A Vortex Particle Method for Smoke, Water and Explosions

Abstract: Vorticity confinement reintroduces the small scale detail lost when using efficient semi-Lagrangian schemes for simulating smoke and fire. However, it only amplifies the existing vorticity, and thus can be insufficient for highly turbulent effects such as explosions or rough water. We introduce a new hybrid technique that makes synergistic use of Lagrangian vortex particle methods and Eulerian grid based methods to overcome the weaknesses of both. Our approach uses vorticity confinement itself to couple these two methods together. We demonstrate that this approach can generate highly turbulent effects unachievable by standard grid based methods, and show applications to smoke, water and explosion simulations.