Matlab Array and Matrix

Manipulations and Graphics

Dr. Antonio A. Trani

Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Virginia Tech (A.A. Trani)

 Objectives of the Handout

• To illustrate examples of matrix manipulation in

MATLAB

• To learn some of the basic plotting functions in

MATLAB

• Just for the fun of learning something new (the

most important reason)

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 Basic Matrix Manipulation
• Matlab basic rules are derived from Linear Algebra

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 Example # 1: Solution of Linear Equations
• Linear equations are important in many engineering
problems (optimization, structures, transportation,
construction, etc.)

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Example # 1: Solution of Linear Equations

“Backslash”
operator

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Example # 1: Solution of Linear Equations

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 Array vs. Matrix Operations

• MATLAB differentiates between array and matrix operations

• Matrix operations apply to matrices using Linear Algebra

rules (hence also called Scalar operations)

• An example of this is solving a set of linear equations as

shown in the previous example

• Array operations apply when you want to do element by

element calculations on a multi-dimensional array

• An example of this is calculating the deflection of a

cantilever beam problem as shown next

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 Examples of Matrix Operations

Let matrix A = [3 3 3 ; 2 2 2; 1 1 1] and B = [3 4 5]’

Valid matrix operations are:
c=A^2
d=A*A
e = A *B
f=A*3
g=A+5

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 Array Operations Nomenclature
• Array operators have a period in front of the operand
(e.g., .*)

• For example: Creates a vector x with

x = 0:0.05:8; cell values from
0 to 8 at steps 0.05
y = sin(x^2)*exp(-x);

• Will not execute correctly because the manipulation of

array x requires a period in front of the * and ^ operands

• The following statements will work:

x = 0:0.05:8;
y = sin(x.^2).*exp(-x);
Note the (.) in front
of the operands
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 Example # 2 : Cantilever Beam
Calculations
• A cantilever beam with a uniformly varying load is shown below

• We would create a simple Matlab script to estimate the beam

deflection for any station (x) along the beam

• The formula to estimate the deflection is:

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Example # 2 : Cantilever Beam
Calculations (cont.)

y = deflection of the beam at station x (m)

E = Young's modulus (N/m 2 )
I = bean moment of inertia (m 4 )
x = beam station (m)
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Example # 2 : Cantilever Beam Matlab Script

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Example # 2 : Cantilever Beam
Matlab Script (cont.)

Note the use of (.) in front

of the operands

Ellipses is used in
Matlab to indicate
a continuation statement

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Example # 2 : Cantilever Beam
Output Plot (beam deflection)

Steel beam
E = 200 GPa
(200 e9 N/m2)

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 Observations

• A vector x is defined using the “linspace” function (linearly

spaced vector) (see line 25 above)

• linspace (starting point, ending point, no. of points)

• Since x is a vector with 100 elements, vector y (deflection) is

automatically set by Matlab to have 100 elements

• The period before * and ^ operands is needed to tell Matlab to

do element by element computations while calculating y

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 Array Operators

Operation MATLAB Operators

Array multiplication .*
Array power .^
Left array division .\
Right array division ./
Matrix multiplication *
Matrix power ^
Matrix division /
Left matrix division \

Use these to do basic operations on arrays of any size

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 Array Manipulation Tips

Always define the size of the arrays to be used in the

program (static allocation)
• Define arrays with zero elements (defines statically array
sizes and thus reduces computation time)
»d=zeros(1,3)
d=
0 0 0

»c=ones(1,3)
c=
1 1 1

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 Array Manipulation Tips

Sample of for-loop without array pre allocation

Example:
tic;
for i=1:1:10e6;
d(i) = sin(i) ;
end
t=toc;
disp(['Time to compute array ', num2str(t), ' (seconds)'])

Time to compute array 5.2982 (seconds)

Times calculated using a Mac Book Air (10.8.5 OS and i7 Processor)

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 Array Pre allocation

Array pre allocation saves time because MATLAB does

not have to dynamically change the size of each array as
the code executes
d=zeros(1,10e6); % pre allocates a vector with zeros
tic;
for i=1:1:10e6;
d(i) = sin(i) ;
end
t=toc;
disp(['Time to compute array ', num2str(t), ' (seconds)'])
Time to compute array 1.395 (seconds)

Times calculated using a Mac Book Air (10.8.5 OS and i7 Processor)

