A Layered Particle-Based Fluid Model for Real-Time Rendering of Water

Abstract

We present a physically based real-time water simulation and rendering method that brings volumetric foam to the real-time domain, significantly increasing the realism of dynamic fluids. We do this by combining a particle-based fluid model that is capable of accounting for the formation of foam with a layered rendering approach that is able to account for the volumetric properties of water and foam. Foam formation is simulated through Weber number thresholding. For rendering, we approximate the resulting water and foam volumes by storing their respective boundary surfaces in depth maps. This allows us to calculate the attenuation of light rays that pass through these volumes very efficiently. We also introduce an adaptive curvature flow filter that produces consistent fluid surfaces from particles independent of the viewing distance.