Focus on Scientific Visualization

Fluid Flow Visualization.- 1 Introduction.- 1.1 Purposes and Problems of Flow Visualization.- 1.2 Overview.- 2 Experimental Flow Visualization.- 2.1 Addition of Foreign Material.- 2.2 Optical Techniques.- 2.3 Addition of Heat and Energy.- 3 Computer Graphics Flow Visualization.- 3.1 The Flow Visualization Process.- 3.2 Flow Visualization Mappings.- 3.3 Data Preparation.- 3.3.1 Filtering.- 3.3.2 Data Selection.- 3.3.3 Domain Transformations.- 3.3.4 Interpolation.- 3.3.5 Point Location.- 3.3.6 Computing Derived Scalar Quantities.- 3.3.7 Computing Particle Path Lines.- 3.3.8 Contour Lines and Surfaces.- 3.4 Flow Field Topology.- 3.4.1 Critical points.- 3.4.2 Integral Curves and Surfaces.- 4 Presentation Techniques.- 4.1 Human Perception and Depth Cues.- 4.2 Basic Rendering Techniques.- 4.2.1 Arrows.- 4.2.2 Curves.- 4.2.3 Surfaces.- 4.2.4 Particles.- 4.2.5 Environment Geometry.- 4.2.6 Volume Rendering.- 4.3 Special Rendering Techniques.- 4.3.1 Animation.- 4.3.2 Aliasing and Anti-Aliasing.- 4.3.3 Texture Synthesis and Texture Mapping.- 4.3.4 Hybrid Rendering.- 4.3.5 Advanced Particle Rendering.- 5 Conclusions and Research Directions.- References.- Volume Visualization in Medicine: Techniques and Applications.- 1 Introduction.- 1.1 Objectives.- 1.2 Related Fields.- 2 Imaging Modalities.- 3 Methods.- 3.1 Overview.- 3.2 Preprocessing.- 3.2.1 Data Conversion.- 3.2.2 Filtering.- 3.2.3 Interpolation.- 3.2.4 Data Structures.- 3.3 Object Definition.- 3.3.1 Segmentation.- 3.3.2 Interpretation.- 3.4 Surface-Based Rendering.- 3.4.1 Surface Reconstruction from Contours.- 3.4.2 Surface Reconstruction from Volumes.- 3.4.3 Shading.- 3.5 Voxel-Based Rendering.- 3.5.1 Projection Techniques.- 3.5.2 Surfaces.- 3.5.3 Cut Planes.- 3.5.4 Integral and Maximum Intensity Projection.- 3.5.5 Volume Rendering.- 3.6 Advanced Segmentation Methods.- 3.6.1 Point-Based Segmentation.- 3.6.2 Edge-Based Segmentation.- 3.6.3 Region-Based Segmentation.- 3.7 Multimodality Matching.- 3.8 Manipulation.- 3.9 Image Fidelity.- 3.10 Implementation Aspects.- 4 Applications.- 5 Conclusions.- References.- Application of Visualization in Environmental Protection.- 1 Introduction.- 2 Applications of Software Systems in Environmental Protection.- 2.1 Monitoring and Control Systems.- 2.2 Information Systems.- 2.3 Evaluation and Interpretation Systems.- 2.4 Decision Support Systems.- 2.5 Environmental Information Systems.- 3 Requirements of Visualization Systems.- 4 Methods and Applications.- 4.1 Data Analysis and Control in Monitoring Systems.- 4.2 Information Systems.- 4.3 Scattered Data Methods.- 4.4 Particle Flow Visualization and Animation.- 4.5 Groundwater Protection and Finite Element Methods.- 4.6 Intelligent User Interfaces in Process Control.- 5 Conclusions.- References.- Data Structures in Scientific Visualization.- 1 Introduction.- 2 Computer Based Problem Handling.- 2.1 The Modeling Phase.- 2.2 The Simulation Phase.- 2.3 The Evaluation Phase.- 3 Data Types of Dependent Variables.- 3.1 Basic Data Types.- 3.2 Dimensionality of Dependent Variables.- 3.2.1 Scalar Fields.- 3.2.2 Vector Fields.- 3.2.3 Tensor Fields.- 4 Coordinate Systems.- 5 Connectivity.- 5.1 Cartesian Grids.- 5.2 Uniform Grids.- 5.3 Rectilinear Grids.- 5.4 Regulär Grids.