Table of Contents
1. Visualization Modules, Part I
The VisTools library from Visual Kinematics, Inc.
is an object-based software development toolkit designed for use in
creating visualization applications for science and engineering.
As a visualization toolkit, VisTools is differentiated by its rich feature
set, computational efficiency and modular, object-based architecture.
VisTools is designed to impose
few restrictions on the nature of the computational domain,
or specific data structures used within a host application to maintain the
computational grid and/or solution results.
VisTools also separates the generation of visualization entities from the
graphics subsystem. This allows application developers to integrate VisTools
between their existing computational database and graphics device interface.
The basic features of VisTools are summarized below:
-
Discrete scalar, vector or tensor field visualization as 2D or 3D
icons or numerical values.
-
Isovalue display in 1D, 2D and 3D domains.
This includes contour line, color filled contour,
continuous tone, isosurface, vector surface, dot surface and
cuberille generation.
-
Perform line, surface and volume integrations associated with the
isovalue visualization modules. For example, VisTools is
able to compute the area of an isosurface or the volume of material
lying between sets of isosurfaces.
-
Unique isosurface clipping feature. Any type of visualization entity
may be clipped to a set of arbitrary isosurfaces.
-
Streamline and streamribbon generation in 2D and 3D domains.
Streamlines may be constrained to lie on a surface in 3D domains.
Tangent curves may be produced in vector (velocity) or
tensor (stress) fields.
-
All discrete visualization entities may be value mapped to size and/or
color. All filled entities (eg. isosurfaces, color filled contours)
may be value mapped to color and/or transparency.
-
Computational cells may be individual
lines, triangles, quadrilaterals, tetrahedra,
pyramids, pentahedra or hexahedra or regular meshes of the same
cell type. General polygons and polyhedra are also supported.
This allows VisTools to be applied to conventional finite
element unstructured grids, polyhedral grids
or higher order, p-element finite element grids and multiblock
structured grids.
-
Normal vectors may be either automatically generated by VisTools
or supplied
by the user for light source shading. Both facet and vertex normals are
supported.
-
Annotation features include 2D and 3D stroked fonts and an extensive
glyph library of useful 2D and 3D parameterized shapes.
Facilities for
generating XY and XYZ graphs and drawing
triads for Cartesian, cylindrical or spherical systems are included.
-
Automatic calculation of beam section properties for arbitrary
cross sections. Automatic calculation of shell wall composite
stiffness matrix for arbitrary laminated composites.
-
Object-based architecture, written in ANSI C with C++, FORTRAN, and C#
language bindings.
-
Hardware and graphics device independence.
Table of Contents
1.1 Module Summary
VisTools is designed to accept computational cells (eg. individual finite
elements or blocks of a multiblock grid) and results data (eg. scalar, vector
or tensor fields), perform a visualization function (eg. isosurface extraction
or tensor icon generation) and produce displayable geometry (eg. colors,
polylines and polygons). VisTools is meant to be integrated into existing
visualization software systems such as finite element post processors and
visual data analysis (VDA) systems with minimal impact upon established data
structures and graphics subsystems. The modules currently delivered with
VisTools may be divided into 4 categories: 1) visualization and
computation, 2) attribute,
3) annotation and 4) drawing function.
-
Visualization and Computation
Mark Scalar, vector or tensor field markers at points.
Value Scalar, vector or tensor field values at points.
Segment Isovalues along lines.
Contour Contours on surfaces.
Threshold Isosurface extraction within solids
Trace Tangent curve generation on surfaces
Stream Tangent curve generation within solids
Edge Draw wireframe geometries
Face Draw shaded surface geometries
Cell Draw shaded solid geometries
ShellWall Compute and draw shell wall properties
ShellElem Draw shell elements
BeamSect Compute and draw beam section properties
BeamElem Draw beam elements
RigidElem Draw rigid elements
MassElem Draw mass elements
DiscElem Draw spring and dashpot elements
GapElem Draw gap elements
The visualization and manipulator modules are the heart of VisTools.
All other modules
function to provide services and information to the visualization modules.
Each instance of a module in VisTools is termed an object.
Specifically, each
instance of a visualization module is termed a visualization object.
A visualization entity is defined as the displayable
output from a visualization
object. Examples of visualization entities are contour lines, tensor icons,
isosurfaces, etc. Visualization objects produce graphics primitives which
directly affect geometry such as line widths, points, polylines and polygons.
The manipulator modules are used to manage various types of clipping, selection
and snapping icons.
These modules, in general, produce graphics primitive geometry
as well as clipping and transformation primitives. The manipulator modules
are controlled by user interaction. The modules do not perform any specific
graphics device queries, the user is responsible for implementing the
user interaction and supplying device coordinates and
gesture manner (drag, click, etc.) to the modules.
The attribute modules do not produce displayable geometry as such but are used
primarily to provide containers for attributes which affect the appearance of
visualization entities.
An instance of an attribute module is called an attribute object.
Attribute objects produce color and transparency graphics primitives.
The drawing function modules are designed to receive the graphics
primitives produced by the visualization and attribute modules.
The most straight-forward use of the drawing functions is
to interface VisTools modules
directly to a graphics subsystem. This involves making direct
calls to set colors, line styles, etc. and draw various flavors of points,
lines and polygons using a 3D graphics application programming interface
(API).
Drawing functions may be used to perform specialized processing such as
integrating complicated functions over the polygons comprising an isosurface.
Drawing functions may also be developed which feed back output primitives (and
field values which have been interpolated to the vertices of output
primitives) as input to a visualization object. This allows VisTools to be
used recursively to generate such displays as contour plots on arbitrary
isosurfaces or tensor icons along the clipped edge of the face of a finite
element.
The drawing function module, DrawFun, is
formally part of the VglTools graphics interface library.
This module is delivered with VisTools as a support module.
Table of Contents
1.2 Computational Cells
VisTools accepts a set of computational cell types which encompasses
most topologies in general use in science and engineering.
Basic cell primitives, referred to as shape, include the following:
-
SYS_SHAPEPOINT, point(s)
-
SYS_SHAPELINE, line
-
SYS_SHAPETRI, triangle
-
SYS_SHAPEQUAD, quadrilateral
-
SYS_SHAPETET, tetrahedron
-
SYS_SHAPEPYR, pyramid
-
SYS_SHAPEWED, pentahedron
-
SYS_SHAPEHEX, hexahedron
-
SYS_SHAPEPOLYGON, polygon
-
SYS_SHAPEPOLYHED, polyhedron
As mentioned earlier there are two
distinct forms for each cell topology 1) Serendipity finite
elements which are characterized by only having nodes along element edges
and 2) Lagrange finite elements and regular arrays
of primitive cells.
Polygons and polyhedra are special cases to be described below.
These two representations allow VisTools to efficiently
process low order finite elements as well as higher order elements, p-elements
and multi block structured grids. The node connectivity conventions for
Serendipity finite elements and Lagrange finite elements and
arrays are different.
Serendipity element connectivity follows a
convention often used in the finite element analysis industry in which
corner nodes are numbered first followed by nodes along the midsides of the
element edges.
For parabolic and cubic Serendipity elements the corner nodes are followed by
nodes on the boundary edges in edge number order.
Lagrange finite element or array connectivity follows an ordering used
universally for multidimension arrays.
Nodes are ordered in the "i" direction first,
the "j" direction second and the "k" direction last.
The number of nodes in each element direction, (i,j,k) are referred to
as maxi, maxj and maxk.
For example, a 27 node parabolic
Lagrange 3D hexahedral solid
element has maxi = maxj = maxk = 3.
The general rules concerning maxi, maxj and maxk are outlined in the
following paragraphs,
some uncommon special cases are described later.
Lagrange connectivity allows for different numbers of nodes in each
element direction. For example, a special form of a
Lagrange solid element to model thick shells may contain 18 nodes with
parabolic shape functions in the plane of the shell ("i" and "j" directions)
and linear functions through the thickness of the shell ("k" direction).
In this case maxi = maxj = 3, and maxk = 2.
Serendipity elements must have equal orders in the "i" and "j" directions.
