Partial differential equations for function based geometry modelling within visual cyberworlds

We propose the use of Partial Differential Equations (PDEs) for shape modelling within visual cyberworlds. PDEs, especially those that are elliptic in nature, enable surface modelling to be defined as boundary-value problems. Here we show how the PDE based on the Biharmonic equation subject to suitable boundary conditions can be used for shape modelling within visual cyberworlds. We discuss an analytic solution formulation for the Biharmonic equation which allows us to define a function based geometry whereby the resulting geometry can be visualised efficiently at arbitrary levels of shape resolutions. In particular, we discuss how function based PDE surfaces can be readily integrated within VRML and X3D environment

Geometric modelling and shape optimisation of pharmaceutical tablets. Geometric modelling and shape optimisation of pharmaceutical tablets using partial differential equations.

Pharmaceutical tablets have been the most dominant form for drug delivery and they need to be strong enough to withstand external stresses due to packaging and loading conditions before use. The strength of the produced tablets, which is characterised by their compressibility and compactibility, is usually deter-mined through a physical prototype. This process is sometimes quite expensive and time consuming. Therefore, simulating this process before hand can over-come this problem. A technique for shape modelling of pharmaceutical tablets based on the use of Partial Differential Equations is presented in this thesis. The volume and the sur-face area of the generated parametric tablet in various shapes have been es-timated numerically. This work also presents an extended formulation of the PDE method to a higher dimensional space by increasing the number of pa-rameters responsible for describing the surface in order to generate a solid tab-let. The shape and size of the generated solid tablets can be changed by ex-ploiting the analytic expressions relating the coefficients associated with the PDE method. The solution of the axisymmetric boundary value problem for a finite cylinder subject to a uniform axial load has been utilised in order to model a displace-ment component of a compressed PDE-based representation of a flat-faced round tablet. The simulation results, which are analysed using the Heckel model, show that the developed model is capable of predicting the compressibility of pharmaceutical powders since it fits the experimental data accurately. The opti-mal design of pharmaceutical tablets with particular volume and maximum strength has been obtained using an automatic design optimisation which is performed by combining the PDE method and a standard method for numerical optimisation

3D modelling using partial differential equations (PDEs).

Partial differential equations (PDEs) are used in a wide variety of contexts in computer science ranging from object geometric modelling to simulation of natural phenomena such as solar flares, and generation of realistic dynamic behaviour in virtual environments including variables such as motion, velocity and acceleration. A major challenge that has occupied many players in geometric modelling and computer graphics is the accurate representation of human facial geometry in 3D. The acquisition, representation and reconstruction of such geometries are crucial for an extensive range of uses, such as in 3D face recognition, virtual realism presentations, facial appearance simulations and computer-based plastic surgery applications among others. The principle aim of this thesis should be to tackle methods for the representation and reconstruction of 3D geometry of human faces depending on the use of partial differential equations and to enable the compression of such 3D data for faster transmission over the Internet. The actual suggested techniques are based on sampling surface points at the intersection of horizontal and vertical mesh cutting planes. The set of sampled points contains the explicit structure of the cutting planes with three important consequences: 1) points in the plane can be defined as a one dimensional signal and are thus, subject to a number of compression techniques; 2) any two mesh cutting planes can be used as PDE boundary conditions in a rectangular domain; and 3) no connectivity information needs to be coded as the explicit structure of the vertices in 3D renders surface triangulation a straightforward task. This dissertation proposes and demonstrates novel algorithms for compression and uncompression of 3D meshes using a variety of techniques namely polynomial interpolation, Discrete Cosine Transform, Discrete Fourier Transform, and Discrete Wavelet Transform in connection with partial differential equations. In particular, the effectiveness of the partial differential equations based method for 3D surface reconstruction is shown to reduce the mesh over 98.2% making it an appropriate technique to represent complex geometries for transmission over the network