On-line library -- papers by Geoffrey Irving

By date,   By author,   By title,   Index of all authors,   Index of Pixar Technical Memos


Volume Conserving Finite Element Simulations of Deformable Models

Geoffrey Irving, Craig Schroeder, Ronald Fedkiw
August 2007

We propose a numerical method for modeling highly deformable nonlinear incompressible solids that conserves the volume locally near each node in a finite element mesh. Our method works with arbitrary constitutive models, is applicable to both passive and active materials (e.g. muscles), and works with simple tetrahedra without the need for multiple quadrature points or stabilization techniques. Although simple linear tetrahedra typically suffer from locking when modeling incompressible materials, our method enforces incompressibility per node (in a one-ring), and we demonstrate that it is free from locking. We correct errors in volume without introducing oscillations by treating position and velocity in separate implicit solves. Finally, we propose a novel method for treating both object contact and self-contact as linear constraints during the incompressible solve, alleviating issues in enforcing multiple possibly conflicting constraints.

Available in the proceedings of SIGGRAPH 2007.


Efficient Simulation of Large Bodies of Water by Coupling Two and Three Dimensional Techniques

Geoffrey Irving, Eran Guendelman, Frank Losasso, Ronald Fedkiw
January 2006

We present a new method for the efficient simulation of large bodies of water, especially effective when three-dimensional surface effects are important. Similar to a traditional two-dimensional height field approach, most of the water volume is represented by tall cells which are assumed to have linear pressure profiles. In order to avoid the limitations typically associated with a height field approach, we simulation the entire top surface of the water volume with a state of the art, fully three-dimensional Navier-Stokes free surface solver. Our philosophy is to use the best available method near the interface (in the three-dimensional region) and to coarsen the mesh away from the interface for efficiency. We coarsen with tall, thin cells (as opposed to octrees or AMR), because they maintain good resolution horizontally allowing for accurate representation of bottom topography.

Additional materials: [movie.avi]

Available in the proceedings of SIGGRAPH 2006