Fluid Flow Visualization

This paper presents an overview of techniques for visualization of fluid flow data. As a starting point, a brief introduction to experimental flow visualization is given. The rest of the paper concentrates on computer graphics flow visualization. A pipeline model of the flow visualization process is used as a basis for presentation. Conceptually, this process centres around visualization mapping, or the translation of physical flow parameters to visual representations. Starting from a set of standard mappings partly based on equivalents from experimental visualization, a number of data preparation techniques is described, to prepare the flow data for visualization. Next, a number of perceptual effects and rendering techniques are described, and some problems in visual presentation are discussed. The paper ends with some concluding remarks and suggestions for future development.