- 5.5 Block-Structured Grids.- 5.6 Irregulär Grids.- 5.7 Hybrid Grids.- 5.8 Scattered Locations.- 6 Zone Data.- 7 Auxiliary Information.- 8 Relationship between Data Sets.- 9 Consideration of Time.- 9.1 Handling of Time Information.- 9.1.1 Fixed Time Step Size.- 9.1.2 Variable Time Step Size.- 9.2 Time Dependence of Data.- 9.3 Time Dependence of Grids.- 9.4 Time Dependence of Connectivity.- 9.5 Different Time Steps in Separate Parts.- 10 Data Structures in Different Software Packages.- 10.1 The Irregular Grid Approach.- 10.2 Differentiated Data Structure Approach.- 11 Application Package Independent Data Access Software.- 12 Conclusions.- References.- A Visualization-Based Model for a Scientific Database System.- 1 Introduction.- 2 A Paradigm for Interdisciplinary Scientific Research.- 3 Nature of Scientific Data.- 3.1 Lattice-Oriented Data.- 3.2 Relationships Among Data.- 3.3 Data and Models of Data.- 3.4 Meaning of Updates.- 3.5 Related Database Developments.- 4 Nature of Scientific Data Visualization.- 4.1 Traditional Visualization Techniques.- 4.2 Multi-Dimensional Data Visualization.- 4.3 Systems for Scientific Data Visualization.- 5 Toward a Target Scientific Database System.- 5.1 Terminology.- 5.2 Metadata.- 5.3 Schema Model.- 5.4 Schema Evolution.- 5.5 Bridge to Knowledge Based Systems Technology.- 5.6 Project Overview.- 6 Conclusion.- References.- Volume Synthesis Principles.- 1 Background.- 2 Motivation.- 3 Voxelization Algorithms.- 4 Discrete Ray Tracing.- 5 Concluding Note.- References.- Surface Interpolation from Cross Sections.- 1 Introduction.- 2 Topological Reconstruction.- 2.1 Assignment Graphs and Nesting Trees.- 2.2 Enumeration of Assignment Graphs.- 2.3 Similarity of Contours.- 2.4 Mutual Location of Contours.- 3 Geometrie Reconstruction.- 4 Triangulated Surfaces.- 4.1 Point Reduction.- 4.2 Cylindric Triangulation.- 4.3 Saddle Point Triangulation.- 4.4 Extremal Points.- 4.5 Penetrations.- 4.6 Quality of Triangulations.- 4.6.1 Measure Criteria.- 4.6.2 Shape Criteria and Deformation.- 4.7 Intermediate Layers.- 5 Pyramidal Extrapolation.- 6 Smooth Surface Interpolation.- 7 Volume Oriented Reconstruction.- 8 Interpolation by Spatial Delaunay Triangulations.- 9 Reconstruction with Spatial Grids.- 10 Acquisition of Data.- 11 Interaction.- 11.1 Segmentation.- 11.2 Topological Assignment.- 11.3 Deformation.- 11.4 Triangulation.- 12 Concluding Remarks.- References.- Modeling and Visualizing Volumetrie and Surface-on-Surface Data.- 1 Introduction.- 2 Data.- 2.1 Pressure on a Wing Example.- 2.2 CAT Scan Data Example.- 2.3 Precipitation on Earth Data Example.- 2.4 Temperature Analysis Data Example.- 2.5 Flame Data Example.- 2.6 Well Log Data Example.- 2.7 Brain Data Example.- 2.8 Spatial Sound Data Example.- 2.9 Summary of Data Examples.- 3 Visualization Methods.- 3.1 Techniques for Visualizing Volumetrie Models.- 3.1.1 Domain Decomposition Methods.- 3.1.2 Slice Methods.- 3.1.3 Contour Methods.- 3.1.4 Volume Rendering (Ray Casting) Methods.- 3.1.5 Volume Interrogation Techniques.- 3.2 Techniques for Visualizing Surface-on-Surface Models.- 4 Modeling Methods.- 4.1 Distance Function Approach.- 4.1.1 Volumetrie Data.- 4.1.2 Surface-on-Surface Data.- 4.2 Piecewise Hermite Approach.- 4.2.1 Surface-on-Surface Data.