Marek Krzysztof Misztal

Topology-adaptive interface tracking using the deformable simplicial complex

We present a novel, topology-adaptive method for deformable interface tracking, called the Deformable Simplicial Complex (DSC). In the DSC method, the interface is represented explicitly as a piecewise linear curve (in 2D) or surface (in 3D) which is a part of a discretization (triangulation/tetrahedralization) of the space, such that the interface can be retrieved as a set of faces separating triangles/tetrahedra marked as inside from the ones marked as outside (so it is also given implicitly). This representation allows robust topological adaptivity and, thanks to the explicit representation of the interface, it suffers only slightly from numerical diffusion. Furthermore, the use of an unstructured grid yields robust adaptive resolution. Also, topology control is simple in this setting. We present the strengths of the method in several examples: simple geometric flows, fluid simulation, point cloud reconstruction, and cut locus construction.

Optimization-based Fluid Simulation on Unstructured Meshes

We present a novel approach to fluid simulation, allowing us to take into account the surface energy in a precise manner. This new approach combines a novel, topology-adaptive approach to deformable interface tracking, called the deformable simplicial complexes method (DSC) with an optimization-based, linear finite element method for solving the incompressible Euler equations. The deformable simplicial complexes track the surface of the fluid: the fluid-air interface is represented explicitly as a piecewise linear surface which is a subset of tetrahedralization of the space, such that the interface can be also represented implicitly as a set of faces separating tetrahedra marked as inside from the ones marked as outside. This representation introduces insignificant and controllable numerical diffusion, allows robust topological adaptivity and provides both a volumetric finite element mesh for solving the fluid dynamics equations as well as direct access to the interface geometry data, making inclusion of a new surface energy term feasible. Furthermore, using an unstructured mesh makes it straightforward to handle curved solid boundaries and gives us a possibility to explore several fluid-solid interaction scenarios.

Multiphase flow of immiscible fluids on unstructured moving meshes

In this paper, we present a method for animating multiphase flow of immiscible fluids using unstructured moving meshes. Our underlying discretization is an unstructured tetrahedral mesh, the deformable simplicial complex (DSC), that moves with the flow in a Lagrangian manner. Mesh optimization operations improve element quality and avoid element inversion. In the context of multiphase flow, we guarantee that every element is occupied by a single fluid and, consequently, the interface between fluids is represented by a set of faces in the simplicial complex. This approach ensures that the underlying discretization matches the physics and avoids the additional book-keeping required in grid-based methods where multiple fluids may occupy the same cell. Our Lagrangian approach naturally leads us to adopt a finite element approach to simulation, in contrast to the finite volume approaches adopted by a majority of fluid simulation techniques that use tetrahedral meshes. We characterize fluid simulation as an optimization problem allowing for full coupling of the pressure and velocity fields and the incorporation of a second-order surface energy. We introduce a preconditioner based on the diagonal Schur complement and solve our optimization on the GPU. We provide the results of parameter studies as well as a performance analysis of our method, together with suggestions for performance optimization.

SMI 2012: Short Converting skeletal structures to quad dominant meshes

We propose the Skeleton to Quad-dominant polygonal Mesh algorithm (SQM), which converts skeletal structures to meshes composed entirely of polar and annular regions. Both types of regions have a regular structure where all faces are quads except for a single ring of triangles at the center of each polar region. The algorithm produces high quality meshes which contain irregular vertices only at the poles or where several regions join. It is trivial to produce a stripe parametrization for the output meshes which also lend themselves well to polar subdivision. After an initial description of SQM, we analyze its properties, and present two extensions to the basic algorithm: the first ensures that mirror symmetry is preserved by the algorithm, and the second allows for objects of non-spherical topology.

Tetrahedral Mesh Improvement Using Multi-face Retriangulation

In this paper we propose a simple technique for tetrahedral mesh improvement without inserting Steiner vertices, concentrating mainly on boundary conforming meshes. The algorithm makes local changes to the mesh to remove tetrahedra which are poor according to some quality criterion. While the algorithm is completely general with regard to quality criterion, we target improvement of the dihedral angle. The central idea in our algorithm is the introduction of a new local operation called multi-face retriangulation (MFRT) which supplements other known local operations. Like in many previous papers on tetrahedral mesh improvement, our algorithm makes local changes to the mesh to reduce an energy measure which reflects the quality criterion. The addition of our new local operation allows us to advance the mesh to a lower energy state in cases where no other local change would lead to a reduction. We also make use of the edge collapse operation in order to reduce the size of the mesh while improving its quality. With these operations, we demonstrate that it is possible to obtain a significantly greater improvement to the worst dihedral angles than using the operations from the previous works, while keeping the mesh complexity as low as possible.

