A momentum‐based deformation system for granular material

Computer graphics animation often lacks interaction between rigid object and granular material. In this paper, we propose a method for the deformation of the ground surface that consists of granular material when it is penetrated by a rigid body object in motion. Meanwhile, the motion of the rigid object is also affected due to the collision with the ground surface. Our simulation model concerns: updating the motion of object, the collision detection between the rigid object and the ground surface, the distribution of the ground granular material and the deformation of the ground surface. Our contribution is that we present a method to simulate the interaction between the ground granular material and the rigid body object in motion. Moreover, a render to texture method is presented to accelerate the ray casting collision detection between the ground surface and the object. And, our implementation for the method can be simulated at interactive frame rates. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.