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Merging of intersecting triangulations for finite element modeling
J R Cebral1, R Löhner, P L Choyke
1School of Computational Sciences, George Mason University, 4400 University Drive, MS 4C7, Fairfax, VA 22030, USA. jcebral@gmu.edu
Journal of Biomechanics
|July 27, 2001
Summary
This study introduces a novel method for merging intersecting surface meshes, crucial for biomechanics. The technique uses distance functions on a background grid to accurately represent complex geometries for analysis.
Area of Science:
- Computational geometry
- Biomechanics
- Medical imaging
Background:
- Generating surface meshes for intersecting objects is a significant challenge in biomechanics.
- Existing methods often struggle with complex, overlapping geometries.
Purpose of the Study:
- To present a new strategy for merging intersecting triangulations.
- To enable accurate surface mesh generation for complex anatomical structures.
Main Methods:
- Representing object surfaces as the zero-level iso-surface of a distance-to-surface function on a background grid.
- Classifying background grid points based on distance and surface normal direction.
- Extracting the final triangulation as an iso-surface, enhanced by adaptive grid refinement.
Main Results:
- Successfully merged intersecting triangulations of arterial branches reconstructed from medical images.
- Demonstrated the ability to incorporate additional features like vascular stents into the merged surface models.
- Generated accurate surface models suitable for creating 3D grids for finite element analysis.
Conclusions:
- The proposed method provides an effective approach for surface mesh generation of intersecting objects.
- The technique is generalizable beyond biomechanics and finite element analysis.
- Accurate surface representation facilitates advanced computational modeling.