Toward Interactive-Rate Simulation Of Fluids With Moving Obstacles Using Navier-Stokes Equations

We present a new method for physically based modeling and interactive-rate simulation of 3D fluids in computer graphics. By solving the 2D Navier-Stokes equations using a computational fluid dynamics method, we map the surface into 3D using the corresponding pressures in the fluid flow field. The method achieves realistic interactive-rate fluid simulation by solving the physical governing laws of fluids but avoiding the extensive 3D fluid dynamics computation. Unlike previous computer graphics fluid models, our approach can simulate many different fluid behaviors by changing the internal or external boundary conditions. It can model different kinds of fluids by varying the Reynolds number. It can also simulate objects moving or floating in fluids. In addition, we can visualize the animation of the fluid flow held, the streakline of a flow field, and the blending of fluids of different colors. Our model can serve as a testbed to simulate many other fluid phenomena which have never been successfully modeled previously in computer graphics. (C) 1995 Academic Press, Inc