The "k" direction may be either linear or equal to the order given to the "i"
and "j" directions.
Utilizing this fact,
the Serendipity connectivity convention is flagged by
setting maxj = 0 (except for the case of missing midside
nodes described below).
This specifies that the order in the "j"
direction is equal to the order given by maxi and a Serendipity
connectivity convention is being used. If maxk = 0, then the order in the
"k" direction is equal to the order given by maxi.
For example a 20 node parabolic Serendipity
3D hexahedral solid
element has maxi = 3, and maxj = 0 and maxk = 0.
Optionally,
maxk = 2 specifies linear shape functions in the "k" direction.
For example, a 16 node Serendipity thick shell solid
has maxi = 3, maxj = 0 and maxk = 2.
Serendipity and Lagrange finite elements are restricted to linear, parabolic
and cubic forms. The shape functions for these types are explicitly
supported.
Array form is numbered identically to Lagrange form but for maxi, maxj or
maxk exceeding 4, piecewise linear shape functions are used.
The node connectivities for each topology appear below with examples
of Serendipity
element form and
Lagrange element or array form.
The maxi, maxj and maxk values associated with
each form are shown. Line connectivities are characterized by (maxi),
triangle and quadrilateral connectivities by (maxi,maxj) and
tetrahedral, pyramidal, pentahedral and hexahedral connectivities
by (maxi,maxj,maxk).
Figure 1-1, Line connectivity, Linear (2) and Parabolic (3)
Figure 1-2, Triangle connectivity, Serendipity Linear (2,0) and Parabolic (3,0), Lagrange Parabolic (3,3)
Figure 1-3, Quadrilateral connectivity, Serendipity Linear (2,0) and Parabolic (3,0), Lagrange Parabolic (3,3)
Figure 1-4, Tetrahedron connectivity, Serendipity Linear (2,0,0) and Parabolic (3,0,0), Lagrange Parabolic (3,3,3)
Figure 1-5, Pyramid connectivity, Serendipity Linear (2,0,0) and Parabolic (3,0,0), Lagrange Parabolic (3,3,3)
Figure 1-6, Wedge connectivity, Serendipity Linear (2,0,0) and Parabolic (3,0,0)
Figure 1-6a, Wedge connectivity, Lagrange Parabolic (3,3,3)
Figure 1-7, Hexahedron connectivity, Serendipity Linear (2,0,0) and Parabolic (3,0,0)
Figure 1-7a, Hexahedron connectivity, Lagrange Parabolic (3,3,3)
As mentioned above, the quantities maxi, maxj and maxk are used to
specify the number of nodes in each element direction. Given this general
definition there are a number of conventions to distinguish between
Serendipity and Lagrange numbering and some other important special cases.
-
maxi = 0, then the linear Serendipity form of the element is assumed
and maxj = maxk = 0.
-
2 <= maxi <= 4, maxj = 0, and maxk = 0
then the element is a Serendipity
element which is linear, parabolic or cubic
in the i, j and k directions.
-
2 <= maxi <= 4, 2 <= maxj <= 4 and 2 <= maxk <= 4, then the
element is a Lagrange element with maxi, maxj and maxk
nodes in the i,j and k directions respectively.
-
2 <= maxi <= 4, maxj = 0, and 2 <= maxk <= 4. This is a
special case of mixed Serendipity and Lagrange numbering
for 3D pentahedral and hexahedral shapes in which
the i and j directions are numbered first as a 2D Serendipity element
then this numbering is repeated for each nodal plane in the
k direction.
-
2 <= maxi <= 4, maxj = 1, and maxk = 0. This a special case
for 2D triangle Lagrange shapes in which the i direction
has maxi nodes
with a single additional node at the triangle apex.
-
2 <= maxi <= 4, maxj = 0 or 2 <= maxj <= 4, and maxk = 1.
This a special case
for 3D tetrahedron and pyramid Serendipity or Lagrange element
shapes in which
the nodal pattern in the i and j directions is given by maxi and
maxj with a single additional node at the tetrahedron or
pyramid apex.
-
maxi = 3, maxj >= 2**16, maxk = 0. This is a special case of
parabolic Serendipity elements with missing midside nodes.
The lower 16 bits of maxj are zero, the upper 16 bits of maxj
are used to flag missing midside nodes on element edges. The first
bit of the upper 16 bits (ie bit 17) is set if the midside node on
edge 1 is missing, bit 18 is set if the midside node on edge 2
is missing, etc. This convention is not used for line element shapes.
Examples of the mixed Serendipity and Lagrange numbering for pentahedral
and hexahedral elements appear below. The i and j directions are numbered
using a Serendipity connectivity convention. This numbering is then
incremented in the k direction.
Figure 1-7b, Pentahedral connectivity, (3,0,3), Hexahedral connectivity, (2,0,3)
The polygon and polyhedron shapes have different interpretations
for the quantities maxi, maxj and maxk from the conventional
shapes described above.
The quantity maxi indicates the total number of points
in the polygon or polyhedron. The quantities maxj and maxk are
used internally to indicate the number of edges and number of faces
respectively. The user is not required to enter the values of maxj and
maxk and may enter them as zeros.
The connectivity convention for polytype cells orders
the connectivity of each face such that the right hand rule
sense of the connectivity points outward. In addition, the first node
of the connectivity of each face is repeated as the last node in the face
connectivity. The total number of points in the polytype includes the
nodes repeated due to this convention.
Note that the polytype representation requires a significantly larger
number of nodes in the connectivity than a conventional shape of similar
complexity. For example a linear hexahedron of shape SYS_SHAPEHEX requires
8 nodes in the connectivity while the shape SYS_SHAPEPOLYHED requires
30 total nodes (6 faces times 5 nodes per face).
The connectivities for a polygon and polyhedra are shown below.
Note that the
starting node for each of the face connectivities is arbitrary and the
order of the faces is arbitrary.
Polygon n1,n2,n3,n4,n5,n1
Polyhedron n1,n2,n3,n1, n2,n5,n6,n3,n2, n4,n7,n6,n5,n4, n1,n3,n7,n4,n1, n6,n7,n3,n6, n4,n5,n2,n1,n4
Figure 1-7c, Polygon connectivity, (6,5,1), Polyhedron connectivity, (28,11,6)
For the special cases of quadrilateral and hexahedral grids VisTools provides
for 3 special cases of regular arrays (sometimes referred to as structured
grids): curvilinear, rectilinear and uniform. Each case has the same topology
while exploiting various degrees of uniformity in the physical mapping of the
nodes in space. The 3 cases are illustrated below for a quadrilateral grid.
Figure 1-8, Curvilinear, Rectilinear and Uniform grids
The motivation for providing these special cases is that the amount of data
required to specify node locations is dramatically reduced in each case.
For curvilinear grids, each node point is mapped to physical space by an
explicitly supplied coordinate location.
For a maxi by maxj by maxk grid,
maxi * maxj * maxk node coordinates must be defined.
Rectilinear grids are orthographic with variable spacing between lines of
nodes. Rectilinear grids are defined by specifying the intersections of the
grid lines with the corresponding coordinate axis in each spatial direction.
For a maxi by maxj by maxk grid,
maxi + maxj + maxk node coordinates must be defined.
Uniform grids are orthographic with constant spacing between lines of nodes.
Uniform grids are defined by specifying the bounding box of the grid, ie. two
coordinates.
1.2.1 Edge and Face Numbering
VisTools occasionally requires the identification of a particular edge or face
of a computational cell. For example, the Threshold module may be queried
to return the faces of a 3D cell which are intersected by an isosurface.
