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Is it possible to calculate the area of the overlap of two curves? I found two answers here but they are written in R which I am not familiar with. Or struggling to convert them to python.

Area between the two curves and Find area of overlap between two curves

For example, for a given dataset with defined x, y points. (x1,y1,x2,y2)

I am able to get the area of each curve using :

np.trapz

However, to get the overlap only is challenging and I haven't found a solution to show. Any guidance or maths formulas will be appreciated.

SGhaleb
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  • It might work to 1. calculate the crossing point(s) of the two curves, 2. with that construct the "inner" curve around the overlap, and then 3. use `np.trapz` to get the area for that curve. – Hans Sep 23 '20 at 20:05
  • Hi @Hans . Thank you for the method. I'll try this out and give an update. – SGhaleb Sep 23 '20 at 20:55
  • What do you call the overlap ? You curves do not even delimit a closed area everywhere. –  Sep 24 '20 at 21:53
  • Hello Yves, I mean the overlap of the middle bottom section (under the brown curve) – SGhaleb Sep 25 '20 at 11:07

3 Answers3

2

So this can be done using the shapely module within Python.

Firstly, Join the two curves together to create one self-intersecting polygon (shown in code below).

Then using the unary_union() function from shapely, you will:

  1. Split the complex polygon into seperate simple polygons.
  2. Find the area of each simple polygon.
  3. Sum it to find the overall area of the two curves.

Full code shown below:

    import numpy as np
    from shapely.geometry import LineString
    from shapely.ops import unary_union, polygonize
    