Detailed analysis of the lattice Boltzmann method on unstructured grids

The lattice Boltzmann method has become a standard for efficiently solving problems in fluid dynamics. While unstructured grids allow for a more efficient geometrical representation of complex boundaries, the lattice Boltzmann method is often implemented using regular grids. Here we analyze two implementations of the lattice Boltzmann method on unstructured grids, the standard forward Euler method and the operator splitting method. We derive the evolution of the macroscopic variables by means of the Chapman-Enskog expansion, and we prove that it yields the Navier-Stokes equation and is first order accurate in terms of the temporal discretization and second order in terms of the spatial discretization. Relations between the kinetic viscosity and the integration time step are derived for both the Euler method and the operator splitting method. Finally, we suggest an improved version of the bounce-back boundary condition. We test our implementations in both standard benchmark geometries and in the pore network of a real sample of a porous rock.

Mathematical foundation of the optimization-based fluid animation method

We present the mathematical foundation of a fluid animation method for unstructured meshes. Key contributions not previously treated are the extension to include diffusion forces and higher order terms of non-linear force approximations. In our discretization we apply a fractional step method to be able to handle advection in a numerically simple Lagrangian approach. Following this a finite element method is used for the remaining terms of the fractional step method. The key to deriving a discretization for the diffusion forces lies in restating the momentum equations in terms of a Newtonian stress tensor. Rather than applying a straightforward temporal finite difference method followed by a projection method to enforce incompressibility as done in the stable fluids method, the last step of the fractional step method is rewritten as an optimization problem to make it easy to incorporate non-linear force terms such as surface tension.

Multiphase Flow of Immiscible Fluids on Unstructured Moving Meshes

In this paper, we present a method for animating multiphase flow of immiscible fluids using unstructured moving meshes. Our underlying discretization is an unstructured tetrahedral mesh, the deformable simplicial complex (DSC), that moves with the flow in a Lagrangian manner. Mesh optimization operations improve element quality and avoid element inversion. In the context of multiphase flow, we guarantee that every element is occupied by a single fluid and, consequently, the interface between fluids is represented by a set of faces in the simplicial complex. This approach ensures that the underlying discretization matches the physics and avoids the additional book-keeping required in grid-based methods where multiple fluids may occupy the same cell. Our Lagrangian approach naturally leads us to adopt a finite element approach to simulation, in contrast to the finite volume approaches adopted by a majority of fluid simulation techniques that use tetrahedral meshes. We characterize fluid simulation as an optimization problem allowing for full coupling of the pressure and velocity fields and the incorporation of a second-order surface energy. We introduce a preconditioner based on the diagonal Schur complement and solve our optimization on the GPU. We provide the results of parameter studies as well as a performance analysis of our method, together with suggestions for performance optimization.

Evaluation of the finite element lattice Boltzmann method for binary fluid flows

In contrast to the commonly used lattice Boltzmann method, off-lattice Boltzmann methods decouple the velocity discretization from the underlying spatial grid, thus allowing for more efficient geometric representations of complex boundaries. The current work combines characteristic-based integration of the streaming step with the free-energy based multiphase model by Lee et. al. [Journal of Computational Physics, 206 (1), 2005 ]. This allows for simulation time steps more than an order of magnitude larger than the relaxation time. Unlike previous work by Wardle et. al. [Computers and Mathematics with Applications, 65 (2), 2013 ] that integrated intermolecular forcing terms in the advection term, the current scheme applies collision and forcing terms locally for a simpler finite element formulation. A series of thorough benchmark studies reveal that this does not compromise stability and that the scheme is able to accurately simulate flows at large density and viscosity contrasts.

Simulating anomalous dispersion in porous media using the unstructured lattice Boltzmann method

Flow in porous media is a significant challenge to many computational fluid dynamics methods because of the complex boundaries separating pore fluid and host medium. However, the rapid development of the lattice Boltzmann methods and experimental imaging techniques now allow us to efficiently and robustly simulate flows in the pore space of porous rocks. Here we study the flow and dispersion in the pore space of limestone samples using the unstructured, characteristic based off-lattice Boltzmann method. We use the method to investigate the anomalous dispersion of particles in the pore space. We further show that the complex pore network limits the effectivity by which pollutants in the pore space can be removed by continuous flushing. In the smallest pores, diffusive transport dominates over advective transport and therefore cycles of flushing and no flushing, respectively, might be a more efficient strategy for pollutant removal.