Plotting the same variable that changes 3 times on the one graph, for seven graphs at the same time.

So I have this code that makes 7 plots, with different plots depending on which rocket is chosen (different rockets have different masses and thrusts, and experience different drag forces). I have to combine each graph so that the graph for each of the three rocket options is displayed on one graph, and there will be 7 graphs total in the end. In my own attempts, using hold on and hold off, I can get one out of 7 graphs to work as shown below. Also it would be good if I could have each line have a label beside saying whether it was bfhorse, derpy or nozomi but that might be a bit much. Anyway here's the code: clear variables % clear any old variables in the workspace close all % closes any plots open from previous runs %List all the variables needed

massEmptyRocket = 1500; % kg startingMassFuel = 7000; % kg massHorse = 75; %kg massTotal = massEmptyRocket + startingMassFuel +massHorse; % kg engineThrust = 130000; %N gravity = 9.81; %m/s/s dragCoefficient = .05; %constant involved in drag equation diameter=2; %diameter of rocket, used to get area crossSectionarea=(((diameter)/2)^2)*(pi); %area of rocket, used in drag calculation weight = massTotal * gravity; %downward force due to gravity dt = .1; % timeStep duration in seconds endTime = 325; % Time simulation ends at in seconds drag = zeros(1,endTime/dt); %Create empty vector of zeros for drag Data so it can be plotted at the end, unit is N density = zeros(1,endTime/dt); %Create empty vector of zeros for density Data so it can be plotted at the end, units are kg/m3 acceleration = zeros(1,endTime/dt); %Create empty vector of zeros for Acceleration Data the length of the simulation time = zeros(1,endTime/dt); %Create empty vector of zeros for time Data massFuel = zeros(1,endTime/dt); %Create empty vector of zeros for mass of fuel in kg, so it can be plotted at the end burnTime = 60; %Time Engines are firing for.

%code for reading in horse and rocket options fileID=fopen('horseyRocketOptions.txt','r'); %opens file for reading by readtable rocketTable= readtable('horseyRocketOptions.txt'); %puts info from file into a table

fileID2=fopen('horseyOptions.txt'); %same as above horseTable= readtable('horseyOptions.txt');

n=input('pick your horse, either bfhorse,derpy or nozomi (must be written as shown):\n','s'); %gets input of horse name and stores as a string called n,

if strcmp('bfhorse',n) %strcmp compares two strings and is either true or false for if they are the same or not. So if user inputs bfhorse for the horse name (n), strcmp will be true and the variables will be changed to the corresponding values in row 1 of the table. massEmptyRocket = rocketTable{1,3}; %have to use curly brackets or it makes the variable a table variable rather than a number. startingMassFuel = rocketTable{1,4}; engineThrust = rocketTable{1,5}; burnTime = rocketTable{1,6}; diameter = rocketTable{1,7}; massHorse = horseTable{1,2}; end

if strcmp('derpy',n) %strcmp compares two strings and is either true or false for if they are the same or not. So if user inputs deerpy for the horse name (n), strcmp will be true and the variables will be changed to the corresponding values in row 2 of the table. massEmptyRocket = rocketTable{2,3}; startingMassFuel = rocketTable{2,4}; engineThrust = rocketTable{2,5}; burnTime = rocketTable{2,6}; diameter = rocketTable{2,7}; massHorse = horseTable{2,2}; end

if strcmp('nozomi',n) %strcmp compares two strings and is either true or false for if they are the same or not. So if user inputs nozomi for the horse name (n), strcmp will be true and the variables will be changed to the corresponding values in row 2 of the table. massEmptyRocket = rocketTable{3,3}; startingMassFuel = rocketTable{3,4}; engineThrust = rocketTable{3,5}; burnTime = rocketTable{3,6}; diameter = rocketTable{3,7}; massHorse = horseTable{3,2}; end

