The Element Visualizer (ElVis) is an integrated visualization system designed specifically for high-order finite element solutions. It supports:
- Extensible Architecture: To support data originating from arbitrary simulation systems, ElVis' visualization algorithms are decoubled from the data representation. This allows the visualization algorithms to be updated independent of the underlying data, and also allows for new high-order systems to be added to ElVis with minimal effort.
- Accurate Visualization: ElVis avoids introducing error into the final image by operating on the high-order data directly. The algorithms used by ElVis are based on the knowledge that the data is produced by a high-order finite element simulation, and is able to make use of the smoothness properties of the field on the interior of each element, while respecting the breaks in continuity that may occur at element boundaries.
- Interactive Performance: Using the high-order data directly entails significanltly higher computational costs when compared to approaches designed to view high-order data using linear primitives. ElVis uses the parallel processing capabilities of recent Graphics Processing Units (GPU) to provide interactive visualizations on desktop computers.
