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GeoDict 2023 Tutorial: Understanding and Managing Object Overlap

Introduction to the tutorial

Welcome to this tutorial about managing object overlaps in GeoDict, the digital material laboratory. This guide will help you understand how to handle overlaps, define overlap rules, and how you can remove overlaps after generating structures.

You can either watch the video below or follow our step-by-step guide.

Trainer

Janine Hilden, M.Sc.

Application Engineer

GeoDict 2023 Tutorial: Understanding and Managing Object Overlap

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1. Launch GeoDict and open GrainGeo

GeoDict structure generators such as GrainGeo allow you to create structures that consist of analytical objects. These objects may overlap and for such occurences GeoDict offers several ways to handle these overlaps. To show you how overlaps work, we use an example, where we create a grain structure with GrainGeo.

  • Open GeoDict and select 'Model' from the top menu and select GrainGeo from the drop-down list. (Note: You can also use any other structure generator to follow this tutorial)
  • Click on 'Generate'

 

2. Understanding Overlap Rules

Overlap rules are used to specify what happens when two objects overlap. The material ID for this overlap can be a new ID or one of the IDs from the overlapping objects. You can define these rules in GadGeo.

Steps to define overlap rules:

  1. Select Model from the menu bar, then choose GadGeo.
  2. Select Edit Domain.
  3. Here, you can define the overlap rules.

In the default GrainGeo structure, for example, the overlap between objects with ID 01 is 01, and the overlap between objects of material ID 02 is 02. If no rule is given for the overlap between two IDs, the overlap material is defined as a new default ID. In our structure, this is the case if the overlapping objects have different material IDs, which results in ID 03.

You can also define an additional overlap rule, for example, that ID 1 overlapping with ID 2 should result in ID 01. Once you apply this rule, click "OK" and "Run", you will observe that there are only two different materials left in your structure.

3. Viewing in 2D

To visualize how the defined overlap rules have affected the structure, switch to the 2D view. After applying the new overlap rule, you can see how grains of material ID 01 are always complete - sometimes partly embedded in ID 02 grains.

4. Resolving Overlaps

Overlaps can be resolved, meaning that the overlap gets both IDs to equal parts.

Steps to resolve overlap:

  1. Select Model from the menu bar, then choose GadGeo.
  2. Select Edit Domain.
  3. Click Edit and check the Resolve Overlap checkbox. Note that the overlap rules disappear.
  4. Click OK and Run.

Upon executing these steps, you'll observe that the border between two objects with different IDs lays in the middle of the previous overlap.

Note: These overlap possibilities are also available in every structure generator before creating the object. By using GadGeo they can be applied after the generation.

5. Removing Overlaps

The overlap can also be removed while or after generating the structure.

Steps to remove overlap:

  1. Select Algorithms from the pull-down menu in GadGeo.
  2. Choose Remove Object Overlap and click Run.

This process removes the overlap and the objects will then only touch.

6. Setting Overlap Rules While Generating Structure

All of these overlap possibilities can of course be set while generating the structure.

Steps to set overlap rules during structure generation:

  1. Open the GrainGeo options by clicking Model -> GrainGeo.
  2. Under the tab Create Grains click Edit.
  3. Under the Generation and Overlap mode you find the remove overlap options.
  4. Under the Object Overlap tab, you can define the overlap rules or check Resolve Overlap.

That's it! Now you know how to handle object overlaps in GeoDict. Learn more about GeoDict by checking out other tutorials.