Efficient visualization of crash-worthiness simulations

Software tightly integrated with simulation packages has dominated finite element postprocessing. Many of these packages have not kept up with the state-of-the-art developments in graphics technology and visualization techniques. Large and time-dependent data sets resulting from crash-worthiness simulations in the automotive development process demand new visualization tools that allow interactive manipulation of complex geometries and meaningful mapping of physical properties. This article demonstrates that careful scene-graph structure design and extensive use of texture mapping can improve rendering performance and visual appearance for postprocessing tasks. These tasks include inspecting finite element (FE) discretization and analyzing intrusion depth or vector quantities