Modeling with triangular B-splines

Triangular B-splines are a new tool for modeling complex objects with nonrectangular topology. The scheme is based on blending functions and control points, and lets us model piecewise polynomial surfaces of degree n that are C^n-1-continuous throughout. Triangular B-splines permit the construction of smooth surfaces with the lowest degree possible. Because they can represent any piecewise polynomial surface, they provide a unified data format. The new B-spline scheme for modeling complex irregular objects over arbitrary triangulations has many desirable features. Applications like filling polygonal holes or constructing smooth blends demonstrate its potential for dealing with concrete design problems. The method permits real-time editing and rendering. Currently, we are improving the editor to accept simpler user input, optimizing intersection computations and developing new applications     

Eliciting dependability requirements: a control cases based approach

At present,great demands are posed on software dependability.But how to elicit the dependability requirements is still a challenging task.This paper proposes a novel approach to address this issue.The essential idea is to model a dependable software system as a feedforward-feedback control system,and presents the use cases+control cases model to express the requirements of the dependable software systems.In this model,while the use cases are adopted to model the functional requirements,two kinds of control cases(namely the feedforward control cases and the feedback control cases)are designed to model the dependability requirements.The use cases+control cases model provides a unified framework to integrate the modeling of the functional requirements and the dependability requirements at a high abstract level.To guide the elicitation of the dependability requirements,a HAZOP based process is also designed.A case study is conducted to illustrate the feasibility of the proposed approach.     

均匀B样条曲线曲面的扩展

在多项式空间提出了一种带k个形状参数的k次均匀B样条,这类曲线与标准k次均匀B样条类似,每段曲线由k+1个控制顶点生成,它们不仅具有k次均匀B样条许多常见性质,而且利用形状参数的不同取值能够整体或局部调控曲线曲面形状。包含标准均匀B样条为其特例。     

Control vectors for splines

Traditionally, modelling using spline curves and surfaces is facilitated by control points. We propose to enhance the modelling process by the use of control vectors. This improves upon existing spline representations by providing such facilities as modelling with local (semi-sharp) creases, vanishing and diagonal features, and hierarchical editing. While our prime interest is in surfaces, most of the ideas are more simply described in the curve context. We demonstrate the advantages provided by control vectors on several curve and surface examples and explore avenues for future research on control vectors in the contexts of geometric modelling and finite element analysis based on splines, and B-splines and subdivision in particular.     

Subdivision surfaces for CAD—an overview

Subdivision surfaces refer to a class of modelling schemes that define an object through recursive subdivision starting from an initial control mesh. Similar to B-splines, the final surface is defined by the vertices of the initial control mesh. These surfaces were initially conceived as an extension of splines in modelling objects with a control mesh of arbitrary topology. They exhibit a number of advantages over traditional splines. Today one can find a variety of subdivision schemes for geometric design and graphics applications. This paper provides an overview of subdivision surfaces with a particular emphasis on schemes generalizing splines. Some common issues on subdivision surface modelling are addressed. Several key topics, such as scheme construction, property analysis, parametric evaluation and subdivision surface fitting, are discussed. Some other important topics are also summarized for potential future research and development. Several examples are provided to highlight the modelling capability of subdivision surfaces for CAD applications.     

Biquartic C-surface splines over irregular meshes

C¹-surface splines define tangent continuous surfaces from control points in the manner of tensor-product (B-)splines, but allow a wider class of control meshes capable of outlining arbitrary free-form surfaces with or without boundary. In particular, irregular meshes with non-quadrilateral cells and more or fewer than four cells meeting at a point can be input and are treated in the same conceptual frame work as tensor-product B-splines; that is, the mesh points serve as control points of a smooth piecewise polynomial surface representation that is local and evaluates by averaging. Biquartic surface splines extend and complement the definition of C¹-surface splines in a previous paper (Peters, J SLAM J. Numer. Anal. Vol 32 No 2 (1993) 645–666) improving continuity and shape properties in the case where the user chooses to model entirely with four-sided patches. While tangent continuity is guaranteed, it is shown that no polynomial, symmetry-preserving construction with adjustable blends can guarantee its surfaces to lie in the local convex hull of the control mesh for very sharp blends where three patches join. Biquartic C¹-surface splines do as well as possible by guaranteeing the property whenever more than three patches join and whenever the blend exceeds a certain small threshold.     

