Virtual Reality is a powerful new approach that can significantly help researchers study data derived from finite element modeling packages or from actual measurements by allowing them to look at the data in a completely different way. The Onyx 2, known as Ra, is used specifically to display the data received from the network TCP stream originating from the Origin 2000. The visualization of the finite element data is displayed using OpenGL and the CAVE libraries from VRco. Once the data for each timestep of the finite element simulation was received by Ra, the block positions were updated and displayed on the ImmersaDesk in stereo. It is hoped that by viewing the data in stereo researchers will gain a better insight into how the simulation represents the real world counterpart and be able to make better predictions based on the finite element data.
Figures show five snap shots of events at five different time steps.
The first photo is at the beginning of the wave propagation. Photo 4 shows that the effects of different boundaries. Finally, as shown in Photo 5 of Figure 5 that for the fixe-end condition, the wave propagates back in the reversed direction. The advantage of using Immersive visualization for finite element modeling data is that now the engineer can visualize what is actually happening in the rod. Typically in the physical experiment the displacement is measured using a limited amount of accelerometers and the data is collected using an oscilloscope that displays the results as a function of time.