The virtual wind tunnel

The design and implementation of a virtual environment linked to a graphics workstation for the visualization of complex fluid flows are described. The system user wears a stereo head-tracked display, which effectively displays 3-D information, and an instrumented glove to intuitively position flow-visualization tools. The visualization structures and their interfaces in the virtual environment and the implementation hardware and software are described. The performance of the virtual wind tunnel is reviewed using the flow past a tapered cylinder as an example. Performance issues and future directions for the system are discussed.<
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