The edges and faces of a particular cell are specified by an edge or face
index. The edges and faces are defined by the cell node indices. The node
indices defining edges and faces for all primitive cell shapes are as follows
assuming the low order Serendipity element connectivity convention.
triangle edge - nodes
1 1,2
2 2,3
3 3,1
quadrilateral edge - nodes
1 1,2
2 2,3
3 3,4
4 4,1
tetrahedron edge - nodes edge - nodes face - nodes
1 1,2 4 1,4 1 1,3,2
2 2,3 5 2,4 2 1,2,4
3 3,1 6 3,4 3 1,4,3
4 2,3,4
pyramid edge - nodes edge - nodes face - nodes
1 1,2 5 1,5 1 1,4,3,2
2 2,3 6 2,5 2 1,2,5
3 3,4 7 3,5 3 2,3,5
4 4,1 8 4,5 4 3,4,5
5 4,1,5
wedge edge - nodes edge - nodes face - nodes
1 1,2 7 1,4 1 1,3,2
2 2,3 8 2,5 2 4,5,6
3 3,1 9 3,6 3 1,2,5,4
4 4,5 4 1,4,6,3
5 5,6 5 2,3,6,5
6 6,4
hexahedron edge - nodes edge - nodes face - nodes
1 1,2 7 7,8 1 1,4,3,2
2 2,3 8 8,5 2 5,6,7,8
3 3,4 9 1,5 3 1,2,6,5
4 4,1 10 2,6 4 4,8,7,3
5 5,6 11 3,7 5 1,5,8,4
6 6,7 12 4,8 6 2,3,7,6
The edge and face definitions have a different set of node indices for the
Lagrange finite element or
array connectivity convention. However the edges and faces are configured on
each cell topology in an identical manner.
1.2.2 Physical and Natural Coordinates
VisTools uses two coordinate systems to describe coordinate locations and
field data and perform visualization computations, 1) physical coordinates
and 2) natural coordinates.
Physical coordinates are expressed in
a 3 dimensional Cartesian coordinate system. This coordinate system must be
consistently used to express all domain coordinates and vector and tensor
field data presented to VisTools functions.
Point coordinates and other vectors are entered in VisTools as 3 components in
the order (x,y,z). Symmetric tensors are entered as 6 components in the
following order (xx,yy,zz,xy,yz,zx).
Natural coordinates are curvilinear coordinate systems which are used to
define interpolation coefficients local to an individual cell or finite
element. Natural coordinates are defined in an element topology
dependent manner and
are normalized within the element in some way. For example, the natural
coordinates in a quadrilateral element (r,s) are normalized in the interval
[-1,1]. For triangular elements, the natural coordinates (r,s) are
related to the area coordinates (L1,L2,L3) in the interval
[0,1].
For all shapes except polygon and polyhedron,
the direction of the natural coordinates may be defined by the cell
node indices at the end points of the cell edge which is "parallel" to the
natural coordinate. The node indices are given
assuming the low order Serendipity element connectivity convention.
For polygon and polyhedron shapes, the natural coordinates are
relative to a triangular and tetrahedral decomposition of the shapes
respectively. For polygons, the triangular decomposition is done from
a point at the center of the polygon connecting all of the boundary nodes
of the polygon. A polygon with N unique nodes will have N triangles.
For polyhedra, the tetrahedral decomposition is done from a point at
the center of the polyhedron connected a point at the center of each
face with all nodes bounding the face. A polyhedron with N unique nodes
will have N tetrahedra. The r,s and t coordinates are relative to one
of the triangles or tetrahedra in the decomposition. The index (1-based) of
the specific triangle or tetrahedron is added to the s natural coordinate.
line natural coordinates - normalization - nodes
r [-1,1] 1,2
triangle natural coordinates - normalization - nodes
r = L1 [0,1] 1,2
s = L2 [0,1] 1,3
quadrilateral natural coordinates - normalization - nodes
r [-1,1] 1,2
s [-1,1] 1,4
tetrahedron natural coordinates - normalization - nodes
r = L1 [0,1] 1,2
s = L2 [0,1] 1,3
t = L3 [0,1] 1,4
pyramid natural coordinates - normalization - nodes
r [-1,1] 1,2
s [-1,1] 1,4
t [-1,1] 1,5
wedge natural coordinates - normalization - nodes
r = L1 [0,1] 1,2
s = L2 [0,1] 1,3
t [-1,1] 1,4
hexahedron natural coordinates - normalization - nodes
r [-1,1] 1,2
s [-1,1] 1,4
t [-1,1] 1,5
polygon natural coordinates - normalization
r [0,1] radial
s [>=0] triangle index + local s
polyhedron natural coordinates - normalization
r [0,1] radial
s [>=0] tetrahedron index + local s
t [0,1] local t
Table of Contents
1.3 Element Types
VisTools supports a wide variety of finite element types. The
full description of a particular finite element type requires information
about it basic type ie. solid, shell, beam, etc. and the specific
topology and order such as linear hexahedron, parabolic tetrahedron, etc.
For some specialized elements such as spot welds, there
can be additional information concerning the types of elements to which
the spot weld is connected. This additional information
is referred to as the end A and end B topology.
VisTools begins by placing elements into one of the following general
type categories.
-
SYS_ELEM_SOLID, solid element
-
SYS_ELEM_SHELL, shell element, in-plane stress, bending, shear
-
SYS_ELEM_MEMBRANE, membrane element, in-plane stress only
-
SYS_ELEM_BEAM, beam element, axial stress, bending, shear
-
SYS_ELEM_TRUSS, truss element, axial stress only
-
SYS_ELEM_INFINITE, infinite element
-
SYS_ELEM_GAP, gap element, point contact
-
SYS_ELEM_JOINT, joint element
-
SYS_ELEM_SPRINGDASHPOT, spring and dashpot element
-
SYS_ELEM_RIGID, rigid element
-
SYS_ELEM_CONSTRAINT, constraint element, multipoint constraint
-
SYS_ELEM_PLOT, plot element, visualization only
-
SYS_ELEM_MASS, mass element
-
SYS_ELEM_INTER, interface elements, distributed contact, boundary
conditions
-
SYS_ELEM_SUPER, superelements
Within each general category the element is further described by its
specific type, topology ,shape, and order ,maxi, maxj, maxk.
For most elements these parameters are sufficient to accurately characterize
the element. For most general types there are several specific types
which help to identify the element within the general type. The
general types are described in more detail below with information
concerning the applicable specific types, topologies and orders.
SYS_ELEM_SOLID, solid elements
may be defined in either 2D or 3D space.
In 2D space the topology must be either
triangle, quadrilateral or polygonal.
In 3D space the topology must be tetrahedron,
pyramid, pentahedron, hexahedron or polyhedral.
The possible specific types are as follows:
-
SYS_SOLID_STAN, standard solid element
-
SYS_SOLID_FLUID, fluid solid element
-
SYS_SOLID_SHELL, thick shell solid element
SYS_ELEM_SHELL, shell elements
may be defined in either 2D or 3D space.
In 2D space the topology must be a line,
in 3D space the topology must be triangle or quadrilateral.
SYS_ELEM_MEMBRANE, membrane elements
may be defined in either 2D or 3D space.
In 2D space the topology must be a line,
in 3D space the topology must be triangle or quadrilateral.
The possible specific types are as follows:
-
SYS_MEMBRANE_STAN, standard membrane element
-
SYS_MEMBRANE_SHEAR, shear panel element
-
SYS_MEMBRANE_FACE, face element. A facet collocated with
a face of a geometry tessellation
SYS_ELEM_BEAM, beam elements
may be defined in either 2D or 3D space.
In 2D space the topology must be a point with maxi = 1.
in 3D space the topology must be line.
The possible specific types are as follows:
-
SYS_BEAM_STAN, standard beam element
-
SYS_BEAM_ROD, axial-torsional element
-
SYS_BEAM_WELD, weld element
SYS_ELEM_TRUSS, truss elements
may be defined in either 2D or 3D space.
In 2D space the topology must be a SYS_SHAPEPOINT with maxi = 1.
in 3D space the topology must be SYS_SHAPELINE
The possible specific types are as follows:
-
SYS_TRUSS_STAN, standard truss element
-
SYS_TRUSS_EDGE, edge element. A segment collocated with
an edge of a geometry tessellation.
SYS_ELEM_SPRINGDASHPOT, spring and dashpot elements
are discrete elements whose physical properties are not generally
dependent upon an integration over their spatial extent.
The topology must be either SYS_SHAPEPOINT or SYS_SHAPELINE and
is independent of the spatial dimension.
