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VectGUI: A MATLAB-Based Simulation Tool [Testing Ourselves]

Article in IEEE Antennas and Propagation Magazine · June 2015

DOI: 10.1109/MAP.2015.2463152

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 VectGUI: A MATLAB-Based Simulation Tool
Ozlem Ozgun and Levent Sevgi

T
he vector analysis graphical user
interface (VectGUI), a MATLAB-
editor’s Note
based vector analysis visualization This tutorial belongs to a simple MATLAB package that visualizes functions and
tool, can be used as a supplementary tool operators (e.g., gradient of scalar fields and divergence of vector fields) in the cylindrical
in the first course of electromagnetic ed- and spherical coordinate systems. These packages can be used in lectures such as vector
ucation. The main purpose of this tool is algebra, mathematical foundations of electromagnetics, and mathematical methods
to provide various visual aids that assist in electromagnetics, together with the previous packages we introduced in this
students in developing a mental image column [1], [2].
of some fundamental concepts in vec- References
tor calculus and curvilinear coordinate [1] L. Sevgi and Ç. Uluişik, “A tutorial on the Bessel functions and numerical evaluations of Bessel inte-
grals,” IEEE Antennas Propagat. Mag., vol. 51, no. 6, pp. 222–233, Dec. 2009.
systems. This tool is composed of seven [2] Ç. Uluişik and L. Sevgi, “A MATLAB-based visualization package for complex functions, and their map-
subtools: two designed for the dynamic pings and integrals,” IEEE Antennas Propagat. Mag., vol. 54, no. 1, pp. 243–253, Feb. 2012.
visualization of geometries in cylindrical
and spherical coordinates; two used to
display the scalar and vector fields; and Table 1. Differential Operations.
three designed to demonstrate the gradi-
Operation Notation Transformation
ent, curl, and divergence fields.
Gradient df = grad ^ f h Input: scalar field
Vector Analysis Tools Output: vector field
Teaching electromagnetics using novel Divergence d $ F = div ^F h Input: vector field
modeling and simulation approach- Output: scalar field
es has long been discussed, mostly in Curl d # F = curl ^F h Input: vector field
this magazine [1]–[6], including fun- Output: vector field
damental concepts and terms [7], [8].
Sevgi [9], [11] and Felsen et al. [10] dis-
cuss guided wave propagation via the including vector analysis, are available (GUI) capabilities. As previously stated,
well-known Sturm–Liouville problem through the Internet [32]–[34]. this package includes seven subtools:
and explain the connection between Vision plays a vital role in electro- cylGUI and sphGUI plot geometries
Green’s function and eigenvalue magnetics because it removes the obsta- in a dynamic manner by varying one
problems. The finite-difference time- cle in understanding and perception of of the coordinate variables in cylindri-
domain method has been discussed, physical phenomena. New students often cal and spherical coordinates, respec-
and MATLAB-based virtual tools and think that electromagnetics is a diffi- tively; sfieldGUI and vfieldGUI plot
codes have been shared with readers cult course because some mathemati- user-defined scalar and vector fields,
[13]–[19]. Several antennas and propaga- cal and geometrical concepts, as well as respectively, in a two-dimensional (2-D)
tion packages, from the very simple to electromagnetic fields that are vector Cartesian system; grad2dGUI and grad-
the most comprehensive tools, have also functions of space and time, are abstract 3dGUI plot and display the gradient of
been introduced [20]–[26]. Electromag- and hard to visualize. Therefore, a well- a user-defined scalar field, together with
netic diffraction has been reviewed, and established background on vector calcu- the field itself, in 2-D and three-dimen-
novel virtual tools have been introduced lus and coordinate systems is essential sional (3-D) Cartesian systems, respec-
[27]–[29]. Virtual tools for teaching in developing a better conceptual under- tively; and, finally, curldivGUI plots and
advanced-level mathematical functions standing of electromagnetic phenomena. displays the curl and divergence of a
and tools have also been reviewed with Being motivated by this fact, this article user-defined vector field together with
useful packages [30], [31]. Some Java- presents a basic tutorial on the visualiza- the field itself in both 2-D and 3-D Car-
based applets for multivariable calculus, tion of some fundamental concepts in tesian systems. The MATLAB-based
the study of vector analysis. A MAT- VectGUI package can be downloaded
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MAP.2015.2463152
LAB-based package (called VectGUI) is from http://www.ee.hacettepe.edu.
Date of publication: 21 August 2015 introduced with graphical user interface tr/~ozlem/.