    avg_coords = [(0.0, 0.0), (4.872117, 2.29658), (5.268545, 2.4639225), (5.664686, 2.6485724), (6.059776, 2.8966842), (6.695151, 3.0986626), (7.728006, 3.4045217), (8.522297, 3.652668), (9.157002, 3.895031), (10.191483, 4.1028132), (10.827622, 4.258638), (11.38593, 4.2933016), (11.86478, 4.3048816), (12.344586, 4.258769), (12.984073, 4.2126703), (13.942729, 4.1781383), (14.58212, 4.137809), (15.542498, 3.99943), (16.502588, 3.878359), (17.182951, 3.7745714), (18.262657, 3.6621647), (19.102558, 3.567045), (20.061789, 3.497897), (21.139917, 3.4806826), (22.097425, 3.5153809), (23.65388, 3.5414772), (24.851482, 3.541581), (26.04966, 3.507069), (27.72702, 3.463945), (28.925198, 3.429433), (29.883854, 3.3949006), (31.08246, 3.3344274), (31.92107, 3.317192), (33.716183, 3.3952322), (35.63192, 3.4213595), (37.427895, 3.4474766), (39.343628, 3.473604), (41.49874, 3.508406), (43.773468, 3.5518723), (46.287716, 3.595359), (49.28115, 3.6302335), (52.633293, 3.6997545), (54.30922, 3.7431688), (55.8651, 3.8038807), (58.738773, 3.8387446), (60.893887, 3.8735466), (63.647655, 3.9170544), (66.760704, 3.960593), (68.79663, 3.9607692), (70.23332, 3.986855), (72.867905, 3.995737), (75.38245, 4.0219164), (77.778656, 3.9615464), (79.337975, 3.8145657), (80.41826, 3.6675436), (80.899734, 3.5204697), (81.62059, 3.38207), (82.34045, 3.3042476), (83.30039, 3.1918304), (84.38039, 3.062116), (84.50359, 2.854434), (83.906364, 2.7591898), (83.669716, 2.586092), (83.43435, 2.3351095), (83.19727, 2.1879735), (82.84229, 1.9283267), (82.48516, 1.7984879), (81.65014, 1.5993768), (80.454544, 1.4781193), (79.13962, 1.3308897), (77.944595, 1.1750168), (76.39001, 1.0364205), (74.59633, 0.87184185), (71.60447, 0.741775), (70.04903, 0.6551017), (58.3, 0.0)]
    model_coords = [(0.0, 0.0), (0.6699889, 0.18807), (1.339894, 0.37499), (2.009583, 0.55966), (2.67915, 0.74106), (3.348189, 0.91826), (4.016881, 1.0904), (4.685107, 1.2567), (5.359344, 1.418), (6.026172, 1.5706), (6.685472, 1.714), (7.350604, 1.8508), (8.021434, 1.9803), (8.684451, 2.0996), (9.346408, 2.2099), (10.0066, 2.311), (10.66665, 2.4028), (11.32436, 2.4853), (11.98068, 2.5585), (12.6356, 2.6225), (13.29005, 2.6775), (13.93507, 2.7232), (14.58554, 2.7609), (15.23346, 2.7903), (15.87982, 2.8116), (16.52556, 2.8254), (17.16867, 2.832), (17.80914, 2.8317), (18.44891, 2.825), (19.08598, 2.8124), (19.72132, 2.7944), (20.35491, 2.7713), (20.98673, 2.7438), (21.61675, 2.7121), (22.24398, 2.677), (22.86939, 2.6387), (23.49297, 2.5978), (24.1147, 2.5548), (24.73458, 2.51), (25.3526, 2.464), (25.96874, 2.4171), (26.58301, 2.3697), (27.1954, 2.3223), (27.80491, 2.2751), (28.41354, 2.2285), (29.02028, 2.1829), (29.62512, 2.1384), (30.22809, 2.0954), (30.82917, 2.0541), (31.42837, 2.0147), (32.02669, 1.9775), (32.62215, 1.9425), (33.21674, 1.9099), (33.80945, 1.8799), (34.40032, 1.8525), (34.98933, 1.8277), (35.5765, 1.8058), (36.16283, 1.7865), (36.74733, 1.7701), (37.33002, 1.7564), (37.91187, 1.7455), (38.49092, 1.7372), (39.06917, 1.7316), (39.64661, 1.7285), (40.22127, 1.7279), (40.79514, 1.7297), (41.36723, 1.7337), (41.93759, 1.7399), (42.50707, 1.748), (43.07386, 1.7581), (43.63995, 1.7699), (44.20512, 1.7832), (44.76772, 1.7981), (45.3295, 1.8143), (45.88948, 1.8318), (46.44767, 1.8504), (47.00525, 1.8703), (47.55994, 1.8911), (48.11392, 1.9129), (48.6661, 1.9356), (49.21658, 1.959), (49.76518, 1.9832), (50.31305, 2.0079), (50.85824, 2.033), (51.40252, 2.0586), (51.94501, 2.0845), (52.48579, 2.1107), (53.02467, 2.1369), (53.56185, 2.1632), (54.09715, 2.1895), (54.63171, 2.2156), (55.1634, 2.2416), (55.69329, 2.2674), (56.22236, 2.2928), (56.74855, 2.3179), (57.27392, 2.3426), (57.7964, 2.3668), (58.31709, 2.3905), (58.83687, 2.4136), (59.35905, 2.4365), (59.87414, 2.4585), (60.38831, 2.4798), (60.8996, 2.5006), (61.40888, 2.5207), (61.91636, 2.5401), (62.42194, 2.5589), (62.92551, 2.577), (63.42729, 2.5945), (63.92607, 2.6113), (64.42384, 2.6275), (64.91873, 2.643), (65.4127, 2.658), (65.90369, 2.6724), (66.39266, 2.6862), (66.87964, 2.6995), (67.36373, 2.7123), (67.84679, 