How to use the Vortex unit system in Unity

1 UnitSystem utility class
- 1.1 PhysicalDimension
- 1.2 DimensionHint
- 1.3 Methods
2 Code example

In order to support both the US and metric unit systems, users can now convert values into the Unity system that has been selected for the simulator. This page contains a description of the methods and enums used as parameter that are currently available.

UnitSystem utility class

The static UnitSystem class is available to help in this goal. Its methods can be used for converting units or getting a unit symbol. They use the PhysicalDimension and DimensionHint enums, described below:

PhysicalDimension

Here are the available enum values for the PhysicalDimension

Name	Example with units

Name	Example with units
None
Length	Meter $m$
Volume	Meter^3 $m^3$
Mass	Kilogram $kg$
Time	Second $sec$
Angle	Radian $rd$
LinearSpeed	Meter per Second $m/sec$
LinearAcceleration	Meter per Second^2 $m/sec^2$
AngularSpeed	Radian per Second $rd/sec$
AngularAcceleration	Radian per Second^2 $rd/sec^2$
Force	Newton $N$
Torque	Newton Meter $N.m$
Energy	Joule $J$
Work	Joule $J$
Power	Watt $W$
MomentInertia	Kilogram Meter^2 $Kg.m^2$
SpringConstant	Newton per Meter $N/m$
SpringDamping	Mass per Second $Kg/sec$
SpringConstantUnitLength	Newton $N$
SpringDampingUnitLength	Mass Meter per Second $Kg.m/sec$
KineticLoss	Second per Mass $sec/Kg$
Percentage	Percentage 0 to 100
Normalize	Normalize 0 - 1
SpringConstantAngular	Newton Meter per radian $N.m/rd$
SpringDampingAngular	Mass Meter^2 per Second radian $Kg.m^2/(sec.rd)$
SpringConstantAngularUnitLength	Newton Meter^2 per radian $N.m^2/rd$
SpringDampingAngularUnitLength	Mass Meter^3 per Second radian $Kg.m^3/(sec.rd)$
DampingLinearVelocity	Kg/sec
DampingAngularVelocity	Kg*m^2/sec
Density	Kg/m^3
LinearDensity	Kg/m
Momentum	Kg*m/sec
Count	Real physical dimension i.e. Number of containers
DynamicTransformationMatrix	4x4 matrix with translation and rotation, no scaling
FullTransformationMatrix	4x4 matrix with translation, rotation, and scaling
Pressure	Pascal or $N/m^2$
Scale	A scaling factor applied to another quantity : this is unitless.
SpringCompliance	Meter per Force $m/N$
SpringComplianceAngular	Radian per Newton Meter $rd/N.m$
Frequency	Hertz
SurfaceDensity	Unit per Hectare $unit/ha$
AngularKineticLoss	Seconds per kilograms per meters squared $sec/(kg.m^2)$
Area	Meter^2 $m^2$
VolumeFlowRate	Meter^3/sec $m^3/sec$
CubicMeterPerSecond	Same as VolumeFlowRate
LiquidVolume	Liters $L$
LiquidVolumeRate	Liters per hour $L/h$
RotationRate	Revolutions per minute $RPM$
BucketEfficiencyFuel	Mass per liquid volume $kg/liter$
BucketEfficiencyTime	Mass per second $kg/s$
BladeEfficiency	$kg*m/liter$
Temperature	Temperature $degree Celsius$

DimensionHint

Here are the available enum values for the DimensionHint

Name	Description

Name	Description
Standard	Use the standard display for this unit
LinearSpeedKmh	Kilometer per hour $km/h$ stored as kLinearSpeed in m/s
MassTon	Ton $t$ stored as kMass in kg
PowerKilowatt	Kilowatt $kW$ stored as kPower in watt
PressureKilopascal	Kilopascal $kPa$ stored as kPressure in pascal
BucketEfficiencyTonPerLiter	Ton per liter $t/L$ stored as kBucketEfficiencyFuel in kg/L
BucketEfficiencyTonPerHour	Ton per hour $t/h$ stored as kBucketEfficiencyTime in kg/s
LinearSpeedMmin	Meter per minute $m/min$ stored as kLinearSpeed in m/s
BladeEfficiencyKgKmL	Kilogram-kilometer per liter $kgkm/L$ stored as kBladeEfficiency in kgm/L
BladeEfficiencyTonKmL	Ton-kilometer per liter $tkm/L$ stored as kBladeEfficiency in kgm/L
LengthKm	Kilometer $km$ stored as kLength in m
LengthMm	Millimeter $mm$ stored as kLength in m
PressureBar	Bar $bar$ stored as kPressure in pascal
LengthCm	Centimeter $cm$ stored as kLength in m

Methods

/// Convert a basic value in the given physical dimension to the preferred unit system
///
public static double ConvertToPreferred(double value, PhysicalDimension unit, DimensionHint display = DimensionHint.Standard) => VortexRuntime.ConvertToPreferred(value, unit, display);

/// Get the unit abbreviation for the given physical dimension in the preferred unit system
///
public static string GetPreferredUnitSymbol(PhysicalDimension unit, DimensionHint display = DimensionHint.Standard) => VortexRuntime.GetPreferredUnitSymbol(unit, display);

Code example

// All examples assume the application is using the metric system

ExampleConvertToPreferredMethod()
{
  double angleValue = UnitSystem.ConvertToPreferred(1.0, PhysicalDimension.Angle);
  // angleValue will be 57.2957795
  
  double massTonValue = UnitSystem.ConvertToPreferred(1500.0, PhysicalDimension.Mass, DimensionHint.MassTon);
  // massTonValue will be 1.5
}

ExampleGetPreferredUnitSymbolMethod()
{
  string lengthString = UnitSystem.GetPreferredUnitSymbol(PhysicalDimension.Length);
  // lengthString will be "m"
  
  string powerString = UnitSystem.GetPreferredUnitSymbol(PhysicalDimension.Power, DimensionHint.PowerKilowatt);
  // powerString will be "kW"
}