IEEE Antennas & Propagation Magazine june 2015 113

 sian, cylindrical, and spherical); 2) vector
algebra (addition, subtraction, and multi-
plication of vectors); and 3) vector calculus
(differentiation and integration of vectors).
Among them, the curvilinear coordinate
systems and the concepts of gradient,
divergence, and curl, which are based on
the del differential operator, are some-
times hard to visualize and comprehend.
In a 3-D coordinate system, a point
is defined at the intersection of three
surfaces, which can be denoted by u 1 =
constant, u 2 = constant, a n d u 3 =
constant surfaces. When these three
surfaces are mutually orthogonal, we
have an orthogonal coordinate system.
In the Cartesian coordinate system
^ x, y, z, h u 1 = x, u 2 = y, and u 3 = z;
in the cylindrical coordinate system
^ r, {, z h, u 1 = r, u 2 = { and u 3 = z;
and in the spherical coordinate system
^ R, i, { h, u 1 = R, u 2 = i, and u 3 = {.
Figure 1. The main window of the VectGUI package. Here, r is the radial distance of the point
from the z-axis, R is the radial distance
from the origin, { is the rotation angle
Basic Concepts vector (scalar), the field is called a vector around the z-axis and is between 60, 2r@,
Measurable quantities in the study of (scalar) field. Hence, scalar and vector and i is the angle formed with the z-
physical phenomena are named either fields are the major players of electromag- axis and is between 60, r@ . In addition,
scalar or vector quantities. A scalar netics. To describe the variations of these r = constant surface defines the sur-
(e.g., charge and current) is a quantity quantities in space, a suitable coordinate face of a circular cylinder with radius r,
that has only magnitude and can be system is needed. Although the laws of R = constant surface defines the surface
described by a single numeric value. electromagnetism are valid in any coor- of a sphere with radius R, { = constant
A vector (e.g., velocity, electric, and mag- dinate system, a coordinate system pro- surface defines a semi-infinite plane, and
netic fields) is a quantity that has both vides a frame of reference and is chosen i = constant surface defines a cone sur-
magnitude and direction. Both scalars based on the symmetry of the geometry face. The identification of such surfaces is
and vectors can be functions of position to ease its analysis. Therefore, the vector important especially in defining the dif-
and time. A spatial distribution of a quan- analysis has three main ingredients: 1) ferential quantities (i.e., the differential
tity is named the field. If the quantity is a an orthogonal coordinate system (Carte- length, surface, and volume elements) that
are used in the evaluation of line, surface,
and volume integrals.
Vector calculus deals with various dif-
Table 2. The subtools of the VectGUI package.
ferential operators defined in scalar and
Tool Name Description vector fields. These operators are usu-
cylGUI Displays geometries in a cylindrical coordinate system by ally expressed in terms of the del opera-
changing one of the coordinate variables in a dynamic tor ^d h that is also known as the nabla
manner. operator. The del operator is defined in a
sphGUI Displays geometries in a spherical coordinate system by general coordinate system as follows:
changing one of the coordinate variables in a dynamic
2 (.) t 1 2 (.)
manner. d = at u1 1 + a u2
h 1 2u 1 h 2 2u 2
sfieldGUI Displays a user-defined scalar field in 2-D. 
1 2 (.)
vfieldGUI Displays a user-defined vector field in 2-D. + at u3 , (1)
h 3 2u 3
grad2dGUI Displays a scalar field and its gradient field in 2-D.
grad3dGUI Displays a scalar field and its gradient field in 3-D. where ^ u 1, u 2, u 3 h are the coordi-
curldivGUI Displays a vector field and its curl and divergence fields in nate variables, at u i, ^ i = 1, 2, 3 h is the
2-D and 3-D. base vector pointing in the direction
of increasing u i, and h i is the metric

114 june 2015 IEEE Antennas & Propagation Magazine

coefficient to convert the differential
change in the coordinate variable ^du i h
into a differential change in length
^dl i h . If the coordinate variable is in
length, the metric coefficient becomes
unity. The metric coefficients, in three
coordinate variables, are defined as fol-
lows: h 1 = 1, h 2 = 1, h 3 = 1 (Cartesian);
h 1 = 1, h 2 = r, h 3 = 1 (cylindrical); and
h 1 = 1, h 2 = R, h 3 = R sin i (spherical). (a) (b)
The three most important differential
operations are listed in Table 1. The gra-
dient operator applies to a scalar field and
returns a vector field. Its direction shows
the direction of maximum increase of
function, and its magnitude gives the rate
of increase (or slope) along this maximal
direction. In other words, it measures the
direction and rate of change in a scalar (c) (d)
field. In a general coordinate system, the
gradient of a scalar field f ^ u 1, u 2, u 3 h is Figure 2. The cylGUI window: (a) the r-constant surfaces, (b) the {-constant
defined as follows: surfaces, (c) the z-constant surfaces, and (d) the formed geometry.

2f 2f
df = at u1 1 + at u2 1
h 1 2u 1 h 2 2u 2

2f
+ at u3 1 , (2)
h 3 2u 3

which, in a Cartesian coordinate system, is

2f 2f 2f
df = at x + at y + at z .(3)
2x 2y 2z

The divergence operator acts on

a vector field and yields a scalar field (a) (b)
or quantity. It measures how much
the vector field spreads out (or diverg-
es) from the point of interest, i.e., the
magnitude of a source or sink of a
vector field at a given point. It repre-
sents the net outward flux of the vec-
tor field from an infinitesimal volume
around the given point. In a general
coordinate system, the divergence of (c) (d)
a vector field F ^ u 1, u 2, u 3 h = at u1 Fu1
^ u 1, u 2, u 3 h + at u 2 Fu 2 ^ u 1, u 2, u 3 h + at u 3 Fu 3 Figure 3. The sphGUI window: (a) the R-constant surfaces, (b) the i-constant
Fu3 ^ u 1, u 2, u 3 h is defined as surfaces, (c) the {-constant surfaces, and (d) the formed geometry.