%PART 5 - Add code here to use matlab function xlsread to read in density data %from excel. filename='DensityData.xlsx'; HD=xlsread(filename); %reading the data from excel file into variable HD adjustden=HD(:,2)*1000; %This takes the density values in the second column and converts them from g/cm^3 to kg/m^3

%start a loop to calculate our equations of motion at each Time Step

for t = 1:1:(endTime/dt) % t is the current TimeStep

time(t) = t*dt; % update the time vector with the new time step

%Calculate the velocity and Position, by integrating. velocity = cumtrapz(time,acceleration); position = cumtrapz(time,velocity);

%Add code for Parts 5-7 here. % PART 5. Write a function (findDensity.m) which calculates density as a function % of height above sea-level. Read in data once before the loop, see comment % above. First column is Altitude in km and the second in density in g/cm^3. density(t)=findDensity(position,adjustden,t); %Finds density at current timestep

%PART 6. Write a function (findDrag.m) which calculates the drag at each time step as a function % using the current velocity and current density (calculated in part 5) drag(t)= findDrag(density(t),velocity,t,crossSectionarea,dragCoefficient); %finds drag at current timestep %BONUS: Add paracute drag force calculation if the right altitidue requirements are %met.

%PART 7: Write a function (findWeight.m) which calculates the weight of the rocket at each time step. % Assume to fuel mass decrease linearly from the launch time to the end of the burn. [weight,massTotal,massFuel(t)]=findWeight(startingMassFuel,burnTime,massEmptyRocket,massHorse,gravity,t,dt); %Finds total mass of rocket, mass of fuel, and force of gravity in N acting on the rocket at the current timestep

%Equation of motion

    if t <= (burnTime/dt) %while the engines are firing

%PART 8: Change code to use time varying for drag, weight and massTotal calculated in part 5-7. Replace equation with %acceleration(t) = (engineThrust - drag(t) - weight(t)) /massTotal(t); %need to make so drag is positive when moving downwards

        acceleration(t) =  (engineThrust - drag(t) - weight) /massTotal;%acceleration at current timestep while engines firing= engine thrust - drag at current time - weight at current time, all divided by the total mass at the current time.

% PART 8: Change code to use time varying for drag, weight and Mass Total calculated in Parts 5-7. Replace equation with %acceleration(t) = (- drag(t) - weight(t)) /massTotal(t);

    else %when the engines have stopped firing

        acceleration(t) =  (-drag(t) - weight) /massTotal; %acceleration at current timestep while engines not firing=  - drag at current time - weight at current time, all divided by the total mass at the current time.

    end

 % PART 1 & PART 2 Add code here: check if the position <0 and display
 % the time when this happens and (PART 2) break out of loop to end simulaiton.
 if position(t)<0
        lengthOfFlight=time(t) %finds when position is negative i.e. rocket has landed and gets the time at that timestep(t=timestep, time(t)=time in seconds)
        break %ends the loop after rocket has landed
 end

end

%Add code for PART 3 here. Write a function (named maxHeight.m) which %calculates the max height during the flight. Display the output of the %function in the command window. MaxHeight=maxHeight(position,lengthOfFlight,dt) %gets the max value of position during the flight

%Add code for PART 4 here. Write a function to calculate velocity at impact (kaboomSpeed.m). % Add to the code it outputs the value in command window.

velocityAtImpact=kaboomSpeed(velocity,lengthOfFlight,dt) % gets the value of velocity at the time the rocket crashes

%Add code for PART 9. Add Additonal graphs asked for. Change so the plots finish at %the calcualted endtime from PART 1.