This category of elements can be quite complicated and as a result
the end A and B topologies can be required in some
cases to identify the element.
The possible specific types are as follows:
-
SYS_SPRINGDASHPOT_SCALAR, scalar spring.
The topology is SYS_SHAPELINE for a spring connecting two
degrees of freedom and SYS_SHAPEPOINT for a spring connecting
a degree of freedom to ground.
The spring may also include a damper.
-
SYS_SPRINGDASHPOT_LINK, line spring which generally connects
translation and/or rotation freedoms in the direction between two nodes.
The topology is SYS_SHAPELINE.
-
SYS_SPRINGDASHPOT_WELD, spot weld spring which attempts to
model the effect of a spot weld which, in general, smears its
connections over the geometry of two opposing elements.
If the topology is SYS_SHAPELINE, then maxi = 2 and
the weld element connects two nodes.
If the topology is SYS_SHAPEPOINT, then maxi => 2 and
the weld element connects maxi nodes. The end A and B
topologies determine how the nodes are connected to the adjacent
elements. The nodes associated with the end A topology precede
the nodes associated with the end B topology.
The end topologies for a spoint (single node), lines, triangles and quadrilaterals are below.
There are not defined constants for the case of a point topology with more than one node or line,
triangle and quadrilateral topologies with maxi and/or maxj greater than 3.
In general, end topologies are decoded as shown below:
SYS_TOPO_POINT1 - SYS_SHAPEPOINT, maxi= 1
SYS_TOPO_LINE2 - SYS_SHAPELINE, maxi= 2, maxj= 0
SYS_TOPO_LINE3 - SYS_SHAPELINE, maxi= 3, maxj= 0
SYS_TOPO_TRI3 - SYS_SHAPETRI, maxi= 2, maxj= 0
SYS_TOPO_TRI6SER - SYS_SHAPETRI, maxi= 3, maxj= 0
SYS_TOPO_TRI6LAG - SYS_SHAPETRI, maxi= 3, maxj= 3
SYS_TOPO_QUAD4SER - SYS_SHAPEQUAD, maxi= 2, maxj= 0
SYS_TOPO_QUAD4LAG - SYS_SHAPEQUAD, maxi= 2, maxj= 2
SYS_TOPO_QUAD8 - SYS_SHAPEQUAD, maxi= 3, maxj= 0
SYS_TOPO_QUAD9 - SYS_SHAPEQUAD, maxi= 3, maxj= 3
shape = (topo >> 28) & 0x000f
maxi = (topo >> 16) & 0x0fff
maxj = (topo >> 8) & 0x00ff
maxk = (topo >> 0) & 0x00ff
-
SYS_SPRINGDASHPOT_BUSH, bushing spring made up of separate
translational and rotational springs with possible parallel
dashpots connecting two nodes.
The topology is SYS_SHAPELINE and maxi = 2.
SYS_ELEM_RIGID, rigid elements are used to enforce various types
of constraints. The elements are mathematically similar to constraint
elements, SYS_ELEM_CONSTRAINT, however their definition is not
abstract but is usually
in terms of a physically understandable rigid effect.
The possible specific types are as follows:
-
SYS_RIGID_KINE, kinematic constraints
provide a general tying of the translations and
rotations of a node to the translations and rotations of
a set of nodes.
There are always exactly 6 independent degrees of freedom which must
be capable of representing any general rigid body motion of the coupling
nodes.
The topology is SYS_SHAPEPOINT with maxi equal to the
number of nodes involved in the constraint for "spoke" type topologies.
The topology is SYS_SHAPELINE with maxi = 2 for rigid beams.
The topology is SYS_SHAPETRI with maxi = 3
or SYS_SHAPEQUAD with maxi = 4 for rigid triangles and
quadrilaterals.
-
SYS_RIGID_DIST, distributing constraints
provide a constraint to distribute force and moment
at a point to forces at a set of coupling nodes.
The coupling effectively
constrains the rotation and translation at a point to the translations
at the set of coupling nodes. This constraint is enforced in an average
sense and therefore does not inhibit the relative
deformation of the coupling nodes.
The topology is SYS_SHAPEPOINT with maxi equal to the
number of nodes involved in the constraint.
-
SYS_RIGID_LINK, link constraints enforce a rigid link
between two nodes involving translations only.
The topology is SYS_SHAPELINE with maxi = 2.
-
SYS_RIGID_RBE3, distributing constraint specifically models
the NASTRAN RBE3 rigid element.
The topology is SYS_SHAPEPOINT with maxi equal to the
number of nodes involved in the constraint.
-
SYS_RIGID_SPLINE, spline constraint specifically models
the NASTRAN RSPLINE rigid element.
The topology is SYS_SHAPELINE with maxi equal to the
number of nodes involved in the constraint.
-
SYS_RIGID_JOINT, coincident node joint constraint enforces
identical movement of specified degrees of freedom between
two coincident nodes.
The topology is SYS_SHAPEPOINT with maxi = 2.
SYS_ELEM_CONSTRAINT, constraint elements are used to impose
general multipoint constraints. The topology is SYS_SHAPEPOINT
and maxi is equal to the number of degrees of freedom involved
in the constraint equation.
SYS_ELEM_PLOT, plot elements
are used for visualization only and have no physical properties.
Their topologies and orders are general.
The possible specific types are as follows:
-
SYS_PLOT_LOD0, level of detail 0
-
SYS_PLOT_LOD1, level of detail 1
-
SYS_PLOT_LOD2, level of detail 2
-
SYS_PLOT_LOD3, level of detail 3
-
SYS_PLOT_AERO, Nastran AERO elements
SYS_ELEM_MASS, mass elements
are discrete elements whose physical properties are not generally
dependent upon an integration over their spatial extent.
The topology must be either SYS_SHAPEPOINT or SYS_SHAPELINE and
is independent of the spatial dimension.
The possible specific types are as follows:
-
SYS_MASS_SCALAR, scalar mass.
The topology is SYS_SHAPELINE for a mass connecting two
degrees of freedom and SYS_SHAPEPOINT for a scalar concentrated
mass.
-
SYS_MASS_LUMP, lumped mass which generally involves translational
mass and rotary inertia tensor defined in a local coordinate system.
The mass is concentrated at a point.
The topology is SYS_SHAPEPOINT and maxi = 1.
-
SYS_MASS_MATRIX, lumped mass which is defined by a
symmetric 6x6 matrix.
The mass is concentrated at a point.
The topology is SYS_SHAPEPOINT and maxi = 1.
-
SYS_MASS_VERTEX, vertex element. A point collocated with
a vertex in a geometry tessellation
Table of Contents
1.4 Element Coordinate Systems
An element coordinate system is a Cartesian coordinate system oriented
to the element geometry. Element coordinate systems are used in a number of
ways depending upon the type of element. The most common use is a a
coordinate system for the computation and output of stress and strain
related quantities (heat flux and temperature gradient for thermal analysis,
etc.). For some 1D and 0D elements such as beams, gaps and concentrated
masses, the element coordinate system is used to define certain properties
of the element such as cross section properties, slip directions and moment of
inertia tensors.
Certain constraints are placed upon the orientation of the element
coordinate system depending upon the element type.
For surface elements such
as shell elements, the local x' and y' axes are constrained to be tangent
to the shell reference surface.
The local z' is normal to the surface. The orientation
of the x' and y' axes in the tangent plane is determined by convention.
The convention specifies the direction of the x' axis.
The y' axis is then constructed to complete a right-handed Cartesian system.
For line elements such as beam elements, the local x' axis is constrained to
be tangent to the beam axis. The local y' and z' axes are perpendicular to
the beam axis. In a manner similar to surface elements, the orientation
of the y' and z' axes in the plane perpendicular to the beam axis is
determined by convention.
The convention specifies the direction of the y' axis.
The z' axis is then constructed to complete a right-handed Cartesian system.
For full 3D solid elements, there are no
constraints upon the orientation of the element local system and as a result
it is generally aligned to the global coordinate system. For point elements
such as concentrated mass elements, the element coordinate systems may be
arbitrarily oriented in space and are either aligned to the global coordinate
system or to a user specified Cartesian system.