d$F= 1 ; 2 ^ h 2 h 3 Fu1 h The curl operator applies to a vector right-hand rule. In a general coordinate
h1 h2 h3 2u 1 field and returns a vector field. It mea- system, the divergence of a vector field
2 ^ h 3 h 1 Fu2 h 2 ^ h 1 h 2 Fu3 h
 + + E, sures how much the vector field rotates F is defined as
2u 2 2u 3
(curls) around a point of interest. It is h 1 at u1 h 2 at u2 h 3 at u3
(4)
a measure of the strength of a vortex 1 2 2 2 ,
d#F =
which, in a Cartesian coordinate system, source. Its magnitude represents the h 1 h 2 h 3 2u 1 2u 2 2 u 3
h 1 Fu1 h 2 Fu2 h 3 Fu3
becomes maximum circulation of a vector field
within an infinitesimal area around (6)
2Fx 2Fy 2Fz
d$F= + + .(5) the given point, and its direction is which, in Cartesian coordinate system,
2x 2y 2z
normal to the area in the sense of the becomes

IEEE Antennas & Propagation Magazine june 2015 115

 at x at y at z
d # F = 2 2 2 .(7)
2x 2y 2z
Fx Fy Fz

VectGUI Package
VectGUI is a MATLAB-based tool
for visualizing some fundamental
concepts in vector analysis. The main
window of the package is shown in
Figure 1. The package includes seven
subtools, which are summarized in
Table 2. When the user clicks one of
the subtools in the main window, a
new window is opened corresponding
to the clicked subtool. Each subtool in
Table 2 is described below.
The cylGUI tool (Figure 2) is
designed to display geometries in a
cylindrical coordinate system. The
user enters the ranges of each coordi-
nates ^r, {, z h . Once one of the plot
buttons is clicked, the corresponding
variable is sampled by a number of
samples between the lower and upper
limits, and the geometry is dynamically
formed by drawing constant surfaces
Figure 4. The sfieldGUI window (scalar field plotter). at every 0.1 s. For example, as shown
in Figure 2(a), if the button Plot by
varying r is clicked, five r- constant
surfaces are plotted corresponding
to r = 0, r = 0.5, r = 1, r = 1.5, and
r = 2 surfaces at every 0.1 s. Similarly,
the geometry is formed by varying {
and z variables in Figure 2(b) and (c),
respectively. If the number of samples is
increased, the geometry is well formed,
as shown in Figure 2(d).
The sphGUI tool (Figure 3) is
designed to display geometries in a
spherical coordinate system by varying
one of the coordinate variables ^ R, i, { h .
This is similar to the cylGUI tool.
The sfieldGUI tool (Figure 4) is
designed to display the contour and
surface plots of a scalar field in a 2-D
Cartesian system. The function is sym-
bolically entered by the user. The ranges
of the function and the number of points
along the x and y axes are also provided
by the user.
The vfieldGUI tool (Figure 5)
is designed to plot a vector field in a
2-D Cartesian system. The scalar
components of the vector field (i.e., Fx
Figure 5. The vfieldGUI window (vector field plotter). and Fy ) are entered symbolically by the

116 june 2015 IEEE Antennas & Propagation Magazine

Figure 6. The grad2dGUI window (2-D gradient field plotter). Figure 7. The grad3dGUI window (3-D gradient field plotter).

Figure 8. The curldivGUI window (curl and divergence plotter).

user. The ranges of the function and The curldivGUI tool (Figure 8) is divergence. The tool may be used in
the number of points along the axes are designed to plot the divergence and undergraduate electromagnetics cours-
defined by the user. curl of a vector field in a 2-D or 3-D es and, perhaps, in other disciplines
The grad2dGUI tool (Figure 6) is Cartesian system. The components that use vector analysis.
designed to plot the gradient field of a of the vector field are symbolically
scalar field in a 2-D Cartesian system. entered by the user. The expressions for Author Information
The field itself might also be plotted. curl and divergence are also displayed Ozlem Ozgun (ozgunozlem@gmail.
The scalar field is symbolically entered symbolically. com; [email protected]) is
by the user, together with its ranges. with the Electrical and Electronics
The components of the gradient vector Conclusions Engineering Department, Hacettepe
are also displayed symbolically. A MATLAB-based simulation pack- University, Beytepe, Ankara, Turkey.
The grad3dGUI tool (Figure 7) is age, VectGUI, has been developed for Levent Sevgi ([email protected];
designed to plot the gradient field of vector analysis. The intent is to develop [email protected]) is with the
a scalar field in a 3-D Cartesian sys- a better conceptual understanding of Electrical and Electronics Engineering
tem. This tool is similar to the grad- curvilinear coordinate systems, scalar Department, Okan University, Akfirat,
2dGUI tool. and vector fields, gradient, curl, and Tuzla, Istanbul, Turkey.

IEEE Antennas & Propagation Magazine june 2015 117

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