Real-time Flow Animation Techniques Using Computational Fluid Dynamics

전산유체역학을 이용한 실시간 유체 애니메이션 기술

With all the recent progresses in computer hardware and software technology, the animation of fluids in real-time is still among the most challenging issues of computer graphics. The fluid animation is carried out in two steps - the physical simulation of fluids immediately followed by the visual rendering. The physical simulation is usually accomplished by numerical methods utilizing the particle dynamics equations as well as the fluid mechanics based on the Navier-Stokes equations. Particle dynamics method is usually fast in calculation, but the resulting fluid motion is conditionally unrealistic. The methods using Navier-Stokes equation, on the contrary, yield lifelike fluid motion when properly conditioned, yet the complexity of calculation restrains this method from being used in real-time applications. This article presents a rapid fluid animation method by using the continuum-based fluid mechanics and the enhanced particle dynamics equations. For real-time rendering, pre-integrated volume rendering technique was employed. The proposed method can create realistic fluid effects that can interact with the viewer in action, to be used in computer games, performances, installation arts, virtual reality and many similar multimedia applications.