How to import the contour

[JohnCO2]

Hi everyone! I just get involved in PetraSim for my project about the CO2 sequestration. I have a problem about how to import the counter into PetraSim. In the manual, a file *.ctr is imported directly into PetraSim, but what if I only have the coordinate data of the contour, how could I convert them into a valid *.ctr file (I got 62,800+ points on the contour, so it's not possible for me to re-write the coordinate data as the structure of *.ctr file)? Thanks a lot!

[Alison]

Hi John;

In the past, I have taken the following steps to create a CTR file from gridded data:

1. Create a contour map of your data using a contouring program such as Surfer or RockWorks.

2. Export a DXF file containing contour lines. Be sure that a z elevation value is assigned to each of the lines in the contour map file.

3. Use the DXY to XYZ program to extract a list of xyz values from the contour map. These will be based on the vertices of the contour lines in the file. You can download this program for free from the RockWare website (http://www.rockware.com/downloads/freeSoftware.php) or from the GuthCAD software website (http://www.guthcad.com//). If you are using RockWorks, then there is an option to import a DXF file into the Utilities portion of the program through the File  Import  DXF tool.

4. Now, you’ll need to rearrange the data to manually create a CTR file. I did this in the past by loading the list of values into Excel, and sorting based on the z value. Once the data is sorted, you can use a text editor to add the contour flags and elevation data.

This is a tedious process, but is not too bad if you only have to do it once. One thing to note is that if you have high or low points in your surface that are not reflected in the contour map, you may need to add some additional points to the CTR file.

Thunderhead is planning on adding a simply XYZ import to the program in the next version of PetraSim.

Another approach might be to ignore the Top/Bottom surface definitions and just use internal boundaries. You could import an internal boundary using xyz data, and then just disable the regions below the bottom and above the top. The only drawback is that you could not auto-shift the cells in this case, but it would work for disabling cells of a uniform grid.

You are welcome to contact me with more questions at alison@rockware.com.

Regards,

Alison

[JohnCO2]

Working on it. Thanks a lot!

Hi John;

In the past, I have taken the following steps to create a CTR file from gridded data:

1. Create a contour map of your data using a contouring program such as Surfer or RockWorks.

2. Export a DXF file containing contour lines. Be sure that a z elevation value is assigned to each of the lines in the contour map file.

3. Use the DXY to XYZ program to extract a list of xyz values from the contour map. These will be based on the vertices of the contour lines in the file. You can download this program for free from the RockWare website (http://www.rockware.com/downloads/freeSoftware.php) or from the GuthCAD software website (http://www.guthcad.com//). If you are using RockWorks, then there is an option to import a DXF file into the Utilities portion of the program through the File  Import  DXF tool.

4. Now, you’ll need to rearrange the data to manually create a CTR file. I did this in the past by loading the list of values into Excel, and sorting based on the z value. Once the data is sorted, you can use a text editor to add the contour flags and elevation data.

This is a tedious process, but is not too bad if you only have to do it once. One thing to note is that if you have high or low points in your surface that are not reflected in the contour map, you may need to add some additional points to the CTR file.

Thunderhead is planning on adding a simply XYZ import to the program in the next version of PetraSim.

Another approach might be to ignore the Top/Bottom surface definitions and just use internal boundaries. You could import an internal boundary using xyz data, and then just disable the regions below the bottom and above the top. The only drawback is that you could not auto-shift the cells in this case, but it would work for disabling cells of a uniform grid.

You are welcome to contact me with more questions at alison@rockware.com.

Regards,

Alison