A wide variety of element coordinate system conventions are
in use in the finite element industry. Many of them are used to
resolve the orientation issues in line and surface elements.
In order to achieve coverage of current industry practice,
the following types are provided.
Where these element coordinate system types are used as options in specific
element modules such as VisTools ShellElem or VfeTools Shell3D, a certain amount
of additional data may be required in addition to the element geometry. This is noted
for each type.
-
Global, SYS_ELEMSYS_GLOBAL.
The element coordinate system is aligned to the global axes.
When this system is used for surface or line elements it is usually
only for the purpose of expressing vector or tensor output quantities.
-
Standard, SYS_ELEMSYS_STANDARD.
For volume elements the x' axis is aligned to the
element r natural coordinate direction.
The y' axis is perpendicular to x' in the plane formed by the
r and s natural coordinate directions.
For surface elements the x' axis is aligned to the
element r natural coordinate direction.
For line elements the y' axis lies in the plane formed by the
x' axis and the global y axis unless the global y axis is
0.1 degree of being tangent to the x' axis. In this case the
y' axis lies in the plane formed by the x' axis and the
global z axis.
-
Position, SYS_ELEMSYS_POSITION.
For surface elements the x' axis is in the direction of
the projection on the surface of a line from the point on the
surface to a specified point in space.
For line elements the y' axis lies in the plane formed by the
line element axis and a line from the point on the
line element axis to a specified point in space.
The 3 global coordinates of the specified point must be provided
as additional data.
-
Vector, SYS_ELEMSYS_VECTOR.
For surface elements the x' axis is in the direction of
the projection on the surface of a specified vector anchored at the
point on the surface.
For line elements the y' axis lies in the plane formed by the
line element axis and a specified vector anchored at the
point on the line element axis.
For 2D volume elements the x' axis is in the direction of
the projection on the x,y plane of a specified vector anchored at the
point on the plane. The y' axis is perpendicular to x' in the
plane.
The 3 components of the specified vector in global coordinates
must be provided as additional data.
-
Vectors at Element Nodes, SYS_ELEMSYS_VECTORELEMNODE.
For surface elements the x' axis is in
the direction of
the projection on the surface of a vector anchored at the
point on the surface which has been interpolated from vectors
specified at the element nodes,
For line elements the y' axis lies in the plane formed by the
line element axis and a vector anchored at the
point on the line element axis which has been interpolated from vectors
specified at the element nodes,
The 3 components of the specified vector in global coordinates
at each element node must be provided as additional data.
-
Global Project, SYS_ELEMSYS_GLOBALPROJECT.
This standard is designed explicitly for support of
the conventions for surface elements used in ABAQUS.
The default local x' axis is the projection of the global x onto
the surface. If the global x axis is within 0.1 degree of the normal
to the surface, the local x' direction is the projection of the global
z axis onto the surface.
For line elements the z' axis is constructed to be approximately
parallel to the negative global z axis.
If the global z axis is within 0.1 degree of the x' axis
the local z' direction is parallel to the global x axis.
-
Centroid, SYS_ELEMSYS_CENTROID.
This standard is designed to orient the element coordinate system
with the directions of the natural coordinates at the centroid
of the element.
The local x' axis is along the direction of the first natural
coordinate. The local z axis is normal to the plane formed by
the cross product of the first and second natural coordinate directions.
The y axis is formed as the cross product of the local z and x
axes and as a result will lie in the plane formed by
the first and second natural coordinate directions.
-
Bisector, SYS_ELEMSYS_BISECTOR.
This standard is designed explicitly for
support of the conventions for surface elements used in MSC/NASTRAN and
is named for the particular method used for the CQUAD4 shell element.
For line elements the convention is the same as the Standard convention.
-
Nastran Shell, SYS_ELEMSYS_NASTRANSHELL.
This standard is designed explicitly for material coordinate system
support for classic CTRIA6 and CQUAD8 shell elements
used in NASTRAN. The convention is similar to SYS_ELEMSYS_STANDARD
with a specified angle (in degrees) rotation is applied to the
computed direction.
The specified angle in degrees, followed by two zeros must be provided
as additional data.
An additional angle, specific to CQUAD8, is computed internally.
-
Bidiagonal, SYS_ELEMSYS_BIDIAGONAL.
This standard is designed explicitly for material coordinate system
support of the conventions for surface elements used in SAMCEF.
-
First Edge, SYS_ELEMSYS_FIRSTEDGE.
This standard is designed explicitly for support of
the conventions for surface and line elements used in ANSYS.
For surface elements the x' axis is the projection onto the
surface of the vector
directed from the first corner node to the second corner node.
For line elements the y' axis lies in the global x,y plane.
For the case that the element x' axis is parallel to the global
z axis (or within a .01 percent slope of it), the y' axis is
oriented parallel to the global y axis.
-
First Edge plus angle, SYS_ELEMSYS_FIRSTEDGEANGLE.
This standard is designed explicitly for material coordinate system
support of the conventions for surface elements used in NASTRAN.
A specified angle (in degrees) rotation is applied to the
direction computed by SYS_ELEMSYS_FIRSTEDGE.
The angle in degrees, followed by two zeros must be provided
as additional data.
-
Mid Edge, SYS_ELEMSYS_MIDEDGE.
This standard is designed explicitly for support of
the convention for quadrilateral surface elements used by ESI.
The x' axis is the projection onto the
surface of the vector
directed from the midpoint of the fourth edge to the midpoint of the
second edge. The normal to the surface element is the
normal to x' and a vector directed from the midpoint of the first
edge to the midpoint of the third edge. The y' axis is constructed
orthogonal to the surface normal the x' axis.
-
Mid Point, SYS_ELEMSYS_MIDPOINT.
This standard is designed explicitly for
support of the conventions for surface elements used in Altair/Radioss
and is named for the particular method used for the linear
triangle and quadrilateral shell elements.
The local system is constructed by creating a vector which
bisects the vectors connecting the midpoints of the first and third
edges with the fourth and second edges. The vector then bisects
the x' and y' axies of the local coordinate system.
-
Global Closest, SYS_ELEMSYS_GLOBALCLOSEST.
For surface elements the x' axis is in the direction of
the projection on the surface of the closest global axis.
For line elements the y' axis lies in the plane formed by the
line element axis and the closest global axis to the plane
perpendicular to the line element axis.
-
Cylindrical system, SYS_ELEMSYS_CYLINDRICAL.
This system is designed for support of cylindrical system orientation.
The axis of the cylindrical system is specified
by two point coordinates and is directed from the first point to the
second. The origin of the system is positioned at the first point.
For point elements and 3D volume elements the x' axis at a point
is in the radial direction of the point, the y' axis is the
tangential direction and the z' axis is the axis of the
cylindrical system.
For surface elements the x' axis is the projection of the radial
direction on the surface.
For line elements the y' axis lies in the plane formed by the
radial direction and the axis of the line.
The 3 components of the first point followed by the 3 components
of the second point in global coordinates
must be provided as additional data.
-
Spherical system, SYS_ELEMSYS_SPHERICAL.
This system is designed for support of spherical system orientations.
The axis of the spherical system is specified
by two point coordinates and is directed from the first point to the
second. The origin of the spherical system is positioned at the
first point
For point elements and 3D volume elements the x' axis at a point
is in the radial direction of the point, the y' axis is the
tangential direction and the z' axis is the azimuthal axis.
The tangential axis is about the axis of the spherical system.
For surface elements the x' axis is the projection of the radial
direction on the surface.
For line elements the y' axis lies in the plane formed by the
radial direction and the axis of the line.
The 3 components of the first point followed by the 3 components
of the second point in global coordinates
must be provided as additional data.
-
Spherical system alternate, SYS_ELEMSYS_SPHERICAL_ALT.
This system is designed for support of spherical system orientations
used by NASTRAN.
The axis of the spherical system is specified
by two point coordinates and is directed from the first point to the
second. The origin of the spherical system is positioned at the
first point
For point elements and 3D volume elements the x' axis at a point
is in the radial direction of the point, the y' axis is the
azimuthal direction and the z' axis is the tangential axis.
