Physically-Based Simulation of Tornadoes

In this paper, we present a physically-based model to perform 3D visual simulation of tornadoes. Simulating natural phenomena based on physically realistic models has been an active research area in computer graphics. The tornado phenomenon is a spectacular one as it demonstrates the magnificent strength of forces of nature and its shear size. Previous research on tornadoes have focused either on the velocity, pressure and temperature profiles obtained by satellite images and tornado chasing, or on generating visually appealing images without taking into account the underlying physics. In this paper, the tornado dynamics are modeled by the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations with appropriately defined boundary conditions which will result in rotating and uplifting flow movements as found in real tornadoes. To model the complex irregular tornado shapes, a particle system is incorporated with the model equation solutions. Images and simulation sequences generated by volume rendering are presented and compared qualitatively with real tornado photographs.