Triangular NURBS and their dynamic generalizations

Triangular B-splines are a new tool for modeling a broad class of objects defined over arbitrary, nonrectangular domains. They provide an elegant and unified representation scheme for all piecewise continuous polynomial surfaces over planar triangulations. To enhance the power of this model, we propose triangular NURBS, the rational generalization of triangular B-splines, with weights as additional degrees of freedom. Fixing the weights to unity reduces triangular NURBS to triangular B-splines. Conventional geometric design with triangular NURBS can be laborious, since the user must manually adjust the many control points and weights. To ameliorate the design process, we develop a new model based on the elegant triangular NURBS geometry and principles of physical dynamics. Our model combines the geometric features of triangular NURBS with the demonstrated conveniences of interaction within a physics-based framework. The dynamic behavior of the model results from the numerical integration of differential equations of motion that govern the temporal evolution of control points and weights in response to applied forces and constraints. This results in physically meaningful hence highly intuitive shape variation. We apply Lagrangian mechanics to formulate the equations of motion of dynamic triangular NURBS and finite element analysis to reduce these equations to efficient numerical algorithms. We demonstrate several applications, including direct manipulation and interactive sculpting through force-based tools, the fitting of unorganized data, and solid rounding with geometric and physical constraints.     

Spherical Triangular B-splines with Application to Data Fitting

Triangular B-splines surfaces are a tool for representing arbitrary piecewise polynomial surfaces over planar triangulations, while automatically maintaining continuity properties across patch boundaries. Recently, Alfeld et al. [1] introduced the concept of spherical barycentric coordinates which allowed them to formulate Bernstein-Bézier polynomials over the sphere. In this paper we use the concept of spherical barycentric coordinates to develop a similar formulation for triangular B-splines, which we call spherical triangular B-splines. These splines defined over spherical triangulations share the same continuity properties and similar evaluation algorithms with their planar counterparts, but possess none of the annoying degeneracies found when trying to represent closed surfaces using planar parametric surfaces. We also present an example showing the use of these splines for approximating spherical scattered data.     

Joining rational curves smoothly

A theory is developed for projective-invariant construction from a sequenceof control points of a piecewise rational curve of arbitrary degree joining with continuity of certain geometric properties of the curve. In particular a recursive means of evaluation is derived which generalises the Cox-de Boor algorithm for B-splines.     

Interactive Shape Control of Interpolating B-splines

This paper presents a new methodfor providing interactive shape control of interpolating B-splines. The CAD designer can directly interact with geometric entities defined on the B-spline at any interpolated data point; shape adjustments can be performed either globally or locally. Our approach is based on Bλ-splines of order k (λ,k ≥1), i.e. λ-reparametrized, classical B-splines. The method presented can be easily generalised to surfaces defined either as tensor products or by using the skinning technique; interactive shape control can be provided in both surface parametric directions.     

A Recursive Subdivision Algorithm for Piecewise Circular Spline

We present an algorithm for generating a piecewise G ¹ circular spline curve from an arbitrary given control polygon. For every corner, a circular biarc is generated with each piece being parameterized by its arc length. This is the first subdivision scheme that produces a piecewise biarc curve that can interpolate an arbitrary set of points. It is easily adopted in a recursive subdivision surface scheme to generate surfaces with circular boundaries with pieces parameterized by arc length, a property not previously available. As an application, a modified version of Doo–Sabin subdivision algorithm is outlined making it possible to blend a subdivision surface with other surfaces having circular boundaries such as cylinders.     

Local control of interval tension using weighted splines

Cubic spline interpolation and B-spline sums are useful and powerful tools in computer aided design. These are extended by weighted cubic splines which have tension controls that allow the user to tighten or loosen the curve on intervals between interpolation points. The weighted spline is a C¹ piecewise cubic that minimizes a variational problem similar to one that a C² cubic spline minimizes. A B-spline like basis is constructed for weighted splines where each basis function is nonnegative and nonzero only on four intervals. The basis functions sum up identically to one, thus curves generated by summing control points multiplied by the basis functions have the convex hull property. Different weights are built into the basis functions so that the control point curves are piecewise cubics with local control of interval tension. If all weights are equal, then the weighted spline is the C² cubic spline and the basis functions are B-splines.     

