The deformed cube: A visualization technique for 3D velocity vector field

Abstract

This paper presents a visualization method called the deformed cube for visualizing 3D velocity vector field. Based on the decomposition of the tensor which describes the changes of the velocity, it provides a technique for visualizing local flow. A deformed cube,a cube transformed by a tensor in a local coordinate frame, shows the local stretch, shear and rigid body rotation of the local flow corresponding to the decomposed component of the tensor. User can interactively view the local deformation or any component of the changes. The animation of the deformed cube moving along a streamline achieves a more global impression of the flow field. This method is intended as a complement to global visualization methods.