The tangential axis is about the axis of the spherical system.
For surface elements the x' axis is the projection of the radial
direction on the surface.
For line elements the y' axis lies in the plane formed by the
radial direction and the axis of the line.
The 3 components of the first point followed by the 3 components
of the second point in global coordinates
must be provided as additional data.
-
Rotation Angle Vector, SYS_ELEMSYS_ROTANG.
The element coordinate system is explicitly
specified by a single rotation angle vector relative to the global
coordinate system.
The rotation angle vector is computed using the Rodriques formula.
The magnitude of the rotation angle vector
is the amount of rotation about the vector in degrees.
The 3 components of the rotation angle vector
must be provided as additional data.
-
Rotation Angle Vectors at Element Nodes, SYS_ELEMSYS_ROTANGELEMNODE.
The element coordinate system is
explicitly specified by a rotation angle vector relative to the global
coordinate system at each element node.
The rotation angle vector is computed using the Rodriques formula.
The magnitude of the rotation angle vector
is the amount of rotation about the vector in degrees.
The associated vector or tensor quantities are also output at each
element node.
The 3 components of the rotation angle vector at each element node
must be provided as additional data.
-
Unknown system, SYS_ELEMSYS_UNKNOWN.
This system is designed to support an element system which is
not completely known.
For volume elements the system is identical to SYS_ELEMSYS_GLOBAL.
For surface elements the system is identical to SYS_ELEMSYS_STANDARD.
For line elements the system is identical to SYS_ELEMSYS_STANDARD.
For point elements the system is identical to SYS_ELEMSYS_GLOBAL.
Table of Contents
1.5 Mathematical Data Types
DevTools provides many methods to manipulate and visualize
mathematical data types such as scalars, vectors, symmetric tensors and
general tensors. The following ordering
conventions are used for the components of vector, v,
tensor, t, and general tensor, g, data types.
Vector v(x, y, z)
v[0] = x
v[1] = y
v[2] = z
Tensor t(xx, yy, zz, xy, yz, zx)
t[0] = xx
t[1] = yy
t[2] = zz
t[3] = xy
t[4] = yz
t[5] = zx
General Tensor g(xx, xy, xz, yx, yy, yz, zx, zy, zz)
g[0] = xx g[1] = xy g[2] = xz
g[3] = yx g[4] = yy g[5] = yz
g[6] = zx g[7] = zy g[8] = zz
There are specializations of symmetric tensors for the
finite element stress resultants and strain-curvatures
of shell and beam type elements.
Shell stress resultants s(Nxx,Nyy,Nxy, Mxx,Myy,Mxy, Qxz,Qyz)
Shell strain curvatures e(Exx,Eyy,Exy, Kxx,Kyy,Kxy, Txz,Tyz)
s[0] = Nxx e[0] = Exx
s[1] = Nyy e[1] = Eyy
s[2] = Nxy e[2] = Exy
s[3] = Mxx e[3] = Kxx
s[4] = Myy e[4] = Kyy
s[5] = Mxy e[5] = Kxy
s[6] = Qxz e[6] = Txz
s[7] = Qyz e[7] = Tyz
Figure 1-9, Sign Conventions for Shell Stress Resultants
Beam stress resultants s(Nxx, Myy,Mzz, Torque, Qxy, Qzx)
Beam strain curvatures e(Exx, Kyy,Kzz, Twist, Txy, Tzx)
s[0] = Nxx e[0] = Exx
s[1] = Myy e[1] = Kyy
s[2] = Mzz e[2] = Kzz
s[3] = Torque e[3] = Twist
s[4] = Qxy e[4] = Txy
s[5] = Qzx e[5] = Tzx
Figure 1-9, Sign Conventions for Beam Stress Resultants
The representation of the coordinate systems
in which these quantities are expressed, where
applicable, requires support for direction cosine matrices and their
equivalent compact representation as rotation angle vectors.
The following convention for the
direction cosine matrices of a local coordinate system is used.
Given that x',y' and z' are three orthonormal vectors indicating the direction
of the local coordinate axes in the global coordinate system (x,y,z), then
the direction cosine matrix, tm[3][3]
for this local coordinate system is defined as:
tm[0][0] = x'x tm[0][1] = x'y tm[0][2] = x'z
tm[1][0] = y'x tm[1][1] = y'y tm[1][2] = y'z
tm[2][0] = z'x tm[2][1] = z'y tm[2][2] = z'z
where y'x, for example, is the global x coordinate of the y' unit vector.
The rotation angle vector, ra, can be used as a compact representation
of a direction cosine matrix. It is the generalization of an infinitesimal
rotation vector to finite rotations.
Table of Contents
1.6 Complex Numbers
A number of VisTools modules are designed to store and manipulate
complex numbers. A consistent set of functions are implemented
across these modules to control how the real and imaginary
parts of the complex data are to be set and queried from the modules.
The modules which are currently designed to handle complex numbers
are the loading and constraint modules, LCase and RCase
and the results modules, RedMat, State, History and ElemDat.
For example, the RCase module function vis_RCaseSetComplexMode
is used to specify which component(s) of a complex value,
(real and/or imaginary), are to be set
or queried by the functions vis_RCaseSetSPC and vis_RCaseSPC respectively.
By default the complex mode value is SYS_COMPLEX_REAL, that is,
the set and query functions only expect a real number or
the real part of a complex number. Both the real and imaginary
parts can be queried by setting the complex mode SYS_COMPLEX_REALIMAGINARY.
If only the imaginary part of a complex number is to be set or
queried use SYS_COMPLEX_IMAGINARY. If at any time the complex mode
is set to SYS_COMPLEX_IMAGINARY or SYS_COMPLEX_REALIMAGINARY the module
will, in general, contain complex data.
The function vis_RCaseGetComplex can be used to determine if
the module does contain complex data.
The function vis_RCaseGetComplexMode will return the current
complex mode.
All of the modules listed above contain identical functions to
set/get the complex mode and query for the existence of complex data.
There is not a special data type given complex numbers. The
real and imaginary parts are represented as two consecutive real numbers.
For example, setting the 3 components of a double precision real vector would
be 3 consecutive double precision numbers representing
the x, y, z components of the vector.
The equivalent complex vector would require 6
double precision numbers representing the x,x(i), y,y(i), z,z(i) values
of the vector.
Table of Contents
1.7 Compiling and Linking a VisTools Application
To use VisTools on a particular computer platform, the VisTools source must be
compiled and linked to an application. Either the object files may be used
directly or they may be installed in an object library archive so that the
loader may selectively relocate only the objects which are required. VisTools
is written in ANSI C. It is suggested to use the highest level of
serial optimization options available on the C compiler.
VisTools is platform independent and as a result no user defined C
preprocessor directives are required to compile VisTools on any supported
platform. However it is suggested that during the development cycle that
the source be conditionally compiled with error checking by defining
VKI_CHECK_ERRS as described in base library.
For example, on SGI systems, create a directory SGI under lib to hold the
final devtools.a archive file. Then from the devtools/src/vis directory
compile using
cc -c -O2 -I.. *.c
creating .o files in the vis directory.
To place the object files in an archive file issue
ar rs ../../lib/SGI/devtools.a *.o
The object files may be deleted after the devtools.a archive is successfully
created.
To compile the vgl source, change directory to
devtools/src/vgl and compile using
cc -c -O2 -I.. *.c
creating .o files in the vgl directory.
If you have a complete VglTools installation, compile using the instructions
in the VglTools Programmer Manual.
To add these objects to the
previously created devtools.a archive issue
ar rs ../../lib/SGI/devtools.a *.o
To compile the base source, change directory to
devtools/src/base and compile using
cc -c -O2 *.c
creating .o files in the base directory. To add these objects to the
previously created devtools.a archive issue
ar rs ../../lib/SGI/devtools.a *.o
Again object files may deleted at this time. At this point the devtools.a
archive contains all vis, vgl and base objects.
Place the devtools.a archive
immediately before the graphics subsystem libraries in the load line.
A devtools.a archive must be built for each computer platform using the
methodology outlined above.