%plot results figure(); plot(time(1:fix(lengthOfFlight/dt)), acceleration(1:fix(lengthOfFlight/dt))) %fix function is used in these to remove floating point error, where numbers that should be integers are not exactly integers title ('Acceleration vs Time - Simple Rocket') xlabel('Time - (s)') ylabel('acceleration - (m/s^2)') grid on

figure(); plot(time(1:fix(lengthOfFlight/dt)), velocity(1:fix(lengthOfFlight/dt))) title ('Velocity vs Time - Simple Rocket') xlabel('Time - (s)') ylabel('velocity - (m/s)') grid on

figure(); plot(time(1:fix(lengthOfFlight/dt)), position(1:fix(lengthOfFlight/dt))) title ('Position vs Time - Simple Rocket') xlabel('Time - (s)') ylabel('Height - (m)') grid on

figure(); plot(time(1:fix(lengthOfFlight/dt)), massFuel(1:fix(lengthOfFlight/dt))) title ('Fuel Mass vs Time - Simple Rocket') xlabel('Time - (s)') ylabel('Fuel Mass - (kg)') grid on

figure(); plot(time(1:fix(lengthOfFlight/dt)), density(1:fix(lengthOfFlight/dt)) ) title ('Density vs Time - Simple Rocket') xlabel('Time - (s)') ylabel('Density - (kg/m^3)') grid on

 figure();
 plot(position(1:fix(lengthOfFlight/dt)),density(1:fix(lengthOfFlight/dt)) )
 title ('Density vs Position - Simple Rocket')
 xlabel('Position - (m)')
 ylabel('Density - (kg/m^3)')
 grid on

 figure();
 plot(time(1:fix(lengthOfFlight/dt)),abs(drag(1:fix(lengthOfFlight/dt))) )
 title ('Drag vs Time - Simple Rocket')
 xlabel('Time - (s)')
 ylabel('Drag - (N)')
 grid on
Also if you know a better way of doing the reading in horserocketoptions feel free to suggest.
This is the contents of horseyRocketOptions:
 BF_Rocket,B_F_horse,2000,10000,170000,40,3
Flubber,Derpy,1500,8000,150000,50,2.5
Elsie,Nozomi,1500,7000,130000,60,2

[Daire Vickers]

my own attempt involved putting another for loop around the whole code apart from the clear variables and close all part, with the loop going from 1 to 3, with hold on just before the for loop, and hold off at the at the bottom after the end of the new for loop.

clear variables % clear any old variables in the workspace
close all % closes any plots open from previous runs
%List all the variables needed
% figure(1);
% figure(2);
% figure(3);
hold on
for i=1:3
%then same code as in original question above
%then this:
end
hold off

[Daire Vickers]

Shameless bump :)

[Jan]

What exactly is your question? Instead of bumping it is more useful to ask a specific question.

Instead of clearing I recommend to use functions to keep the workspaces clean.

[YuHao Wang]

Can you update the function of finddensity and all sort of your self define function?

[Daire Vickers]

don't know what you are saying yuhao

[YuHao Wang]

I mean i want to know how to define the function like'findDensity' 'findDrag' and 'findWeight'

[Daire Vickers]

are you in my engineering course? contact me on something else and i'll send you them. I don't want to put them up for everyone to copy paste. If you are someone trying to help is there a way i can send them direct to you?

[Jan]

@Daire Vickers: It is impolite to delete a question after someone spent the time to post an answer. This is disliked in this forum and reduces your chance that the members care about your questions in the future. Remember that this forum lives from volunteers spending their time and from sharing solutions with the public. Using the forum to get a personal help for free is not fair.

Of course your code can still be found in Google's cache, if someone searches for it. The editors and admins can restore your question also and you accepted this, when you agreed with the terms of use of this forum.