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 Vector Operations in MATLAB

The following script is equivalent to that shown in the

previous page.
tic;
i=1:1:10e6;
d = sin(i);
t=toc;
disp(['Time to compute array ', num2str(t), ' (seconds)'])

Time to compute array 0.90465 (seconds)

Note: MATLAB vector operations are optimized to the
point that even compiling this function in C/C++ offers
little speed advantage (10-15%).
Times calculated using a Mac Book Air (10.8.5 OS and i7 Processor)

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 Comparison of Results

The following table summarizes the array manipulation

results

CPU Timea
Procedure Ratiob
(seconds)
Standard for-loop 5.29820 1.00
Array 1.39500 1.54
Pre allocation
Vectorization 0.90465 5.85

a. Times calculated using a Mac Book Air (10.8.5 OS and i7 Processor)

b. Higher ratio means faster execution times

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 Vectorization Issues
• To illustrate with a numerical example instances
where vectorization is not possible unless the
problem is partitioned into two sub-problems

• Problem partitioning to speed up computations

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 Example # 3: Beam Problem
• Consider the following beam loading condition

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20b
 Observations
• The beam deflection and moment formulas change as
the station changes from left to right (i.e., x< a or x> a)

• Handling two distinct formulas requires a branching

statement (like an IF statement in the computations)

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20c
Matlab Script (with Branching)

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20d
Matlab Script (Branching - cont.)

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20e
Example # 3 : Beam Deflection
Steel beam
E = 2e6 psi

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20f
 Graphs in MATLAB

There are many ways to build plots in MATLAB. Two of

the most popular procedures are:
1) Using built-in MATLAB two and three dimensional
graphing commands
2) Use the MATLAB Handle Graphics (object-oriented)
procedures to modify properties of every object of a
graph
Handle Graphics is a fairly advanced topic that is also
used to create Graphic User Interfaces (GUI) in
MATLAB. For now, we turn our attention to using
Matlab built-in two and three graphics.

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 Plots Using Built-in Functions

MATLAB can generally handle most types of 2D and 3D

plots without knowing Handle Graphics
• ‘plot’ command for 2D plots
• ‘plot3d’ for 3D plots
• Use ‘hold’ command to superimpose plots interactively
or when calling functions
• Use the ‘zoom’ function to dynamically resize the screen
to new [x,y] limits
• Use the ‘subplot’ function to plot several graphs in one
screen

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 Basic Plots in MATLAB

Two-dimensional line plots are easy to implement in

MATLAB

% Sample line plot

x=0:0.05:5;
y=sin(x.^1.8);
plot(x,y); % plot command

xlabel(‘x’) % builds the x label

ylabel(‘y’) % builds the y label
title(‘A simple plot’) % adds a title
grid % adds hor. and vert.
% grids
Try this out now.

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 Other Types of 2-D Plots

bar bar plot

fplot simple plot of one variable (x)
semilogx and semilogy semilog plots
loglog logarithmic plot
polar polar coordinates plot
plotyy dual dependent variable plot
errorbar error bar plot
hist histogram plot

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 More 2D Plots

stem generates stems at each data point

stairs discrete line plot (horizontal lines)
comet simple animation plot
contour plots the contours of a 2D function
quiver plots fields of a function

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 Sample 2D Plots (semilog plot)

x=0:0.05:5;
y=exp(-x.^2);
semilogy(x,y); grid
10 0

10 -2

10 -4

10 -6

10 -8

10 -10

10 -12
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 5

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 Sample 2D Plots (loglog plot)

x=0:0.05:5;
y=exp(-x.^2);
loglog(x,y); grid
10 0

10 -1 -3
10 10 -2 10 -1 10 0

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 Sample 2D Plots (bar plot)

x = -2.9:0.2:2.9;
bar(x,exp(-x.*x));
grid
1

0.9

0.8

0.7

0.6

0.5

0.4

0.3

0.2

0.1

0
-3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3

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 Sample 2D Plots (stairs plot)

x=0:0.05:8;
stairs(x,sin(x.^2).*exp(-x));
grid
0.35

0.3

0.25

0.2

0.15

0.1

0.05

-0.05

-0.1

-0.15
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

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 Sample 2D Plots (errorbar plot)

x=-2:0.1:2;
y=erf(x);
e = rand(size(x))/2; errorbar(x,y,e); grid
1.5

0.5

-0.5

-1

-1.5
-2.5 -2 -1.5 -1 -0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5

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 Sample 2D Plots (polar plot)

