Stephenson, MB
1990
Visualization Software
Stephenson, M.B.; Christiansen, H.N. and Benzley, S.E.
In proceeding of Electronic Imaging West, 1990. Funded by Brigham Young University Engineering Computer Graphics Laboratory.
As the cost of computational power decreases, more and more algorithms appear which model physical processes using digital computers rather than physical scale models or experiments. Many of these algorithms use discrete approximation methods to solve a continuous problem. The complexity of these algorithms has increased also, as computational power has increased, from hundreds of data points to a million or more, and from two dimensions to three.
Many engineering applications suffer from a lack of adequate presentation graphics that makes the interpretation of the analytical data, described above, difficult. Trends and patterns are more easily observed in graphical form when compared to reviewing tabulated data. In engineering applications, color and shading may be used to realistically portray an object and also to present additional information about it through the use of distorted shapes and color coding to classify such functions as temperature, pressure, species concentrations, etc.
The programs, described in the following sections, address the issue of visualization of finite element and finite difference data. They reflect the effort of numerous researchers over a period of approximately twenty years.
Ray Traced Scalar Fields with Shaded Polygonal Output
Meyers, R.J. and Stephenson, M.B.
In proceedings of Visualization, 1990. Funded by ACERC.
An algorithm is presented for rendering scalar field data that reduces rendering times by as much as two orders of magnitude over traditional full resolution images. Less than full resolution sampling of the scalar field is performed using a fast ray tracing method. The sampling grid points are output as a set of screen based Gouraud shaded polygons that are rendered in hardware by a graphics workstation. A gradient-based variable resolution algorithm is presented which further improves rendering speed. Several examples are presented.
1988
A Set of Benchmarks for Evaluating Engineering Workstations
Stephenson, M.B.; Marchant, G. and Crowfoot, T.
Accepted for publication in IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications, 1988. 17 pgs. Funded by ACERC (National Science Foundation and Associates and Affiliates).
There are two major performance criteria for an engineering workstation, Central Processing Unit (CPU) performance and graphics performance. There are several standard CPU benchmarks (Dhrystone, Linpack, Whetstone, etc.), but engineering workstations that have nearly equal mips rating with these benchmarks perform very differently on real engineering problems. There are not standard graphics benchmarks.
The Engineering Computer Graphics Lab (ECGL) at Brigham Young University designed a set of benchmarks to evaluate the capabilities of high performance engineering workstations. The benchmarks were designed to evaluate the workstation's capacity to calculate and display solid finite element or finite difference data.
After running the ECGL's benchmarks on the several workstations, a cost/performance analysis was undertaken. This analysis was based on how many polygons/sec could be drawn per $10,000 invested.
Stephenson, MB
1990
Visualization Software
Stephenson, M.B.; Christiansen, H.N. and Benzley, S.E.
In proceeding of Electronic Imaging West, 1990. Funded by Brigham Young University Engineering Computer Graphics Laboratory.
As the cost of computational power decreases, more and more algorithms appear which model physical processes using digital computers rather than physical scale models or experiments. Many of these algorithms use discrete approximation methods to solve a continuous problem. The complexity of these algorithms has increased also, as computational power has increased, from hundreds of data points to a million or more, and from two dimensions to three.
Many engineering applications suffer from a lack of adequate presentation graphics that makes the interpretation of the analytical data, described above, difficult. Trends and patterns are more easily observed in graphical form when compared to reviewing tabulated data. In engineering applications, color and shading may be used to realistically portray an object and also to present additional information about it through the use of distorted shapes and color coding to classify such functions as temperature, pressure, species concentrations, etc.
The programs, described in the following sections, address the issue of visualization of finite element and finite difference data. They reflect the effort of numerous researchers over a period of approximately twenty years.
Ray Traced Scalar Fields with Shaded Polygonal Output
Meyers, R.J. and Stephenson, M.B.
In proceedings of Visualization, 1990. Funded by ACERC.
An algorithm is presented for rendering scalar field data that reduces rendering times by as much as two orders of magnitude over traditional full resolution images. Less than full resolution sampling of the scalar field is performed using a fast ray tracing method. The sampling grid points are output as a set of screen based Gouraud shaded polygons that are rendered in hardware by a graphics workstation. A gradient-based variable resolution algorithm is presented which further improves rendering speed. Several examples are presented.
1988
A Set of Benchmarks for Evaluating Engineering Workstations
Stephenson, M.B.; Marchant, G. and Crowfoot, T.
Accepted for publication in IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications, 1988. 17 pgs. Funded by ACERC (National Science Foundation and Associates and Affiliates).
There are two major performance criteria for an engineering workstation, Central Processing Unit (CPU) performance and graphics performance. There are several standard CPU benchmarks (Dhrystone, Linpack, Whetstone, etc.), but engineering workstations that have nearly equal mips rating with these benchmarks perform very differently on real engineering problems. There are not standard graphics benchmarks.
The Engineering Computer Graphics Lab (ECGL) at Brigham Young University designed a set of benchmarks to evaluate the capabilities of high performance engineering workstations. The benchmarks were designed to evaluate the workstation's capacity to calculate and display solid finite element or finite difference data.
After running the ECGL's benchmarks on the several workstations, a cost/performance analysis was undertaken. This analysis was based on how many polygons/sec could be drawn per $10,000 invested.