Interactive Focus+Context Analysis of Large, Time-Dependent Flow Simulation Data

Visualization of time-dependent simulation data, such as datasets from CFD simulation, still is a very challenging task. In this paper, we present a new approach to the interactive visual analysis of flow simulation data which is especially targeted at the analysis of time-dependent data. It supports the flexible specification and visualization of flow features in an interactive setup of multiple linked views. Special emphasis is put on new mechanisms to capture time-dependent features, i.e., flow features which are inherently dependent on time. We propose the integration of attribute derivation into the process of interactive visual analysis to enable the subsequent user access to otherwise implicit properties of the unsteady data in our interactive feature specification framework. All views of this flow analysis setup are linked in the sense that the features in focus are consistently emphasized in the visualization (more colorful, less transparent) whereas the rest of the data is only shown as context in reduced style. In addition to introducing our new approach, we also demonstrate its use in the context of several application examples.