Table of Contents
1.8 Attribute Objects, Data Interpolation, Isovalue Clipping and Topology
The visualization modules share many common features with respect to
the use of attribute objects and setting the current computational
grid topology. Generally the visualization modules in each category such
as isovalue extraction, tangent curve generation, geometry rendering,
feature extraction, etc are further divided by dimension. For example,
the Segment, Contour and Threshold isovalue extraction modules
are designed to extract isovalues in 1D, 2D and 3D computational cells
respectively.
Each visualization module is designed to accept attribute
objects which will affect the appearance of the generated graphics primitives.
All attribute objects are set in the visualization objects using a similar
function (SetObject). For example, for the Contour object, use
vis_ContourSetObject.
The attribute object, VisContext, is the basic container for the
myriad settings such as line width, point size, size scaling, etc.
which affect the appearance of generated graphics primitives.
The ColorMap and TransMap objects along with the Levels object
associate or map color and transparency to data value.
The DataInt object specifies data quantities to be mapped to an output
graphics primitive in the same way that color or transparency are mapped
to a primitive. This object is useful, for example, for generating contours
of a data field onto the isosurfaces of another data field.
The IsoClip object specifies a data field used as an isosurface for
clipping graphics primitives. Use this object along with the Threshold
object to generate a "clipped and capped" display.
The exact nature of the computational cell topology
to be processed by each visualization module is also set using a similarly
named function (SetTopology). For example, for the Contour object, use
vis_ContourSetTopology. The polyhedral cell topology, in particular,
requires additional topological information in the form of the polyhedral
node connectivity for efficient rendering.
The function (SetElemNode) is designed to input this information.
For example, for the Threshold object, use vis_ThresholdSetElemNode.
Only the 3D visualization modules support and, in some cases,
require the polyhedral node connectivity.
Table of Contents
1.9 A First Program - C Version
As an example of a simple VisTools application the following program draws
isosurfaces through a unit cube of data.
The attribute modules used are the VisContext, Levels, ColorMap and
TransMap modules, the visualization module is Threshold. The DrawFun
module contains the callback functions which the Threshold module uses
to output the generated graphics primitives.
First, a DrawFun object is instanced.
Rather than outputting the
displayable geometry to a graphics device, the built-in "print" drawing
functions are used. These functions are set up internally in the
DrawFun object using the function vgl_DrawFunAPI.
The attribute objects are instanced and are set up to draw isosurfaces
at 3 evenly spaced levels with red, green and blue assigned to each discrete
data level respectively. The attribute objects and drawing function object
are then registered with the Threshold object using the
function vis_ThresholdSetObject. The actual graphics primitives are
generated which represent the isosurfaces through the hexahedron by
the function vis_ThresholdCurv. Finally all objects are deleted.
#include "vgl/vgl.h"
#include "vis/vis.h"
static Vfloat xhex[8][3] = {
{0.,0.,0.}, {1.,0.,0.}, {1.,1.,0.}, {0.,1.,0.},
{0.,0.,1.}, {1.,0.,1.}, {1.,1.,1.}, {0.,1.,1.} };
static Vfloat shex[8] = {
0., 1., 1., 0.,
1., 2., 2., 1. };
static Vfloat rgb[4][3] = {
{.2,.2,.2}, {1.,0.,0.}, {0.,1.,0.}, {0.,0.,1.} };
/*----------------------------------------------------------------------
Generate isosurfaces in a hexahedron
----------------------------------------------------------------------*/
int
main()
{
vgl_DrawFun *df;
vis_VisContext *vc;
vis_Levels *levels;
vis_ColorMap *cmap;
vis_TransMap *tmap;
vis_Threshold *threshold;
Vint nlevels;
/* create draw function object */
df = vgl_DrawFunBegin();
/* set built in print functions */
vgl_DrawFunAPI (df,DRAWFUN_APIPRINT);
/* vis context and set attributes */
vc = vis_VisContextBegin ();
vis_VisContextSetIsoValType (vc,VIS_ISOVALSURFACE);
/* levels, set three evenly spaced levels */
levels = vis_LevelsBegin ();
nlevels = 3;
vis_LevelsDef (levels,LEVELS_LINEAR,nlevels);
vis_LevelsSetMinMax (levels,0.,2.);
vis_LevelsGenerate (levels,LEVELS_PADENDS);
/* color map */
cmap = vis_ColorMapBegin ();
vis_ColorMapSetType (cmap,COLORMAP_TRUECOLOR);
vis_ColorMapSetRGB (cmap,nlevels+1,0,rgb);
/* transparency map */
tmap = vis_TransMapBegin ();
/* create threshold object and set objects */
threshold = vis_ThresholdBegin ();
vis_ThresholdSetObject (threshold,VGL_DRAWFUN,df);
vis_ThresholdSetObject (threshold,VIS_VISCONTEXT,vc);
vis_ThresholdSetObject (threshold,VIS_LEVELS,levels);
vis_ThresholdSetObject (threshold,VIS_COLORMAP,cmap);
vis_ThresholdSetObject (threshold,VIS_TRANSMAP,tmap);
/* draw threshold surfaces */
vis_ThresholdCurv (threshold,shex,xhex,VIS_NODATA,NULL);
/* free all objects */
vgl_DrawFunEnd (df);
vis_VisContextEnd (vc);
vis_LevelsEnd (levels);
vis_ColorMapEnd (cmap);
vis_TransMapEnd (tmap);
vis_ThresholdEnd (threshold);
return 0;
}
The output of this example program appears below. Note that a constant
transparency is set and then three isosurfaces are output, each isosurface
consists of a RGB color and two triangular polygons.
Trans
transp 0.000000
Color
c 1.000000 0.000000 0.000000
Polygon
type 0
npts 3
x 0.500000 0.000000 0.000000
x 0.500000 1.000000 0.000000
x 0.000000 1.000000 0.500000
vflag 1
v 0.707107 0.000000 0.707107
Polygon
type 0
npts 3
x 0.000000 1.000000 0.500000
x 0.000000 0.000000 0.500000
x 0.500000 0.000000 0.000000
vflag 1
v 0.707107 0.000000 0.707107
Color
c 0.000000 1.000000 0.000000
Polygon
type 0
npts 3
x 1.000000 0.000000 0.000000
x 1.000000 1.000000 0.000000
x 0.000000 1.000000 1.000000
vflag 1
v 0.707107 0.000000 0.707107
Polygon
type 0
npts 3
x 0.000000 1.000000 1.000000
x 0.000000 0.000000 1.000000
x 1.000000 0.000000 0.000000
vflag 1
v 0.707107 0.000000 0.707107
Color
c 0.000000 0.000000 1.000000
Polygon
type 0
npts 3
x 1.000000 1.000000 0.500000
x 0.500000 1.000000 1.000000
x 0.500000 0.000000 1.000000
vflag 1
v 0.707107 0.000000 0.707107
Polygon
type 0
npts 3
x 0.500000 0.000000 1.000000
x 1.000000 0.000000 0.500000
x 1.000000 1.000000 0.500000
vflag 1
v 0.707107 0.000000 0.707107
Table of Contents
1.10 A First Program - C++ Version
The following program is a listing of the C++ version of the same "A First
Program" listed above which used C language bindings.