[Daire Vickers]

To be fair it wasn't a great question by me. Thanks so much though for taking the time to help me :(

[Rena Berman]

(Answers Dev) Restored edit

Answer 1

[Jan]

With some guessing:

As far as I understand you want to draw into the same figures in each iteration. Then create the figures before the loop and remember the handles:

for k = 1:7
  FigH(k)  = figure;
  % Set NextPlot is the same as |hold on|:
  AxesH(k) = axes('NextPlot', 'add', 'Parent', FigH(k));
end

for k1 = 1:3
  for k2 = 1:7
    % Plot into k'th axes:
    plot(AxesH(k), 1:10, rand(1,10));
  end
end

[Daire Vickers]

I've got it to kinda work with this code, what do you think? I also don't know where I would put your bits of code in my code.

clear variables % clear any old variables in the workspace
close all % closes any plots open from previous runs
%List all the variables needed



%code for reading in horse and rocket options
fileID=fopen('horseyRocketOptions.txt','r'); %opens file for reading by readtable
rocketTable= readtable('horseyRocketOptions.txt'); %puts info from file into a table

fileID2=fopen('horseyOptions.txt');               %same as above
horseTable= readtable('horseyOptions.txt');

% n=input('pick your horse, either bfhorse,derpy or nozomi (must be written as shown):\n','s');%gets input of horse name and stores as a string called n,
dt = .1; % timeStep duration in seconds
endTime = 325; % Time simulation ends at in seconds

timeArray = zeros(endTime/dt,3);
positionArray = zeros(endTime/dt,3);
velocityArray = zeros(endTime/dt,3);
dragArray = zeros(endTime/dt,3);
accelerationArray = zeros(endTime/dt,3);
densityArray = zeros(endTime/dt,3);
massArray = zeros(endTime/dt,3);

for n=1:3
    
    
 if n==1 % if strcmp('bfhorse',n)                    %strcmp compares two strings and is either true or false for if they are the same or not. So if user inputs bfhorse for the horse name (n), strcmp will be true and the variables will be changed to the corresponding values in row 1 of the table.
    massEmptyRocket  = rocketTable{1,3};  %have to use curly brackets or it makes the variable a table variable rather than a number.
    startingMassFuel = rocketTable{1,4};
    engineThrust     = rocketTable{1,5};
    burnTime         = rocketTable{1,6};
    diameter         = rocketTable{1,7};
    massHorse        = horseTable{1,2};
 end

 if n==2 % if strcmp('derpy',n)                     %strcmp compares two strings and is either true or false for if they are the same or not. So if user inputs deerpy for the horse name (n), strcmp will be true and the variables will be changed to the corresponding values in row 2 of the table.
    massEmptyRocket  = rocketTable{2,3};
    startingMassFuel = rocketTable{2,4};
    engineThrust     = rocketTable{2,5};
    burnTime         = rocketTable{2,6};
    diameter         = rocketTable{2,7};
    massHorse        = horseTable{2,2};
 end

 if n==3 % if strcmp('nozomi',n)                   %strcmp compares two strings and is either true or false for if they are the same or not. So if user inputs nozomi for the horse name (n), strcmp will be true and the variables will be changed to the corresponding values in row 2 of the table.
    massEmptyRocket  = rocketTable{3,3};
    startingMassFuel = rocketTable{3,4};
    engineThrust     = rocketTable{3,5};
    burnTime         = rocketTable{3,6};
    diameter         = rocketTable{3,7};
    massHorse        = horseTable{3,2};
 end

%  massEmptyRocket = 1500; % kg
% startingMassFuel = 7000; % kg
% massHorse = 75; %kg
% massTotal = massEmptyRocket + startingMassFuel +massHorse; % kg
% engineThrust = 	130000; %N
gravity = 9.81; %m/s/s
dragCoefficient = .05; %constant involved in drag equation
% diameter=2;                            %diameter of rocket, used to get area
crossSectionarea=(((diameter)/2)^2)*(pi);  %area of rocket, used in drag calculation
% weight = massTotal * gravity; %downward force due to gravity

drag = zeros(1,endTime/dt);         %Create empty vector of zeros for drag Data so it can be plotted at the end, unit is N
density = zeros(1,endTime/dt);      %Create empty vector of zeros for density Data so it can be plotted at the end, units are kg/m3
acceleration = zeros(1,endTime/dt); %Create empty vector of zeros for Acceleration Data the length of the simulation
time = zeros(1,endTime/dt);         %Create empty vector of zeros for time Data
massFuel = zeros(1,endTime/dt);     %Create empty vector of zeros for mass of fuel in kg, so it can be plotted at the end
% burnTime = 60; %Time Engines are firing for.

