The cycle editor is used to create and manipulate cycles for use with RAVEN.
There are three types of cycles supported by the cycle editor; Simple, Advanced, and Tabular.
The editor can be used in two different modes.
The first mode (single-cycle mode) involves clicking on one of the buttons on the Create/Edit run dialog, such as Open Cycle, Create Custom Cycle, or Edit Cycle. This launches a single-cycle editor, used to define the cycle for a single run. Clicking Ok in this editor accepts the current cycle.
The other mode (multi-cycle mode) is accessed from the Tools menu. The cycle editor launched in this manner is used to modify all the cycles currently being used in RAVEN. Clicking Apply in this editor re-calculates simulations using the current cycle in RAVEN.
There are three types of segments in a segment-based cycle. There ramp and hold segments, as well as a single initial value segment. Initial segments can’t be manually inserted, so one is automatically created when you insert a ramp or hold segment to an empty cycle.
Ramps and holds are inserted by selecting an existing segment in the cycle (if any exist), and clicking the << Ramp or << Hold button. The new segment will be inserted after the selected segment, and the new segment will be selected.
Segments can be selected either by clicking in the segment list on the left, or clicking on the visual display of the cycle on the right.
To delete a segment, select the segment and click Delete.
Segments can be moved up and down in the list by selecting the segment, and clicking the Move Up or Move Down button.
Segments can be edited in two ways; direct text entry, or curve dragging.
To enter specific values for a segment, double-click the segment in the list. Editable values will become text boxes, where you can enter new values for ramp rates, target temperatures, etc. To accept the changes, press enter or click elsewhere on the segment list.
You can also alter segments by clicking and dragging the plotted curve of the cycle. The values adjusted depend on what type of segment is selected, and where on the curve you click. The possible combinations, and the adjustments allowed are:
When modifying segments by dragging, a solid blue line displays the cycle based on the cursor position, a dashed green line displays the original cycle, and a dashed pink line displays what the cycle will snap to if the mouse button is released. The cycle will snap to values which can be defined in the options dialog, as well as to the original values for the segments being adjusted.
Currently, the only way to enable tabular cycle mode is to load a legacy COMPRO CYC file stored in tabular format, or load data from a CSV file.
For CSV files, the importer treats any line where the first comma-seperated value is a float as a data line, and expects data in the order: time, temperature, pressure, vacuum. Time and temperature are necessary, whereas pressure and vacuum are optional.
Data points cannot be added or removed in tabular mode.
To edit a data point, double-click the cell in the data grid. Clicking points on the plotted curve will highlight the corresponding cell in the data grid. Dragging of data points is not supported in tabular mode.
The options dialog is used to adjust various parameters in the cycle editor. The dialog can be accessed by clicking the Options button in the editor window.
When editing a simple or advanced cycle, it is possible to switch between the two modes. Tabular mode can only be enabled by opening a saved tabular cycle. When in tabular mode, switching to simple or advanced mode is done by resetting the cycle (from the file menu, or clicking the Reset Cycle button), or by opening a saved simple/advanced cycle.
When using multi-cycle mode, this setting applies to the current cycle.
This selects the unit system used to display/edit the cycle. This will not affect the units used to display results in RAVEN.
When using multi-cycle mode, this setting applies to the current cycle.
These values determine the snap values used when dragging curves in segment-based cycles.
When using multi-cycle mode, this setting applies all active cycles.
These values are used when inserting new segments in segment-based cycles. Initial Temperature, Ramp Rate, and Hold Time define the default values for segments which require said parameters. The Ramp Target Increment defines how far above the current segment’s end value the default target for an inserted ramp will be.
When using multi-cycle mode, this setting applies all active cycles.
Checking the Save as default checkbox and clicking okay will save the snap settings and default segment values to the RAVEN configuration file for future sessions.