We have developed a new method, named the intervals’ method, to analyse data from finite element models in a comparative multivariate framework.The intervals’ method consists of generating a set of variables, each one defined by an interval of stress values. Each variable is expressed as a percentage of the area of the model occupied by those stress values. Afterwards these newly generated variables can be analysed using multivariate methods.
In the provided example, four armadillo mandibles are studied. They correspond to some of the individuals that were analysed in the paper where the Intervals’ method was introduced for the first time, showing that the proposed method is useful to distinguish and characterise biomechanical differences related to diet/ecomorphology:
Ca. unicinctus: Specialist insectivore
Ch. truncatus: Generalist insectivore-fossorial
D. novemcinctus: Generalist insectivore
Ca. tatouay: Generalist insectivore-fossorial
When using this method, please cite the following reference:
Marcé-Nogué, J., De Esteban-Trivigno, S., Püschel, T.A., Fortuny, J., 2017. The intervals method: a new approach to analyse finite element outputs using multivariate statistics. PeerJ 5, e3793. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.3793
The R scripts and data files to run the example described below can be download from figshare or from this repository
Part 1 of the tutorial (Generating intervals and carrying out a PCA using these variables) can be found here or in my personal website, whilst Part 2 (Convergence procedure to estimate an appropiate number of intervals) can be found here