Study on modeling and 3D-visualization of ground fissures' spatial curved surfaces

Ground fissures often appear to be linear cracks on the earth's surface, but spatial curved surfaces cutting through the superficial stratum in the longitudinal direction beneath the ground. How to express such kind curved surface in digital form is unprecedented. But certainly, the digital models of ground fissures' spatial curved surfaces will undoubtedly affect and even directly determine the process and degree of the research work on the ground fissure hazard in digital environment. Base on the linear ground fissures data, and the top TIN and the bottom TIN of the Coarse Strata generated from boreholes, as well as a number of boundary conditions, this paper, for the first time, applied the TIN modeling technology to create and express ground fissures' spatial continuous curved surfaces, which run through the Coarse Strata and can carry out seamless integration, providing conditions for the creation and integration of geological 3D models and also offering reference to complex geological modeling. The digital presentation of ground fissures has two levels such as reappearance and simulation. This study shows that the digital model of ground fissures not only lays the foundation for reappearance, but also provides the possibility for simulation. Therefore, the digital model of ground fissures is the necessary premise for further probing into the ground fissure hazard by means of virtual reality technology.