% Polar plot
t=0:.01:2*pi;
polar(t,sin(2*t).*cos(2*t));
90
0.5
120 60
0.375

150 0.25 30

0.125

180 0

210 330

240 300
270

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 Sample 2D Plots (stem plot)

x = 0:0.1:4;
y = sin(x.^2).*exp(-x);
stem(x,y); grid
0.35

0.3

0.25

0.2

0.15

0.1

0.05

-0.05

-0.1

-0.15
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4

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 Sample 2D Plots (Histogram)

x=randn(1,1000);
hist(x);
grid
300

250

200

150

100

50

0
-4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4

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 Sample 2D Plots (plotyy)

x=-2:0.1:2; y1=erf(x);
y2=erf(1.35.*x);
plotyy(x,y,x,y2);grid
0.5 1

0 0

-0.5 -1
-2 -1.5 -1 -0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5 2

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 Sample 2D Plot (pie plot)

In this example we demonstrate the use of the gtext

function to write a string at the location of the mouse

acft = char('A310','A330','MD11','DC-10', 'L1011',...

'B747','B767','B777');
numbers=[12 15 24 35 16 120 456 156];
pie(numbers)
for i=1:8 % array of strings
gtext(acft(i,:)); % get text from char variable
end
title('Aircraft Performing N. Atlantic Crossings')

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 Resulting Pie Plot
Aircraft Performing N. Atlantic Crossings
DC-10
MD11 L1011
3% 2% 1% B747
A330
A310 4% 19%
2%

B777
14%

55%
B767

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 Quiver Plot

The quiver plot is good to represent vector fields.

In the example below a quiver plot shows the gradient of
a function called ‘peaks’
t=-3:.1:3;
[x,y]=meshgrid(t,t);
z= 3*(1-x).^2.*exp(-(x.^2) - (y+1).^2) ...
- 10*(x/5 - x.^3 - y.^5).*exp(-x.^2-y.^2) ...
- 1/3*exp(-(x+1).^2 - y.^2);
[dx,dy]=gradient(z,.2,.2);
quiver(x,y,dx,dy,3)

Note: ‘peaks’ is a built-in MATLAB function

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 Quiver Plot of ‘Peaks’ Function
3

-1

-2

-3

-4
-4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4

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3D Representation of the Peaks Function
Peaks

-2

-4

-6
3
2
3
1 2
0 1
-1 0
-1
-2 -2
y -3 -3
x

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 2D Plots (Contour Plot)

The following script generates a contour plot of the peaks

function

t=-3:.1:3;
[x,y]=meshgrid(t,t);
z= 3*(1-x).^2.*exp(-(x.^2) - (y+1).^2) ...
- 10*(x/5 - x.^3 - y.^5).*exp(-x.^2-y.^2) ...
- 1/3*exp(-(x+1).^2 - y.^2);
colormap(lines)
contour(x,y,z,15) % 15 contours are generated
grid

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Resulting Contour Plot of the ‘Peaks’ Function
3

-1

-2

-3
-3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3

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 Sample 2D Plots (comet plot)

• Useful to animate a trajectory

• Try the following script
% illustration of comet plot

x = 0:0.05:8;
y = sin(x.^2).*exp(-x);
comet(x,y)

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 Handling Complex 2-D Plots

Tampa Bay
Atlantic Ocean

Aircraft Tracks
Miami Intl. Airport

Gulf of México

-84 -83 -82 -81 -80 -79 -78 -77

Longitude (deg.)
Plot containing 830 flight tracks arriving or departing Miami Airport
Each track has 325 data points
Source: FAA, plot by A. Trani (Air Transportation Systems Lab)

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 Zooming Into Previous Plot
Arrivals
Departures

Miami Intl. Airport

-81 -80.8 -80.6 -80.4 -80.2 -80 -79.8

Longitude (deg.)
Plot containing 830 flight tracks arriving or departing Miami Airport
Each track has 325 data points
Source: FAA, plot by A. Trani (Air Transportation Systems Lab)
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 Sample Use of Subplot Function