2.7246), (68.32689, 2.7364), (68.80595, 2.7478), (69.28194, 2.7588), (69.756, 2.7695), (70.22709, 2.7798), (70.69707, 2.7898), (71.16405, 2.7995), (71.62902, 2.809), (72.0919, 2.8183), (72.55277, 2.8273), (73.01067, 2.8362), (73.46734, 2.845), (73.92112, 2.8536), (74.37269, 2.8622), (74.82127, 2.8706), (75.26884, 2.8791), (75.71322, 2.8875), (76.15559, 2.8958), (76.59488, 2.9042), (77.03304, 2.9126), (77.46812, 2.921), (77.90111, 2.9294), (78.33199, 2.9379), (78.75986, 2.9464), (79.18652, 2.955), (79.60912, 2.9637), (80.03049, 2.9724), (80.44985, 2.9811), (80.86613, 2.99), (81.2802, 2.9989), (81.69118, 3.0078), (82.10006, 3.0168), (82.50674, 3.0259), (82.91132, 3.035), (83.31379, 3.0441), (83.71307, 3.0533), (84.10925, 3.0625), (84.50421, 3.0717), (84.8961, 3.0809), (85.28577, 3.0901), (85.67334, 3.0993), (86.05771, 3.1085), (86.43989, 3.1176), (86.81896, 3.1267), (87.19585, 3.1358), (87.57063, 3.1448), (87.94319, 3.1537), (88.31257, 3.1626), (88.67973, 3.1713), (89.04372, 3.18), (89.40659, 3.1886), (89.7652, 3.197), (90.12457, 3.2053), (90.47256, 3.2135), (90.82946, 3.2216), (91.17545, 3.2295), (91.52045, 3.2373), (91.86441, 3.2449), (92.20641, 3.2524), (92.54739, 3.2597), (92.88728, 3.2669), (93.21538, 3.2739), (93.55325, 3.2807), (93.87924, 3.2874), (94.20424, 3.2939), (94.52822, 3.3002), (94.85012, 3.3064), (95.16219, 3.3123), (95.48208, 3.3182), (95.79107, 3.3238), (96.09807, 3.3293), (96.40505, 3.3346), (96.71003, 3.3397), (97.01401, 3.3447), (97.31592, 3.3496), (97.60799, 3.3542), (97.90789, 3.3587), (98.19686, 3.3631), (98.48386, 3.3673), (98.77085, 3.3714), (99.05574, 3.3753), (99.32983, 3.3791), (99.6127, 3.3828), (99.8837, 3.3863), (100.1538, 3.3897), (100.4326, 3.393), (100.6897, 3.3961), (100.9566, 3.3991), (101.2215, 3.402), (101.4756, 3.4048), (101.7375, 3.4075), (101.9885, 3.4101), (102.2385, 3.4126), (102.4875, 3.4149), (102.7354, 3.4172), (102.9714, 3.4194), (103.2163, 3.4214), (103.4493, 3.4234), (103.6823, 3.4253), (103.9133, 3.4271), (104.1433, 3.4288), (104.3712, 3.4304), (104.5882, 3.4319), (104.8141, 3.4333), (105.0291, 3.4346), (105.2421, 3.4358), (105.4541, 3.437), (105.6651, 3.438), (105.8751, 3.439), (106.083, 3.4399), (106.28, 3.4407), (106.4759, 3.4414), (106.6699, 3.442), (106.8629, 3.4425), (107.0549, 3.443), (107.2458, 3.4433), (107.4249, 3.4435), (107.6128, 3.4437), (107.7897, 3.4438), (107.9647, 3.4437), (108.1387, 3.4436), (108.3116, 3.4433), (108.4737, 3.443), (108.6436, 3.4426), (108.8027, 3.4421), (108.9706, 3.4414), (109.1265, 3.4407), (109.2814, 3.4399), (109.4255, 3.439), (109.5784, 3.4379), (109.7195, 3.4368), (109.8694, 3.4356), (110.0084, 3.4342), (110.1454, 3.4328), (110.2813, 3.4313), (110.4162, 3.4296), (110.5403, 3.4279), (110.6722, 3.426), (110.7932, 3.424), (110.9132, 3.422), (111.0322, 3.4198), (111.1492, 3.4175), (111.2651, 3.4151), (111.3701, 3.4127), (111.483, 3.4101), (111.585, 3.4074), (111.686, 3.4046), (111.786, 3.4017), (111.884, 3.3987), (111.9809, 3.3956), (112.0669, 3.3924), (112.1608, 3.3891), (112.2448, 3.3857), (112.3268, 3.3822), (112.4078, 3.3786), (112.4867, 3.3749), (112.5548, 3.3711), (112.6317, 3.3672), (112.6978, 3.3632), (112.7726, 3.3591), (112.8356, 3.3549), (112.8975, 3.3506), (112.9476, 3.3462), (113.0076, 3.3417), (113.0655, 3.3372), (113.1125, 3.3325), (113.1584, 3.3278), (113.2024, 3.3229), (113.2464, 3.318), (113.2884, 3.313), (113.3283, 3.3079), (113.3584, 3.3027), (113.3963, 3.2974), (113.4233, 3.292), (113.4492, 3.2865), (113.4742, 3.281), (113.4972, 3.2753), (113.5201, 3.2696), (113.5312, 3.2638), (113.5501, 3.2579), (113.5591, 3.2519), (113.5661, 3.2459), (113.5721, 3.2397), (113.577, 3.2335), (113.5809, 3.2272), (113.573, 3.2208), (113.5749, 3.2143), (113.5649, 3.2077), (113.5539, 3.2011), (113.5409, 3.1944), (113.5278, 3.1876), (113.5128, 3.1807), (113.4967, 3.1737), (113.4697, 3.1667), (113.4418, 3.1596), (113.4227, 3.1524), (113.3917, 3.145), (113.3597, 3.1375), (113.3266, 3.1298), (113.2827, 3.1218), (113.2475, 3.1136), (113.2016, 3.1051), (113.1635, 3.0964), (113.1155, 3.0873), (113.0655, 3.0779), (113.0144, 