Topology-based versus Feature-based Flow Analysis – Challenges and an Application

This paper is the result of research and contemplation on the actual usefulness of topology-based methods in real-world applications. We recapitulate commonly used arguments in favor of topology-based approaches first to realign our expectations with respect to the utilization of topology extraction in the context of concrete applications. To illustrate some of our considerations, we take a closer look at one specific example, i.e., the visual analysis of flow through a cooling jacket and we report our respective experiences. After discussing the topology-based analysis of the cooling jacket case, we contrast topology-based flow visualization with an alternative approach, i.e., the interactive feature extraction for feature-based visualization. Without generalizing just from the one concrete example scenario, we still are able to conclude with some broader experiences which we have made in the past and which seem to align well with the opinion of others in our field.