The usual mode of operation of the Surface Evolver is to minimize energy subject to constraints. There are two broad categories of constraints:
Level set constraints are declared in the top section of the datafile. They may be applied to vertices, edges, or facets. Constraints are usually applied to vertices and edges, as in mound.fe. Remember that you need to apply a constraint to an edge to get that constraint to apply to vertices created on that edge by refining. Sometimes one applies constraints to facets, usually to get the facet to conform to a predetermined shape. Be sure that the constraints applied to a vertex are linearly independent at the vertex.
Constraints are usually applied in the datafile vertices, edges, and faces sections, but they may also be set or removed with the set or unset commands. Example:
set vertex constraint 4 unset edge constraint 1 where id < 10It does not hurt to unset an element that isn't on the constraint. When a vertex is set to a constraint, the vertex coordinates are immediately projected to the constraint. Setting an edge on a constraint does not set its vertices. Likewise for facets.
Example: Suppose one wanted to keep a bubble inside a spherical tank of radius 5. Then one would define the constraint in the datafile
constraint 1 nonpositive formula: x^2 + y^2 + z^2 = 25For purposes of evaluating nonnegativity or nonpositivity, all terms are shifted to the left side of the formula. One would then apply this constraint to all vertices, edges, and facets of the bubble surface.
Boundaries are defined in the top section of the datafile. Vertices on boundaries are listed in the datafile with their parameter values instead of their coordinates, with "boundary n" appended to each such vertex definition. Edges and faces on boundaries are defined as usual, but with "boundary n" appended to each definition. So the datafile has lines like these:
boundary 1 parameters 1 x1: cos(p1) x2: sin(p1) x3: 0.75 ... Vertices 1 0.0 boundary 1 2 pi/3 boundary 1 ... Edges 1 1 2 boundary 1 ...
Putting an edge on a boundary means that vertices created on that edge will be on the boundary. An edge on a boundary must have at least one endpoint on the boundary, for use in extrapolating the boundary parameters of any created vertices. Extrapolating instead of interpolating midpoint parameters solves the problem of wrap-arounds on a boundary such as a circle or cylinder. However if you do want interpolation, you can use the keyword INTERP_BDRY_PARAM in the top of the datafile, or use the toggle command interp_bdry_param. Interpolation requires that both endpoints of an edge be on the same boundary, which cannot happen where edges on different boundaries meet. To handle that case, it is possible to add extra boundary information to a vertex by declaring two particular vertex extra attributes, extra_boundary and extra_boundary_param:
interp_bdry_param define vertex attribute extra_boundary integer define vertex attribute extra_boundary_param realThen declare attribute values on key vertices, for example
vertices 1 0.00 boundary 1 fixed extra_boundary 2 extra_boundary_param 2*piIf the extra_boundary attribute is not set on a vertex when wanted, Evolver will silently fall back on interpolation.
Putting a face on a boundary means that all edges and vertices created from refining the face will be on the boundary. In this case, the boundary should have two parameters (or whatever the dimension of the surface is). This is good for getting a surface to conform to a known parametric shape.
Edges on boundaries have energy and content integrals like level-set constraints edges, but they are internally implemented as. named quantities.
Whether an element is on a particular boundary can be queried with the on_boundary Boolean attribute. Elements can be removed from boundaries with the unset command, but they cannot be set on boundaries. A typical use of unset is to define an initial surface using a 2-parameter boundary, refine a couple of times, then unset. Examples:
list vertex where on_boundary 2 unset vertex boundary 1 where on_boundary 1 unset edge boundary 1 unset facet boundary 1It does not hurt to unset an element not on the boundary.
Vertex parameters can be accessed in expressions as the attribute p1 (and p2,... for further parameters). Vertex parameters can be changed with the set command. Example:
print vertex.p1 set vertex p1 p1+.1 where id < 4 vertex.p1 := 3It is not an error to access the parameters of a vertex not on a boundary as long as some vertex is on a boundary (so that space is allocated in the vertex structure for parameters).
A general guideline is to use constraints for two-dimensional walls and boundaries for one-dimensional wires. If you are using a boundary wire, you can probably declare the vertices and edges on the boundary to be FIXED. Then the boundary becomes just a guide for refining the boundary edges.
NOTE: A vertex on a boundary cannot also have constraints.