mpyvisualize

This tool creates slice visualizations of scalar fields from CFD simulation result files and saves them as image files.

Usage

mpyvisualize [options] slice [options] FIELD INPUT

Commands

slice - Slice Plot

Extract a 2D slice through a VTK dataset and save it as an image. The slice plane is defined by an origin point and a normal vector. FIELD accepts glob patterns; when the pattern matches multiple fields, one image is produced per matched field with the field name appended to the output stem (e.g. slice.alpha.water.png).

mpyvisualize slice [options] FIELD INPUT

Options:

  • --output FILE - Output image file path (default: slice.<field>.png)

  • --normal VECTOR - Normal vector of the slice plane (default: (0,0,1))

  • --origin POINT - Origin point of the slice plane (default: mesh center)

  • --perspective / --no-perspective - Use perspective view instead of parallel projection (default: off)

  • --perspective-azimuth FLOAT - Camera azimuth angle in degrees (default: 15)

  • --perspective-elevation FLOAT - Camera elevation angle in degrees (default: 15)

  • --feature-edges / --no-feature-edges - Overlay mesh feature edges in black (default: on in perspective mode, off otherwise)

  • --color-map, --cmap NAME - Colormap name (default: Fast). Fast is a perceptually uniform colormap and the default in ParaView. Any matplotlib colormap is also accepted.

  • --color-limits, --clim MIN,MAX - Fix colormap range, e.g. [0,1] (default: auto-detected)

  • --size WIDTHxHEIGHT - Output image dimensions in pixels (default: 1024x768)

  • --font-size INT - Font size for axis labels and scalar bar (default: 12)

  • --pointdata - Use point data instead of cell data

Example:

mpyvisualize slice alpha.water result.vtk

Examples

Field Selection with Wildcards

mpyvisualize slice "alpha*" result.vtk

Custom Slice Plane

mpyvisualize slice alpha.water result.vtk \
    --origin "(0.5,0.5,0.5)" \
    --normal "(0,1,0)"

Perspective View with Feature Edges

mpyvisualize slice alpha.water result.vtk \
    --perspective \
    --perspective-azimuth 45 \
    --perspective-elevation 30 \
    --feature-edges

Fixed Color Limits

mpyvisualize slice alpha.water result.vtk --color-limits "[0,1]"

High-Resolution Output

mpyvisualize slice alpha.water result.vtk --size "1920x1080" --font-size 18

Usage with Results from OpenFOAM Foundation Software

foamToVTK -latestTime
mpyvisualize slice alpha.water VTK/<filename>.vtk

Supported File Formats

The tool supports all result file formats readable by PyVista:

  • Legacy VTK format (.vtk)

  • VTK XML formats (.vtu, .vtp, .vti, .vts, .vtr)

  • EnSight format (.case, .encas)

  • Plot3D format (.xyz, .q)

  • And many others supported by PyVista

Supported output image formats: PNG, JPEG, TIFF, BMP.