Velocity-based adaptivity of deformable models

A new adaptive model for viscoelastic solids is presented. Unlike previous approaches, it allows seamless transitions, and simplifications in deformed states. The deformation field is generated by a set of physically animated frames. Starting from a fine set of frames and mechanical energy integration points, the model can be coarsened by attaching frames to others, and merging integration points. Since frames can be attached in arbitrary relative positions, simplifications can occur seamlessly in deformed states, without returning to the original shape, which can be recovered later after refinement. We propose a new class of velocity-based simplification criterion based on relative velocities. Integration points can be merged to reduce the computation time even more, and we show how to maintain continuous elastic forces through the levels of detail. Such meshless adaptivity allows significant improvements of computation time during simulations. It also provides a natural approach to coarse-to-fine deformable mesh registration. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.