- 4.2.2 Volumetric Data.- References.- Curve and Surface Interrogation.- 1 Introduction.- 2 Reflection Line Method.- 3 Isophotes.- 4 Orthotomics.- 5 Polarity Method.- 6 Focal Surfaces.- References.- Sorting for Polyhedron Compositing.- 1 Polyhedron Compositing.- 2 A General Sorting Algorithm.- 3 Adaptive Mesh Refinement.- 4 Sorting for the AMR Method.- 5 Interpolation and Contour Surfaces.- 6 Sorting for Cloud Visualization.- 7 Results.- References.- Joining Volume with Surface Rendering.- 1 Introduction.- 2 Converting Data.- 2.1 Converting Volume Data into Polygonal Data.- 2.2 Converting Polygonal Data into Volumetrie Data.- 3 Combining Rendering Methods.- 3.1 Hybrid Ray Tracer.- 3.2 Rendering Volumetric Data in Molecular Systems.- 3.3 Hybrid Rendering of Volume Data and Polygons.- 3.4 Combining Volume with Line and Surface Rendering.- 3.4.1 Architecture of the System.- 3.4.2 Common Parameters.- 3.4.3 Transformations and Coordinate Systems.- 3.4.4 Requirements on Volume Rendering.- 3.4.5 The Volume Rendering Algorithm.- 3.4.6 Rendering of Geometrically Defined Objects.- 3.4.7 Geometry Rendering in Hardware.- 3.4.8 Merging Image Space Elements.- 3.5 Z-Buffer Merging.- 4 Applications - Two Examples.- References.- The Volume Priority Z-Buffer.- 1 Introduction.- 2 Overview of the Algorithm.- 3 Projection Strategy.- 4 Block Processing.- 4.1 Determination of the Convex Hull.- 4.2 Scan-Conversion of the Convex Hull.- 4.3 Visualizing the Volumetrie Data.- 4.3.1 Color Intensity Determination.- 4.3.2 The z-Buffer.- 5 Conclusion.- References.- A Fourier Technique for Volume Rendering.- 1 Introduction.- 2 Fourier Projection-Slice Theorem.- 3 Fourier Volume Rendering.- 4 Data Shifting.- 5 Resampling Implementation Details.- 6 Zero Padding and Premultiplication.- 7 Resampling Rate.- 8 Conclusion.- References.- An Improved Shading Algorithm for Radiosity Based Renderers.- 1 Introduction.- 2 Rendering.- 2.1 Linear Interpolation.- 2.1.1 Mach bands.- 2.1.2 Loss of Diffuse Highlights.- 2.2 The "Perfect" Solution.- 2.3 Vector Form Factors.- 2.4 An Improved Interpolation Technique.- 3 Comparisons.- 4 Results.- 5 Implementation.- References.- Some Annotations on X-ray Tracing.- 1 Introduction.- 2 Underlying Principle.- 2.1 Vera Geometry.- 2.2 Color of an Object at the Target Point.- 3 X-ray Tracing Stills.- 3.1 Enhanced Edges.- 3.2 Texture.- 3.3 Miscellaneous Effects.- 3.4 Animated X-ray Traced Images.- References.- Auditory Representation of Scientific Data.- 1 Introduction.- 2 Technical Considerations.- 3 Sensory and Perceptual considerations.- 4 Experiments in Auditory Data Representation.- 5 Systems for Research in Auditory Data Representation.- 6 Evaluation of Auditory Data Representations.- 7 Summary and Conclusions.- References.- Color Illustrations.- 1 Fluid Flow Visualization.- 2 Volume Visualization in Medicine: Techniques and Applications.- 3 Application of Visualization in Environmental Protection.- 4 Data Structures in Scientific Visualization.- 5 A Visualization-Based Model for a Scientific Database System.- 6 Visualizing Volumetrie and Surface-on-Surface Data.- 7 Curve and Surface Interrogation.- 8 Sorting for Polyhedron Compositing.- 9 Joining Volume with Surface Rendering.- 10 An Improved Shading Algorithm for Radiosity Based Renderers.