Skip to content

Site Analysis

Access via the Calculate Site Analysis button in the left panel (enabled when crystallization event files are present in the loaded folder).

Site analysis examines the properties of individual lattice sites and characterises when and how they crystallized during the simulation.


Input Data

The analysis auto-detects these files in the loaded folder:

File Contents
Crystallization event files Which site crystallized at which time step
Population/occupation files Site occupancy over time
Count files Event counting per site
Structure file Site coordinates, energies
Simulation parameters Direction and variable metadata

What It Computes

For each lattice site:

Property Description
Site number Unique site identifier
File prefix Simulation run identifier
Energy Site interaction energy
Occupation Fraction of simulation time occupied
Coordination Number of neighbouring occupied sites at crystallization
Total events Number of crystallization/dissolution events
Total population Cumulative occupied time steps
Tile type Crystallographic face/edge/corner classification
Interaction patterns Frequency of each neighbour interaction type

Filtering

The analysis result can be filtered using the Data Filter dialog (accessible from the plotting toolbar).

Data Filters Tab

Add conditions on site properties:

Column Type Example
site_number Numeric > 100
energy Numeric < -50.0
occupation Numeric >= 0.5
coordination Numeric == 6
total_events Numeric > 10
tile_type Categorical == "face"

Multiple conditions are combined with AND logic.

Interaction Filters Tab

Filter sites by the frequency of specific neighbour interaction types. This is useful for finding sites that preferentially form particular crystallographic contacts.

Both tabs can be active simultaneously (all conditions combined with AND).


Hierarchical Clustering

The site analysis results can be visualized with hierarchical clustering in the plotting dialog, grouping sites by similarity of their interaction patterns. This reveals structurally distinct site populations within the crystal.


Output

Results are saved to aspects_output/:

File Contents
site_analysis.csv All computed site properties
interaction_data.csv Interaction frequency per site
Site analysis plots Generated in the plotting dialog

Workflow

  1. Import a folder containing crystallization event files
  2. Click Calculate Site Analysis
  3. The analysis runs in the background with a progress bar
  4. Results open automatically in the Plotting Dialog
  5. Use the Data Filter to focus on specific site populations
  6. Export filtered data or plots from the plotting dialog

Notes

  • Sites with zero events are included in the output but typically have zero occupation
  • Very large simulations may produce large site analysis files; the filter dialog helps narrow the focus
  • Hierarchical clustering requires all interaction columns to be numeric and non-null
  • Analysis can be cancelled from Tools → Active Threads. Cancellation takes effect at the next checkpoint (typically the start of each file), so there may be a short delay before the task stops.