Survey of Research Progress on Three Dimensional Topological Data Structure

Topology is one of the mechanisms to describe relationships between spatial objects and it is the basis for many spatial operations. The paper gives a survey of current main three dimensional topological data structures. Three dimensional topological data structures can be divided into manifold data structure and non-manifold data structure. Manifold data structure includes Winged-edge data structure, Half-edge data structure, Quad-edge data structure and so on. Non-manifold data structure includes facet-edge data structure, radial edge data structure and so on. The paper gives on overview of fundamental principles of these data structure. On this basis, advantages and disadvantages of these models are compared from more aspects. Through this research, we can provide theoretical basis and technical support for 3D building modeling, 3D cadastre modeling and other 3D fields.