Bulk or Component.
- Bulk variables describe the fluid or the bed as a whole, e.g. Pressure, Fluid Temperature, Wall Temperature, Velocity, Volumetric and Molar Flow Rate, Fluid Density, Viscosity and Thermal Conductivity.
- Component variables are per species, e.g. Mole Fraction, Adsorbed Concentration, Equilibrium Adsorbed Concentration, Mass Transfer Coefficient and Molecular Diffusion. Tick the Components to plot; each becomes its own curve.

The Variable selector has a unit menu next to it when the variable has more than one unit. Pressure plots open in bar and temperature plots in °C; other variables open in their SI base unit.

Boundary-condition variables

For a Boundary conditions plot, pick the Cycle, the Step and the Stream, a Time unit, then a variable: Temperature, Molar Flow Rate or Compressor Power (Bulk), or Mole Fraction or Molar Flow of the ticked components (Component). This is how you read outlet purity, product flow or compression power at a face. The time axis is the time since the start of the selected step.

KPI plots

For a KPIs plot, pick the KPI (Purity, Recovery, Productivity (mass), Productivity (vol), Energy or Production rate) and tick the components. Each logged cycle is one point, so the plot shows how the cycle settles towards steady state.

Time series and spatial profiles

On a Column plot the X-axis switches between the two fundamental views:

Time: a time series at a fixed Position, chosen with a slider (snapping to a cell) or typed as a value (interpolated between cells). This gives breakthrough curves and cycle traces, e.g. outlet mole fraction against time. The time axis starts at 0 at the start of the earliest plotted step: with a single cycle it is the time since the start of the first ticked step in that cycle, and with All cycles the time since the start of that step in the first logged cycle.
Position: a spatial profile at a fixed Time, chosen the same way. This shows the state along the column, e.g. the concentration front or the temperature wave at an instant. The Time is measured from the same origin as the Time axis, the start of the earliest plotted step.

Exporting data

Export CSV above the plot saves the plotted series (with any overlaid experimental data, on a common time axis), and Export PNG saves the chart as an image.

Overlaying experimental data

Measured curves stored in the deck can be drawn on a time plot from the Experimental Data tab of the Solver panel. The Experimental Data page covers the file format, the units and which time axis each plot uses; the Ward 2022 example is a full validation walk-through.

Isotherm plots

Separately, an adsorbent's equilibrium loading can be plotted from the Isotherms tab of its editor (open it from Adsorbents in the Navigator), with an adjustable temperature and maximum pressure. The adsorbent library browser plots its entries the same way.