Ternary contours in Python

How to make Ternary Contour Plots in Python with plotly

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Ternary contour plots¶

A ternary contour plots represents isovalue lines of a quantity defined inside a ternary diagram, i.e. as a function of three variables which sum is constant. Coordinates of the ternary plot often correspond to concentrations of three species, and the quantity represented as contours is some property (e.g., physical, chemical, thermodynamical) varying with the composition.

For ternary contour plots, use the figure factory called create_ternary_contour. The figure factory interpolates between given data points in order to compute the contours.

Below we represent an example from metallurgy, where the mixing enthalpy is represented as a contour plot for aluminum-copper-yttrium (Al-Cu-Y) alloys.

Simple ternary contour plot with plotly¶

In [1]:

import plotly.figure_factory as ff
import numpy as np
Al = np.array([0. , 0. , 0., 0., 1./3, 1./3, 1./3, 2./3, 2./3, 1.])
Cu = np.array([0., 1./3, 2./3, 1., 0., 1./3, 2./3, 0., 1./3, 0.])
Y = 1 - Al - Cu
# synthetic data for mixing enthalpy
# See https://pycalphad.org/docs/latest/examples/TernaryExamples.html
enthalpy = (Al - 0.01) * Cu * (Al - 0.52) * (Cu - 0.48) * (Y - 1)**2
fig = ff.create_ternary_contour(np.array([Al, Y, Cu]), enthalpy,
                                pole_labels=['Al', 'Y', 'Cu'],
                                interp_mode='cartesian')
fig.show()

Customized ternary contour plot¶

In [2]:

import plotly.figure_factory as ff
import numpy as np
Al = np.array([0. , 0. , 0., 0., 1./3, 1./3, 1./3, 2./3, 2./3, 1.])
Cu = np.array([0., 1./3, 2./3, 1., 0., 1./3, 2./3, 0., 1./3, 0.])
Y = 1 - Al - Cu
# synthetic data for mixing enthalpy
# See https://pycalphad.org/docs/latest/examples/TernaryExamples.html
enthalpy = 2.e6 * (Al - 0.01) * Cu * (Al - 0.52) * (Cu - 0.48) * (Y - 1)**2 - 5000
fig = ff.create_ternary_contour(np.array([Al, Y, Cu]), enthalpy,
                                pole_labels=['Al', 'Y', 'Cu'],
                                interp_mode='cartesian',
                                ncontours=20,
                                colorscale='Viridis',
                                showscale=True,
                                title='Mixing enthalpy of ternary alloy')
fig.show()

Ternary contour plot with lines only¶

In [3]:

import plotly.figure_factory as ff
import numpy as np
Al = np.array([0. , 0. , 0., 0., 1./3, 1./3, 1./3, 2./3, 2./3, 1.])
Cu = np.array([0., 1./3, 2./3, 1., 0., 1./3, 2./3, 0., 1./3, 0.])
Y = 1 - Al - Cu
# synthetic data for mixing enthalpy
# See https://pycalphad.org/docs/latest/examples/TernaryExamples.html
enthalpy = 2.e6 * (Al - 0.01) * Cu * (Al - 0.52) * (Cu - 0.48) * (Y - 1)**2 - 5000
fig = ff.create_ternary_contour(np.array([Al, Y, Cu]), enthalpy,
                                pole_labels=['Al', 'Y', 'Cu'],
                                interp_mode='cartesian',
                                ncontours=20,
                                coloring='lines')
fig.show()