We present a simple, linear 3D cellular automata approach for animating the melting process of solid volumetric models. Accurate modelling of object melting usually requires complicated physical simulations of heat transfer and phase transition from solid to liquid. Instead, we propose a simplified model to describe the melting behaviors of highly viscous objects, such as wax, lava, plastic, metal and chocolate. We simulate the process by which a volumetric solid transforms into a viscous liquid as the amount of heat it accumulates on its surface reaches a certain temperature. We then animate smooth fluid behavior using a cellular automata. The dynamic volume data is rendered directly on texture mapping hardware to achieve an interactive speed.
Index Terms:
Object Melting, Cellular Automata, Natural Phenomena Modelling
Citation:
Xiaoming Wei, Wei Li, Arie Kaufman, "Melting and Flowing of Viscous Volumes," casa, pp.54, 16th International Conference on Computer Animation and Social Agents (CASA 2003), 2003