3.0683), (112.9525, 3.0583), (112.8994, 3.048), (112.8345, 3.0373), (112.7793, 3.0264), (112.7123, 3.0152), (112.6453, 3.0037), (112.5763, 2.9919), (112.5063, 2.9798), (112.4352, 2.9674), (112.3533, 2.9548), (112.2801, 2.9419), (112.1952, 2.9287), (112.1102, 2.9153), (112.034, 2.9017), (111.9361, 2.8879), (111.8481, 2.8739), (111.7581, 2.8597), (111.667, 2.8453), (111.5661, 2.8307), (111.473, 2.816), (111.3689, 2.801), (111.2639, 2.786), (111.1579, 2.7708), (111.0509, 2.7555), (110.9428, 2.74), (110.8239, 2.7245), (110.7138, 2.7088), (110.5928, 2.6931), (110.4709, 2.6772), (110.3578, 2.6613), (110.2338, 2.6453), (110.1087, 2.6292), (109.9826, 2.613), (109.8457, 2.5968), (109.7176, 2.5805), (109.5787, 2.5642), (109.4496, 2.5478), (109.3086, 2.5314), (109.1666, 2.5149), (109.0236, 2.4984), (108.8806, 2.4819), (108.7355, 2.4653), (108.5905, 2.4488), (108.4434, 2.4322), (108.2865, 2.4155), (108.1384, 2.3989), (107.9794, 2.3822), (107.8195, 2.3655), (107.6684, 2.3488), (107.5063, 2.3321), (107.3374, 2.3156), (107.1744, 2.2989), (107.0104, 2.2822), (106.8442, 2.2654), (106.6683, 2.2487), (106.5012, 2.232), (106.3242, 2.2152), (106.1452, 2.1985), (105.9662, 2.1818), (105.7862, 2.165), (105.6052, 2.1483), (105.4232, 2.1316), (105.2402, 2.1149), (105.0572, 2.0981), (104.8721, 2.0814), (104.6772, 2.0647), (104.492, 2.048), (104.295, 2.0313), (104.098, 2.0147), (103.9, 1.998), (103.701, 1.9813), (103.502, 1.9647), (103.301, 1.948), (103.1, 1.9314), (102.899, 1.9148), (102.6959, 1.8982), (102.483, 1.8816), (102.2789, 1.865), (102.0649, 1.8484), (101.8588, 1.8318), (101.6428, 1.8153), (101.4268, 1.7988), (101.2098, 1.7822), (100.9918, 1.7657), (100.7728, 1.7492), (100.5538, 1.7328), (100.3338, 1.7163), (100.1128, 1.6999), (99.89169, 1.6834), (99.65978, 1.667), (99.43769, 1.6506), (99.20477, 1.6343), (98.98066, 1.6179), (98.74665, 1.6016), (98.51164, 1.5852), (98.27574, 1.5689), (98.04964, 1.5527), (97.81264, 1.5364), (97.57562, 1.5202), (97.33752, 1.5039), (97.08962, 1.4877), (96.8506, 1.4716), (96.61061, 1.4554), (96.37051, 1.4393), (96.12058, 1.4232), (95.87949, 1.4071), (95.62759, 1.391), (95.38547, 1.375), (95.13258, 1.359), (94.88946, 1.343), (94.63548, 1.3271), (94.38145, 1.3111), (94.12645, 1.2952), (93.87144, 1.2793), (93.61545, 1.2635), (93.35946, 1.2477), (93.10343, 1.2319), (92.84642, 1.2161), (92.58843, 1.2004), (92.33042, 1.1846), (92.07232, 1.169), (91.8034, 1.1533), (91.54331, 1.1377), (91.2744, 1.1221), (91.0133, 1.1065), (90.7434, 1.091), (90.48229, 1.0755), (90.21139, 1.0601), (89.9493, 1.0446), (89.67728, 1.0292), (89.40428, 1.0139), (89.13137, 0.99855), (88.86826, 0.98325), (88.59427, 0.96799), (88.32026, 0.95277), (88.04527, 0.93758), (87.77126, 0.92242), (87.4972, 0.90731), (87.21732, 0.89222), (86.94719, 0.87718), (86.66711, 0.86217), (86.3773, 0.8472), (86.10719, 0.83227), (85.82721, 0.81738), (85.5472, 0.80252), (85.26721, 0.7877), (84.9872, 0.77292), (84.7071, 0.75819), (84.41721, 0.74349), (84.1371, 0.72883), (83.84721, 0.71421), (83.5671, 0.69963), (83.27721, 0.68509), (82.99711, 0.6706), (82.70711, 0.65615), (82.41721, 0.64173), (82.1371, 0.62736), (81.8471, 0.61304), (81.55722, 0.59875), (81.27709, 0.58451), (80.98712, 0.57031), (80.697, 0.55616), (80.39711, 0.54205), (80.10722, 0.52798), (79.8271, 0.51396), (79.53701, 0.49999), (79.23711, 0.48605), (78.9471, 0.47217), (78.65701, 0.45833), (78.3571, 0.44453), (78.06712, 0.43078), (77.77701, 0.41708), (77.4771, 0.40343), (77.18701, 0.38982), (76.8871, 0.37626), (76.59711, 0.36274), (76.30701, 0.34928), (76.0071, 0.33586), (75.7169, 0.32249), (75.4071, 0.30917), (75.11701, 0.29589), (74.8171, 0.28267), (74.52701, 0.26949), (74.22711, 0.25636), (73.937, 0.24329), (73.63691, 0.23026), (73.3271, 0.21728), (73.03699, 0.20436), (72.73712, 0.19148), (72.4469, 0.17865), (72.13712, 0.16588), (71.84701, 0.15315), (71.547, 0.14048), (71.24701, 0.12786), (70.947, 0.11528), (70.64701, 0.10277), (70.3471, 0.090298), (70.05691, 0.077883), (69.74712, 0.06552), (69.457, 0.05321), (69.1569, 0.040952), (68.84709, 0.028747), (68.557, 0.016595), (68.25701, 0.0)]
    
