Finding elements

Elements can be found from the mesh using the function 'findElements'. It has the following syntax

elements = findElements(mesh, querystring, optional arguments);

For example, the elements of a sphere with radii r at (x,y,z) can be obtaned by

sphere = findElements(mesh, 'sphere', [x y z], r)

A detailed documentation of the optional arguments and the query strings are given below.

Query string Description Optional arguments Argument description Row length
'cylinder' Finds elements that are contained within a cylinder. The cylinder is defined by a line that intersects the cylinder (axis of the cyliner). The line starts from origin and is directed to waypoint. The length of the cylinder is the same as direction origin Starting coordinate of the line 3
waypoint End coordinate of the line 3
radius   1
'box' Finds the elements that are contained in a cuboid at origin. origin Location of the box 3
width Width of the box 1
height Height of the box 1
'sphere' Find the elements contained within spherical region. location Center of the circle 3
radius Radius of the circle 1
'inverse' Inverses the selection elements Array that contains the indices of the elements that are selected Number of elements in the selection
'location' Finds the element nearest to a user specified location. location The location vector 3
'region' Finds the elements that lie within a boundary. 'boundary' is defined by triangles that are constructed using the indices of mesh coordinates, i.e. in similar fashion as mesh.BH (see List of structures/3d). Note that the boundary must define an enclosed region for the function to work. boundary Index triplets that define a triangle in the mesh 3