#include "base/base.h"
#include "vgl/vgl.h"
#include "vis/vis.h"
static Vfloat xhex[8][3] = {
{0.,0.,0.}, {1.,0.,0.}, {1.,1.,0.}, {0.,1.,0.},
{0.,0.,1.}, {1.,0.,1.}, {1.,1.,1.}, {0.,1.,1.} };
static Vfloat shex[8] = {
0., 1., 1., 0.,
1., 2., 2., 1. };
static Vfloat rgb[4][3] = {
{.2,.2,.2}, {1.,0.,0.}, {0.,1.,0.}, {0.,0.,1.} };
/*----------------------------------------------------------------------
Generate isosurfaces in a hexahedron
----------------------------------------------------------------------*/
int
main()
{
vgl_DrawFun *df;
vis_VisContext *vc;
vis_Levels *levels;
vis_ColorMap *cmap;
vis_TransMap *tmap;
vis_Threshold *threshold;
Vint nlevels;
/* create draw function object */
df = new vgl_DrawFun;
/* set built in print functions */
df->API (DRAWFUN_APIPRINT);
/* vis context and set attributes */
vc = new vis_VisContext;
vc->SetIsoValType (VIS_ISOVALSURFACE);
/* levels, set three evenly spaced levels */
levels = new vis_Levels;
nlevels = 3;
levels->Def (LEVELS_LINEAR,nlevels);
levels->SetMinMax (0.,2.);
levels->Generate (LEVELS_PADENDS);
/* color map */
cmap = new vis_ColorMap;
cmap->SetType (COLORMAP_TRUECOLOR);
cmap->SetRGB (nlevels+1,0,rgb);
/* transparency map */
tmap = new vis_TransMap;
/* create threshold object and set objects */
threshold = new vis_Threshold;
threshold->SetObject (VGL_DRAWFUN,df);
threshold->SetObject (VIS_VISCONTEXT,vc);
threshold->SetObject (VIS_LEVELS,levels);
threshold->SetObject (VIS_COLORMAP,cmap);
threshold->SetObject (VIS_TRANSMAP,tmap);
/* draw threshold surfaces */
threshold->Curv (shex,xhex,VIS_NODATA,NULL);
/* free all objects */
delete df;
delete vc;
delete levels;
delete cmap;
delete tmap;
delete threshold;
return 0;
}
Table of Contents
1.11 A First Program - FORTRAN Version
The following program is a listing of the FORTRAN version of the same "A First
Program" listed above which used C language bindings.
C-----------------------------------------------------------------------
C Generate isosurfaces in a hexahedron
C-----------------------------------------------------------------------
PROGRAM INTRO1F
INCLUDE 'base/fortran/base.inc'
INCLUDE 'vgl/fortran/vgl.inc'
INCLUDE 'vis/fortran/vis.inc'
REAL XHEX(3,8), SHEX(8), RGB(3,4)
DATA XHEX /
$ 0.,0.,0., 1.,0.,0., 1.,1.,0., 0.,1.,0.,
$ 0.,0.,1., 1.,0.,1., 1.,1.,1., 0.,1.,1. /
DATA SHEX /
$ 0., 1., 1., 0.,
$ 1., 2., 2., 1. /
DATA RGB /
$ .2,.2,.2, 1.,0.,0., 0.,1.,0., 0.,0.,1. /
C
DOUBLE PRECISION DF,VC,LEVELS,CMAP,TMAP,THRESHOLD
INTEGER NLEVELS
C
C create draw function object
C
CALL VGLF_DRAWFUNBEGIN(DF)
C
C set built in print functions
C
CALL VGLF_DRAWFUNAPI(DF,DRAWFUN_APIPRINT)
C
C vis context and set attributes
C
CALL VISF_VISCONTEXTBEGIN(VC)
CALL VISF_VISCONTEXTSETISOVALTYPE (VC,VIS_ISOVALSURFACE)
C
C levels, set three evenly spaced levels
C
CALL VISF_LEVELSBEGIN(LEVELS)
NLEVELS = 3
CALL VISF_LEVELSDEF (LEVELS,LEVELS_LINEAR,NLEVELS)
CALL VISF_LEVELSSETMINMAX (LEVELS,0.,2.)
CALL VISF_LEVELSGENERATE (LEVELS,LEVELS_PADENDS)
C
C color map
C
CALL VISF_COLORMAPBEGIN(CMAP)
CALL VISF_COLORMAPSETTYPE (CMAP,COLORMAP_TRUECOLOR)
CALL VISF_COLORMAPSETRGB (CMAP,NLEVELS+1,0,RGB)
C
C transparency map
C
CALL VISF_TRANSMAPBEGIN(TMAP)
C
C create threshold object and set objects
C
CALL VISF_THRESHOLDBEGIN(THRESHOLD)
CALL VISF_THRESHOLDSETOBJECT (THRESHOLD,VGL_DRAWFUN,DF)
CALL VISF_THRESHOLDSETOBJECT (THRESHOLD,VIS_VISCONTEXT,VC)
CALL VISF_THRESHOLDSETOBJECT (THRESHOLD,VIS_LEVELS,LEVELS)
CALL VISF_THRESHOLDSETOBJECT (THRESHOLD,VIS_COLORMAP,CMAP)
CALL VISF_THRESHOLDSETOBJECT (THRESHOLD,VIS_TRANSMAP,TMAP)
C
C draw threshold surfaces
C
CALL VISF_THRESHOLDCURV (THRESHOLD,SHEX,XHEX,VIS_NODATA,0)
C
C free all objects
C
CALL VGLF_DRAWFUNEND (DF)
CALL VISF_VISCONTEXTEND (VC)
CALL VISF_LEVELSEND (LEVELS)
CALL VISF_COLORMAPEND (CMAP)
CALL VISF_TRANSMAPEND (TMAP)
CALL VISF_THRESHOLDEND (THRESHOLD)
C
END
Table of Contents
1.12 A First Program - C# Version
The following program is a listing of the C# version of the same "A First
Program" listed above which used C language bindings.
using System;
using System.Runtime.InteropServices;
using System.Reflection;
using System.Text;
using DevTools;
public class intro1 {
public static float [] xhex = {
0.0F,0.0F,0.0F, 1.0F,0.0F,0.0F, 1.0F,1.0F,0.0F, 0.0F,1.0F,0.0F,
0.0F,0.0F,1.0F, 1.0F,0.0F,1.0F, 1.0F,1.0F,1.0F, 0.0F,1.0F,1.0F };
public static float [] shex = {
0.0F, 1.0F, 1.0F, 0.0F,
1.0F, 2.0F, 2.0F, 1.0F };
public static float [] rgb = {
0.2F,0.2F,0.2F, 1.0F,0.0F,0.0F, 0.0F,1.0F,0.0F, 0.0F,0.0F,1.0F };
/*----------------------------------------------------------------------
Generate isosurfaces in a hexahedron
----------------------------------------------------------------------*/
public static void Main() {
IntPtr df;
IntPtr vc;
IntPtr levels;
IntPtr cmap;
IntPtr tmap;
IntPtr threshold;
int nlevels;
/* create draw function object */
df = vgl.DrawFunBegin();
/* set built in print functions */
vgl.DrawFunAPI (df,vgl.DRAWFUN_APIPRINT);
/* vis context and set attributes */
vc = vis.VisContextBegin ();
vis.VisContextSetIsoValType (vc,vis.VIS_ISOVALSURFACE);
/* levels, set three evenly spaced levels */
levels = vis.LevelsBegin ();
nlevels = 3;
vis.LevelsDef (levels,vis.LEVELS_LINEAR,nlevels);
vis.LevelsSetMinMax (levels,0.0F,2.0F);
vis.LevelsGenerate (levels,vis.LEVELS_PADENDS);
/* color map */
cmap = vis.ColorMapBegin ();
vis.ColorMapSetType (cmap,vis.COLORMAP_TRUECOLOR);
vis.ColorMapSetRGB (cmap,nlevels+1,0,rgb);
/* transparency map */
tmap = vis.TransMapBegin ();
/* create threshold object and set objects */
threshold = vis.ThresholdBegin ();
vis.ThresholdSetObject (threshold,vgl.VGL_DRAWFUN,df);
vis.ThresholdSetObject (threshold,vis.VIS_VISCONTEXT,vc);
vis.ThresholdSetObject (threshold,vis.VIS_LEVELS,levels);
vis.ThresholdSetObject (threshold,vis.VIS_COLORMAP,cmap);
vis.ThresholdSetObject (threshold,vis.VIS_TRANSMAP,tmap);
/* draw threshold surfaces */
vis.ThresholdCurv (threshold,shex,xhex,vis.VIS_NODATA,null);
/* free all objects */
vgl.DrawFunEnd (df);
vis.VisContextEnd (vc);
vis.LevelsEnd (levels);
vis.ColorMapEnd (cmap);
vis.TransMapEnd (tmap);
vis.ThresholdEnd (threshold);
}
}