    polygon_points = [] #creates a empty list where we will append the points to create the polygon
    
    for xyvalue in avg_coords:
        polygon_points.append([xyvalue[0],xyvalue[1]]) #append all xy points for curve 1
    
    for xyvalue in model_coords[::-1]:
        polygon_points.append([xyvalue[0],xyvalue[1]]) #append all xy points for curve 2 in the reverse order (from last point to first point)
    
    for xyvalue in avg_coords[0:1]:
        polygon_points.append([xyvalue[0],xyvalue[1]]) #append the first point in curve 1 again, to it "closes" the polygon
    
    avg_poly = [] 
    model_poly = []
    
    for xyvalue in avg_coords:
        avg_poly.append([xyvalue[0],xyvalue[1]]) 
    
    for xyvalue in model_coords:
        model_poly.append([xyvalue[0],xyvalue[1]]) 
    
    
    line_non_simple = LineString(polygon_points)
    mls = unary_union(line_non_simple)
    
    Area_cal =[]
    
    for polygon in polygonize(mls):
        Area_cal.append(polygon.area)
        print(polygon.area)# print area of each section 
        Area_poly = (np.asarray(Area_cal).sum())
        
    print(Area_poly)#print combined area
SGhaleb
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0

If possible, represent your overlap regions as polygons. From there the polygon area is computable by a remarkably concise formula as explained on Paul Bourke's site.

Suppose (x[i], y[i]), i = 0, ..., N, are the polygon vertices, with (x[0], y[0]) = (x[N], y[N]) so that the polygon is closed, and consistently all in clockwise order or all in counter-clockwise order. Then the area is

area = |0.5 * sum_i (x[i] * y[i+1] - x[i+1] * y[i])|

where the sum goes over i = 0, ..., N-1. This is valid even for nonconvex polygons. This formula is essentially the same principle behind how a planimeter works to measure area of an arbitrary two-dimensional shape, a special case of Green's theorem.

Pascal Getreuer
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If your functions are actually "function" meaning that no vertical lines intersect the functions more than once, then finding the overlaps is the matter of finding zeros.

import numpy as np
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt

dx = 0.01
x = np.arange(-2, 2, dx)
f1 = np.sin(4*x)
f2 = np.cos(4*x)

plt.plot(x, f1)
plt.plot(x, f2)

eps = 1e-1; # threshold of intersection points.
df = f1 - f2
idx_zeros = np.where(abs(df) <= eps)[0]

area = 0
for i in range(len(idx_zeros) - 1):
    idx_left = idx_zeros[i]
    idx_rite = idx_zeros[i+1]
    area += abs(np.trapz(df[idx_left:idx_rite])) * dx
  • I have assumed areas to be considered positive.
  • The analytical value for the example I used is

enter image description here

sufficiently close to the computed value (area=2.819). Of course, you can improve this if your grids are finer, and threshold eps smaller.

Amir
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  • hi, thank you for the answer. The problem is, the curves vary as there is no specific function for this script, so its possible the vertical intersections may exceed 1. Would this still work? – SGhaleb Sep 24 '20 at 18:02