| Abstract: | We develop physically-based graphics models of non-rigid objects capable of heat conduction, thermoelasticity, melting and fluid-like behaviour in the molten state. These deformable models feature non-rigid dynamics governed by Lagrangian equations of motion and conductive heat transfer governed by the heat equation for non-homogeneous, non-isotropic media. In its solid state, the discretized model is an assembly of hexahedral finite elements in which thermoelastic units interconnect particles situated in a lattice. The stiffness of a thermoelastic unit decreases as its temperature increases, and the unit fuses when its temperature exceeds the melting point. The molten state of the model involves a molecular dynamics simulation in which ‘fluid’ particles that have broken free from the lattice interact through long-range attraction forces and short-range repulsion forces. We present a physically-based animation of a thermoelastic model in a simulated physical world populated by hot constraint surfaces. |