%PART 5 - Add code here to use matlab function xlsread to read in density data
%from excel.
filename='DensityData.xlsx';
HD=xlsread(filename);         %reading the data from excel file into variable HD
adjustden=HD(:,2)*1000;       %This takes the density values in the second column and converts them from g/cm^3 to kg/m^3

%start a loop to calculate our equations of motion at each Time Step

for t = 1:1:(endTime/dt) %   t is the current TimeStep
    
time(t) = t*dt; % update the time vector with the new time step

%Calculate the velocity and Position, by integrating.
velocity = cumtrapz(time,acceleration);
position = cumtrapz(time,velocity);

%Add code for Parts 5-7 here.
% PART 5.	Write a function (findDensity.m) which calculates density as a function
% of height above sea-level. Read in data once before the loop, see comment
% above. First column is Altitude in km and the second in density in g/cm^3.
density(t)=findDensity(position,adjustden,t); %Finds density at current timestep

%PART 6. Write a function (findDrag.m) which calculates the drag at each time step as a function
% using the current velocity and current density (calculated in part 5)
drag(t)= findDrag(density(t),velocity,t,crossSectionarea,dragCoefficient); %finds drag at current timestep
%BONUS: Add paracute drag force calculation if the right altitidue requirements are
%met.

%PART 7: Write a function (findWeight.m) which calculates the weight of the rocket at each time step. 
% Assume to fuel mass decrease linearly from the launch time to the end of the burn.
[weight,massTotal,massFuel(t)]=findWeight(startingMassFuel,burnTime,massEmptyRocket,massHorse,gravity,t,dt); %Finds total mass of rocket, mass of fuel, and force of gravity in N acting on the rocket at the current timestep


%Equation of motion
   
    if t <= (burnTime/dt) %while the engines are firing
 
%PART 8: Change code to use time varying for drag, weight and massTotal calculated in part 5-7. Replace equation with
%acceleration(t) =  (engineThrust - drag(t) - weight(t)) /massTotal(t);
%need to make so drag is positive when moving downwards

        acceleration(t) =  (engineThrust - drag(t) - weight) /massTotal;%acceleration at current timestep while engines firing= engine thrust - drag at current time - weight at current time, all divided by the total mass at the current time.
        
% PART 8: Change code to use time varying for drag, weight and Mass Total calculated in Parts 5-7. Replace equation with
%acceleration(t) =  (- drag(t) - weight(t)) /massTotal(t);

    else %when the engines have stopped firing
        
        acceleration(t) =  (-drag(t) - weight) /massTotal; %acceleration at current timestep while engines not firing=  - drag at current time - weight at current time, all divided by the total mass at the current time.
        
    end

 % PART 1 & PART 2 Add code here: check if the position <0 and display
 % the time when this happens and (PART 2) break out of loop to end simulaiton.
 if position(t)<0
        lengthOfFlight=time(t) %finds when position is negative i.e. rocket has landed and gets the time at that timestep(t=timestep, time(t)=time in seconds)
        break %ends the loop after rocket has landed
 end
    
end

%Add code for PART 3 here. Write a function (named maxHeight.m) which
%calculates the max height during the flight. Display the output of the
%function in the command window.
MaxHeight=maxHeight(position,lengthOfFlight,dt) %gets the max value of position during the flight

%Add code for PART 4 here. Write a function to calculate velocity at impact (kaboomSpeed.m). 
% Add to the code it outputs the value in command window.

velocityAtImpact=kaboomSpeed(velocity,lengthOfFlight,dt) % gets the value of velocity at the time the rocket crashes

