3D-TSV: The 3D Trajectory-based Stress Visualizer

TL;DR

3D-TSV is a visual analysis tool that enables exploration of principal stress directions in 3D solids, addressing perceptual challenges with novel algorithms and providing accessible, open-source software for mechanical stress visualization.

Contribution

The paper introduces a modular, generic system with a novel orthogonal stress line generation algorithm and enhanced visualization techniques for stress analysis in 3D solids.

Findings

Effective visualization of three stress directions using orthogonal lines.

A novel algorithm for space-filling, evenly spaced stress lines.

Open-source implementation with integration scripts for simulation data.

Abstract

We present the 3D Trajectory-based Stress Visualizer (3D-TSV), a visual analysis tool for the exploration of the principal stress directions in 3D solids under load. 3D-TSV provides a modular and generic implementation of key algorithms required for a trajectory-based visual analysis of principal stress directions, including the automatic seeding of space-filling stress lines, their extraction using numerical schemes, their mapping to an effective renderable representation, and rendering options to convey structures with special mechanical properties. In the design of 3D-TSV, several perceptual challenges have been addressed when simultaneously visualizing three mutually orthogonal stress directions via lines. We present a novel algorithm for generating a space-filling and evenly spaced set of mutually orthogonal lines. The algorithm further considers the locations of lines to obtain a more regular appearance, and enables the extraction of a level-of-detail representation with adjustable sparseness of the trajectories along a certain stress direction. To convey ambiguities in the orientation of the principal stress directions, the user can select a combined visualization of two principal directions via oriented ribbons. Additional depth cues improve the perception of the spatial relationships between trajectories. 3D-TSV is accessible to end users via a C++- and OpenGL-based rendering frontend that is seamlessly connected to a MatLab-based extraction backend. The code (BSD license) of 3D-TSV as well as scripts to make ANSYS and ABAQUS simulation results accessible to the 3D-TSV backend are publicly available.