Getting Started

This page provides a quick introduction to using the Remote OpenFAST Plotter application.

Application Interface

When you first open the Remote OpenFAST Plotter, you’ll see the main interface divided into several tabs:

Remote OpenFAST Plotter Interface

Remote OpenFAST Plotter main interface

The interface is organized into the following tabs:

  • Files Tab: Where you load and manage OpenFAST output files

  • Time Domain Tab: For creating time series plots

  • FFT Tab: For frequency analysis with Fast Fourier Transform

  • Phase Tab: For phase relationship analysis between signals

Files Tab

The Files tab is your starting point for working with OpenFAST data:

  1. Loading Files:

    • Enter the paths to your OpenFAST output files (one per line)

    • Click “Load Files” to process the data

    • The application will show status indicators for each file

  2. Managing File Sets:

    • Save frequently used file paths by entering a name and clicking “Save”

    • Load saved file sets using the dropdown menu and “Load” button

  3. File Order:

    • Reorder files for consistent plotting using the file order panel

    • Use drag and drop or the reset button to manage file order

Time Domain Tab

Once files are loaded, you can create time series plots:

  1. Signal Selection:

    • Choose signals for the Y-axes (multiple selections possible)

    • Select a signal for the X-axis (typically “Time”)

    • Set the display option (Overlay or Separate)

  2. Plot Controls:

    • Click “Update Plot” to generate visualizations

    • Use the interactive controls to zoom, pan, and hover for details

    • Select time ranges to focus on specific portions of the data

FFT Tab

For frequency domain analysis:

  1. FFT Parameters:

    • Choose the averaging method (None, Welch, or Bartlett)

    • Select the window function (Hanning, Hamming, or None)

    • Set segment size and overlap percentage

    • Configure plot appearance options

  2. Frequency Annotations:

    • Add markers for important frequencies

    • Save and load annotation sets

    • Use color-coding to categorize different frequency types

Phase Tab

To analyze phase relationships:

  1. Signal Selection:

    • Choose a reference signal

    • Select signals to compare against the reference

    • Click “Calculate Phase” to generate plots

  2. Interpretation:

    • Examine magnitude and phase plots

    • Identify resonance points and phase changes

    • Compare across different signals or files

Quick Workflow Example

Here’s a typical workflow for analyzing wind turbine data:

  1. Load Files:

    • Navigate to the Files tab

    • Enter paths to your OpenFAST output files

    • Click “Load Files”

  2. Create Time Domain Plot:

    • Go to the Time Domain tab

    • Select blade root moment signals (e.g., “RootMycX1”)

    • Choose “Time” as X-axis

    • Click “Update Plot”

  3. Perform FFT Analysis:

    • Switch to the FFT tab

    • Configure FFT parameters (typically Welch averaging, Hanning window)

    • Click “Calculate FFT”

    • Add annotations for known frequencies (1P, 3P, etc.)

  4. Export Results:

    • Click “Export Plot as HTML” on either tab

    • Save the HTML file to share with colleagues

Next Steps

Once you’re comfortable with the basics, explore these topics in the user guide:

  • Managing file path sets for repeated analyses

  • Advanced FFT analysis techniques

  • Using phase analysis to detect resonances

  • Customizing and exporting plots for reports