%Add code for PART 9. Add Additonal graphs asked for. Change so the plots finish at
%the calcualted endtime from PART 1.
accelerationArray(:,n) = acceleration(:,:);
    densityArray(:,n) = density(:,:);
    dragArray(:,n) = drag(:,:);
    massArray(:,n) = massFuel(:,:);
    positionArray(:,n) = position(:,:);
    timeArray(:,n) = time(:,:);
    velocityArray(:,n) = velocity(:,:);
end

%plot results

figure();
plot(time(1:fix(lengthOfFlight/dt)), accelerationArray(1:fix(lengthOfFlight/dt), 1))
hold on 
plot(time(1:fix(lengthOfFlight/dt)), accelerationArray(1:fix(lengthOfFlight/dt), 2))
hold on 
plot(time(1:fix(lengthOfFlight/dt)), accelerationArray(1:fix(lengthOfFlight/dt), 3))
hold on
title ('Acceleration vs Time - Simple Rocket')
xlabel('Time - (s)')
ylabel('acceleration - (m/s^2)')
grid on
legend('BF Rocket', 'Elsie Rocket', 'Flubber Rocket')


figure();
plot(time(1:fix(lengthOfFlight/dt)), velocityArray(1:fix(lengthOfFlight/dt), 1))
hold on 
plot(time(1:fix(lengthOfFlight/dt)), velocityArray(1:fix(lengthOfFlight/dt), 2))
hold on 
plot(time(1:fix(lengthOfFlight/dt)), velocityArray(1:fix(lengthOfFlight/dt),3))
hold on
title ('Velocity vs Time - Simple Rocket')
xlabel('Time - (s)')
ylabel('velocity - (m/s)')
grid on
legend('BF Rocket', 'Elsie Rocket', 'Flubber Rocket')


figure();
plot(time(1:fix(lengthOfFlight/dt)), positionArray(1:fix(lengthOfFlight/dt),1))
hold on 
plot(time(1:fix(lengthOfFlight/dt)), positionArray(1:fix(lengthOfFlight/dt),2))
hold on 
plot(time(1:fix(lengthOfFlight/dt)), positionArray(1:fix(lengthOfFlight/dt), 3))
hold on 
title ('Position vs Time - Simple Rocket')
xlabel('Time - (s)')
ylabel('Height - (m)')
grid on
legend('BF Rocket', 'Elsie Rocket', 'Flubber Rocket')

figure();
plot(time(1:fix(lengthOfFlight/dt)), massArray(1:fix(lengthOfFlight/dt),1))
hold on 
plot(time(1:fix(lengthOfFlight/dt)), massArray(1:fix(lengthOfFlight/dt),2))
hold on 
plot(time(1:fix(lengthOfFlight/dt)), massArray(1:fix(lengthOfFlight/dt),3))
hold on
title ('Fuel Mass vs Time - Simple Rocket')
xlabel('Time - (s)')
ylabel('Fuel Mass - (kg)')
grid on
legend('BF Rocket', 'Elsie Rocket', 'Flubber Rocket')

figure();
plot(time(1:fix(lengthOfFlight/dt)), densityArray(1:fix(lengthOfFlight/dt),1) )
hold on 
plot(time(1:fix(lengthOfFlight/dt)), densityArray(1:fix(lengthOfFlight/dt),2) )
hold on 
plot(time(1:fix(lengthOfFlight/dt)), densityArray(1:fix(lengthOfFlight/dt),3) )
hold on 
title ('Density vs Time - Simple Rocket')
xlabel('Time - (s)')
ylabel('Density - (kg/m^3)')
grid on
legend('BF Rocket', 'Elsie Rocket', 'Flubber Rocket')

