stream3 (MATLAB Function Reference)

Compute 3-D stream line data

Syntax

XYZ = stream3(X,Y,Z,U,V,W,startx,starty,startz)
XYZ = stream3(U,V,W,startx,starty,startz)

Description

XYZ = stream3(X,Y,Z,U,V,W,startx,starty,startz) computes stream lines from vector data U, V, W. The arrays X, Y, Z define the coordinates for U, V, W and must be monotonic and 3-D plaid (such as the data produced by meshgrid). startx, starty, and startz define the starting positions of the stream lines. The returned value XYZ contains a cell array of vertex arrays.

XYZ = stream3(U,V,W,startx,starty,startz) assumes the arrays X, Y, and Z are defined as [X,Y,Z] = meshgrid(1:N,1:M,1:P) where [M,N,P] = size(U).

XYZ = stream3(...,options) specifies the options used when creating the stream lines. Define options as a one or two element vector containing the step size or the step size and the maximum number of vertices in a stream line:

[stepsize]

[stepsize, max_number_vertices]

If you do not specify values, MATLAB uses the default:

stepsize = 0.1 (one tenth of a cell)
naximum number of vertices = 1000

Use the streamline command to plot the data returned by stream3.

Examples

This example draws 3-D stream lines from data representing air currents over regions of North America.

load wind
[sx sy sz] = meshgrid(80,20:10:50,0:5:15);
streamline(stream3(x,y,z,u,v,w,sx,sy,sz))
view(3)