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Hierarchical Vortex Regions in Swirling Flow
Author(s) -
Petz Christoph,
Kasten Jens,
Prohaska Steffen,
Hege HansChristian
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
computer graphics forum
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.578
H-Index - 120
eISSN - 1467-8659
pISSN - 0167-7055
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-8659.2009.01463.x
Subject(s) - vortex , flow (mathematics) , computer science , computational fluid dynamics , regular polygon , hierarchy , classical mechanics , geometry , physics , mechanics , mathematics , economics , market economy
We propose a new criterion to characterize hierarchical two‐dimensional vortex regions induced by swirling motion. Central to the definition are closed loops that intersect the flow field at a constant angle. The union of loops belonging to the same area of swirling motion defines a vortex region. These regions are disjunct but may be nested, thus introducing a spatial hierarchy of vortex regions. We present a parameter free algorithm for the identification of these regions. Since they are not restricted to star‐ or convex‐shaped geometries, we are able to identify also intricate regions, e.g., of elongated vortices. Computing an integrated value for each loop and mapping these values to a vortex region, introduces new ways for visualizing or filtering the vortex regions. Exemplary, an application based on the Rankine vortex model is presented. We apply our method to several CFD datasets and compare our results to existing approaches.