figure();
plot(positionArray(1:fix(lengthOfFlight/dt),1),densityArray(1:fix(lengthOfFlight/dt),1) )
hold on 
plot(positionArray(1:fix(lengthOfFlight/dt),2),densityArray(1:fix(lengthOfFlight/dt),2) )
hold on 
plot(positionArray(1:fix(lengthOfFlight/dt),3),densityArray(1:fix(lengthOfFlight/dt),3) )
hold on
title ('Density vs Position - Simple Rocket')
xlabel('Position - (m)')
ylabel('Density - (kg/m^3)')
grid on
legend('BF Rocket', 'Elsie Rocket', 'Flubber Rocket')
 
figure();
plot(time(1:fix(lengthOfFlight/dt)),abs(dragArray(1:fix(lengthOfFlight/dt),1)) )
hold on 
plot(time(1:fix(lengthOfFlight/dt)),abs(dragArray(1:fix(lengthOfFlight/dt),2)) )
hold on 
plot(time(1:fix(lengthOfFlight/dt)),abs(dragArray(1:fix(lengthOfFlight/dt),3)) )
hold on 
title ('Drag vs Time - Simple Rocket')
xlabel('Time - (s)')
ylabel('Drag - (N)')
grid on
legend('BF Rocket', 'Elsie Rocket', 'Flubber Rocket')

The density vs position graph doesn't work properly. it should be the same 3 lines on top of each other but it ends up being as shown below. I think the three lines are on top of each other but bf and elsie rocket have extra lines?

[Jan]

You have posted a lot of code. It is a tedious work to insert the suggestion into your code so I'd prefer to leave this work up to you. In any case, create the figures and axes before the loop, omit the figure(); lines, if you do not want to create new figures. Then add the parent as first input to the plot() commands. That's it.

I do not understand the paragraph concerning "The density vs position graph doesn't work properly." What does "but bf and elsie rocket have extra lines?" mean?

[Daire Vickers]

do you see in the picture there is straight lines which shouldnt be there.

I don't really know what your code does like what is the parent and why do you have random numbers and stuff?

[Jan]

I posted some code which adds lines to existing axes. I used random data as example because it would by a lot of work to try to understand the pile of code you have posted. The problem is, that I do not really understand what your code does, but this is not required to solve the actual question. Please focus on the problem: As far as I understood this is "I have to combine each graph so that the graph for each of the three rocket options is displayed on one graph, and there will be 7 graphs total in the end."

I do not have any idea, why you assume that "the straight line shouldn't be there". The code does exactly what is expected. I cannot know, why you expect something else.

By the way, ths code yould be leaner, if you calculate fix(lengthOfFlight/dt) once only and use a variable for the result.

Please read: https://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/answers/6200-tutorial-how-to-ask-a-question-on-answers-and-get-a-fast-answer

It is much better to post only the relevant part of teh code, a "minimal working example", to avoid confusing the readers with a lot of working code. Posting the code twice does not clarify the question.

The "parent" of e.g. a line created by the plot command is the axes, which contains the line. Each graphics object has a parent: The parent of an axes is e.g. a figure or a uipanel.

A plot command does eitehr draw in the currently active axes object (the one, which was active before, e.g. because the user clicked on it). If there is no existing axes object, plot creates one implicitly. Use the debugger to step through my code to learn, what it is doing. Then you should be able to use the same method in your code also.

[Daire Vickers]

deleted

[Jan]

The first loop must be:

for k =1:7
    figH(k)=figure;
    %   ^^^  This index was missing in your code
    axesH= axes('NextPlot','add','Parent',figH(k))
end

Start with solving one step after the other. At first get the code to run before you care about the legends.

You can simplify the sectio for selecting the horse parameters:

index            = strcmp({'bfhorse', 'derpy', 'nozomi'}, n);
massEmptyRocket  = rocketTable{index,3};
startingMassFuel = rocketTable{index,4};
engineThrust     = rocketTable{index,5};
burnTime         = rocketTable{index,6};
diameter         = rocketTable{index,7};
massHorse        = horseTable{index,2};

This let you omit the different if strcmp('bfhorse',n) parts.

[Daire Vickers]

ok thank you!