|
|
VisTools
The VisTools library from Visual Kinematics, Inc. is an
object-based software development toolkit designed for use in
creating pre and post processing applications for science and engineering.
It contains modules to support finite element related data structures
and visualization.
VisTools is differentiated by its
rich feature set, computational efficiency and modular, object-based
architecture.
All visualization modules may be applied equally well
to unstructured (finite element) as well as multi-block, curvilinear,
rectilinear or uniform structured grids.
Features
- 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 stream ribbon 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 (e.g. 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. This allows VisTools to be applied to conventional
finite element unstructured grids or higher order, p-element finite
element grids and multi-block 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.
- Global domain modules support finite element connectivity
management and query. Features include very efficient topological
queries such as external faces, free or unique edges and geometric
queries such as feature edges or corner nodes of any finite element
subset. Element adjacency queries across element faces, edges
or nodes are also supported.
- Block structured grids which are commonly used in computational
fluid dynamics are also supported. VisTools allows applications
to query grid topologies of this type either as pseudo "finite
element" grids or by conventional structured "i,j,k"
block indices.
- Results data is managed by VisTools state modules which support
general scalar, vector and tensor fields as well as specific features
for beam and shell stress resultants, strains and curvatures.
- State operators include simple arithmetic operations, extraction
of invariants and principal values and vectors from tensor fields.
- All vector and tensor results data carries a coordinate system
attribute so that coordinate system transformations and accurate
representation of results in local coordinate systems may be made.
- Spatial searching allows groups of elements intersected by
points, lines, planes and volumes to be quickly determined. The module uses
an adaptive spatial decomposition technique to allow searches to be
efficiently performed over millions of elements. This technology is ideal
for 3D graphics picking and point, line or surface probes. A complementary
technique, termed range searching determines elements which intersect
isosurfaces of solution results.
- Beam element visualization and automatic beam section calculation.
Arbitrary beam cross sections are analyzed using the finite element method
to solve for the warping function over the beam section. All properties,
including shear center, effective shear area and warping constant,
are computed automatically.
The full 3 dimensional nature of beam elements
may be reconstructed for visualization.
- Shell element visualization and automatic shell wall calculation.
The material stiffness of laminated composite shell walls may be
automatically calculated.
Like beam elements, the full 3 dimensional nature of shell elements
may be reconstructed for visualization.
- Visualize specialized zero and one dimensional elements such as
gaps, MPC's, rigid elements, concentrated masses, springs, dashpots, etc.
- Color legends and coordinate system triads
have modules dedicated to draw them. The coordinate system triads have
options to support rectangular, cylindrical and spherical coordinate systems.
- Hardware and graphics device independence.
|
|
