Interactive High-Quality Visualization of Higher-Order Finite Elements

dc.contributor.authorUeffinger, Markusen_US
dc.contributor.authorFrey, Steffenen_US
dc.contributor.authorErtl, Thomasen_US
dc.date.accessioned2015-02-23T16:40:03Z
dc.date.available2015-02-23T16:40:03Z
dc.date.issued2010en_US
dc.description.abstractHigher-order finite element methods have emerged as an important discretization scheme for simulation. They are increasingly used in contemporary numerical solvers, generating a new class of data that must be analyzed by scientists and engineers. Currently available visualization tools for this type of data are either batch oriented or limited to certain cell types and polynomial degrees. Other approaches approximate higher-order data by resampling resulting in trade-offs in interactivity and quality. To overcome these limitations, we have developed a distributed visualization system which allows for interactive exploration of non-conforming unstructured grids, resulting from space-time discontinuous Galerkin simulations, in which each cell has its own higher-order polynomial solution. Our system employs GPU-based raycasting for direct volume rendering of complex grids which feature non-convex, curvilinear cells with varying polynomial degree. Frequency-based adaptive sampling accounts for the high variations along rays. For distribution across a GPU cluster, the initial object-space partitioning is determined by cell characteristics like the polynomial degree and is adapted at runtime by a load balancing mechanism. The performance and utility of our system is evaluated for different aeroacoustic simulations involving the propagation of shock fronts.en_US
dc.description.number2en_US
dc.description.seriesinformationComputer Graphics Forumen_US
dc.description.volume29en_US
dc.identifier.doi10.1111/j.1467-8659.2009.01603.xen_US
dc.identifier.issn1467-8659en_US
dc.identifier.pages337-346en_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8659.2009.01603.xen_US
dc.publisherThe Eurographics Association and Blackwell Publishing Ltden_US
dc.titleInteractive High-Quality Visualization of Higher-Order Finite Elementsen_US
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