Used the subplot function to display various graphs on the

same screen

% Demo of subplot function

x = 0:0.1:4;
y = sin(x.^2).*exp(-x);
z=gradient(y,.1) % takes the gradient of y every
% 0.1 units

subplot(2,1,1) % generates the top plot

plot(x,y); grid

subplot(2,1,2) % generates the lower plot

plot(x,z); grid

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 Resulting Subplot
0.6

0.4

0.2

-0.2
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4

0.5

-0.5

-1
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4

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 Sample Plot Commands

Standard 2D plot using the ‘subplot’ function

Latitude (deg) 40

35

30

25
-130 -120 -110 -100 -90 -80 -70 -60
Longitude (deg)

Occupancy of Sector 15 : OCF

12

10
Traffic (acft)

0
1100 1120 1140 1160 1180 1200 1220 1240 1260 1280 1300
Reference Time (min)

Plot containing 104 flight tracks crossing an airspace sector in Florida

Source: FAA, plot by A. Trani (Air Transportation Systems Lab)

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 Zoom Command

The ‘zoom’
31
command is used to examine a smaller area
Latitude (deg)
30

29

28

27
-90 -88 -86 -84 -82 -80 -78 -76
Longitude (deg)

Occupancy of Sector 15 : OCF

12

10
Traffic (acft)

0
1100 1120 1140 1160 1180 1200 1220 1240 1260 1280 1300
Reference Time (min)
Plot containing 104 flight tracks crossing an airspace sector in Florida
Source: FAA, plot by A. Trani (Air Transportation Systems Lab)

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 3-D Graphing in MATLAB

• A 3-D plot could help you visualize complex information

• 3D animations can be generated from static 3D plots
• 3D controls fall into the following categories:
- viewing control (azimuth and elevation)
- color control (color maps)
- lighting control (specular, diffuse, material, etc.)
- axis control
- camera control
- graph annotation control
- printing control

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 Viewing Control

• 3D plots have two viewing angles than can be controlled

with the command view
- azimuth
- elevation

Example use: view(azimuth, elevation)

• Default viewing controls are: -37.5 degrees in azimuth
and 30 degrees in elevation
• Try the traffic file changing a few times the viewing
angle

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 Rotating Interactively a 3D Plot

• Use the rotate3d command to view interactively the 3D

plots (good for quantitative data analysis)
• The zoom command does not work in 3D
>> plot3d(x,y,z)
>> rotate3d
>>
• Try rotating the traffic characteristics file using rotate3d

Retrieve the data file called: traffic flow data from our syllabus web site

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 Sample 3D Plot (plot3 function)

plot3(density,speed,volume,'*')

3500

3000

2500
Volume (veh/hr)

2000

1500

1000 TextEnd

500

0
80

60 150

40 100
20 50
0 0
Density (veh/la-km) Speed (km/hr)

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 Rotate Command

The rotate3d command is useful to visualize 3D data

interactively
3500

3000

2500
Volume (veh/hr)

2000

1500

1000
TextEnd
500

0
80

60

40

20 140
120
100
80
Density (veh/la-km) 60
0 40
20
0
Speed (km/hr)

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 Sample 3D Graphics (mesh)

% Mesh Plot of Peaks

z=peaks(50);
mesh(z);

10

-5

-10
50
40 50
30 40
20 30
20
10 10
0 0

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 Sample 3D Graphics (surf)

z=peaks(25);
surf(z);
colormap(jet); ;
8

-2

-4

-6

-8
25
20 25
15 20
10 15
10
5 5
0 0

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 Sample 3D Graphics (surfl)

z=peaks(25);
surfl(z);
shading interp; colormap(jet);;
8

-2

-4

-6

-8
25
20 25
15 20
10 15
10
5 5
0 0

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 Sample 3D Graphics (slice)

Slice 3D plots visualize the internal structure of set of

numbers as gradients

[x,y,z] = meshgrid(-2:.2:2,-2:.2:2,-2:.2:2);
v = x .* exp(-x.^2 - y.^2 - z.^2);
slice(v,[5 15 21],21,[1 10])
axis([0 21 0 21 0 21]);
colormap(jet)

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Slice Plot of Pseudo-Gaussian Function

20

15

10

0
20
15 20
15
10
10
5
5
0 0

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 Sample 3D Graphics (stem3)

stem3 - plots stems in three dimensions as shown below

3500

3000

2500
Volume (veh/hr)

2000

1500

1000
TextEnd
500

0
80
60 150
40 100
20 50
0 0
Density (veh/la-km) Speed (km/hr)

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