A trivariate clough—tocher scheme for tetrahedral data

An interpolation scheme is described for values of position, gradient and Hessian at scattered points in three variables. The domain is assumed to have been tesselated into tetrahedra. The interpolant has local support, is globally once differentiable, piecewise polynomial, and reproduces polynomials of degree up to three exactly. The scheme has been implemented in a FORTRAN research code.     

Controllable Locality in C2 Interpolating Curves by B2-splines / S-splines

This paper presents a systematic scheme for controlling the local behaviour of C² interpolating curves, based on the cubic B2-splines and the quartic S-splines. Both splines have an additional control point obtained by knot- insertion or degree-elevation in each span of the conventional uniform cubic interpolating B-splines. The shape designer can choose the desired range of locality for each span and get the corresponding additional control point as a barycentric combination of interpolation points within the range, without solving any variational problem and simultaneous equations. The scheme is consistent over the entire curve subject to some typical end conditions. The class of the curves derived includes the conventional cubic interpolating B-splines. Examples demonstrate the behaviour of the new interpolating curves and the capability of the scheme.     

A bivariate C2 Clough-Tocher scheme

A Clough-Tocher like interpolation scheme is described for values of position, gradient and hessian at scattered points in two variables. The domain is assumed to have been triangulated. The interpolant has local support, is globally twice differentiable, piecewise polynomial, and reproduces polynomials of degree up to three exactly.     

A bivariate C Clough-Tocher scheme

A Clough-Tocher like interpolation scheme is described for values of position, gradient and hessian at scattered points in two variables. The domain is assumed to have been triangulated. The interpolant has local support, is globally twice differentiable, piecewise polynomial, and reproduces polynomials of degree up to three exactly.     

基于控制顶点扰动的平面二次曲线重构

基于控制顶点扰动的思想提出了一种新的曲线重构算法,用于构造一条分段二次B样条曲线来逼近平面上的散乱数据点．逐个输入数据点后,通过对控制顶点进行扰动来求取新的控制顶点．重构曲线的最终控制网格可通过求解一个非线性优化问题获得．一系列实验表明：该算法在经过少数几步迭代后很快就能收敛．该算法几何直观性强、操作简单,对平面上具有不同形状和不均匀采样误差的散乱数据都能得到很好的重构效果     

A note on the Bernstein algorithm for bounds for interval polynomials

In computing the range of values of a polynomial over an intervala≤x≤b one may use polynomials of the form $$\left( {\begin{array}{*{20}c} k \\ j \\ \end{array} } \right)\left( {x - a} \right)^j \left( {b - x} \right)^{k - j} $$ called Bernstein polynomials of the degreek. An arbitrary polynomial of degreen may be written as a linear combination of Bernstein polynomials of degreek≥n. The coefficients of this linear combination furnish an upper/lower bound for the range of the polynomial. In this paper a finite differencelike scheme is investigated for this computation. The scheme is then generalized to interval polynomials.     

Reconstruction of Piecewise Smooth Functions from Non-uniform Grid Point Data

Spectral series expansions of piecewise smooth functions are known to yield poor results, with spurious oscillations forming near the jump discontinuities and reduced convergence throughout the interval of approximation. The spectral reprojection method, most notably the Gegenbauer reconstruction method, can restore exponential convergence to piecewise smooth function approximations from their (pseudo-)spectral coefficients. Difficulties may arise due to numerical robustness and ill-conditioning of the reprojection basis polynomials, however. This paper considers non-classical orthogonal polynomials as reprojection bases for a general order (finite or spectral) reconstruction of piecewise smooth functions. Furthermore, when the given data are discrete grid point values, the reprojection polynomials are constructed to be orthogonal in the discrete sense, rather than by the usual continuous inner product. No calculation of optimal quadrature points is therefore needed. This adaptation suggests a method to approximate piecewise smooth functions from discrete non-uniform data, and results in a one-dimensional approximation that is accurate and numerically robust.      

Numerical solution of initial-value problems by collocation methods using generalized piecewise functions

A general class of piecewise functions is described which leads to the same order of convergence of collocation methods as piecewise polynomials. This order only depends on the collocation points used.