MICROCOMPUTER VISUALIZATION OF NUCLEAR CLOUD MODELS

THE PROPOSED EFFORT WILL SEEK TO DEMONSTRATE THE UTILITY OF MICROCOMPUTER VISUALIZATION AS AN EFFECTIVE AND LOW-COST VALIDATION, DIAGNOSTIC AND PRESENTATION TOOL FOR 3D MODELS.THE APPROACH WILL BE TESTED USING TASS 3D CLOUD SIMULATION OUTPUT, BUT THE METHODS DEVELOPED WILL BE APPLICABLE TO A WIDE VARIETY OF 3D MODELS. IN PHASE I, THE PROPOSER WILL (1) CHOOSE THE TECHNOLOGY FOR HANDLING THE TRANSFER OF THE CLOUD DATA ONTO MICROCOMPUTER STORAGE MEDIA, (2) DEVELOP AND REFINE A COMPUTER PROGRAM FOR BUILDING GEOMETRIC DESCRIPTIONS OF 3D BOUNDARIES WHICH ENCLOSE A DESIRED VOLUME, AND (3) USE EXISTING MICROCOMPUTER GRAPHICS PROGRAMS AND THE TRANSFORMED SIMULATION DATA TO PRODUCE STILL IMAGES AND ANIMATIONS OF A NUCLEAR CLOUD MODEL. THE INNOVATIVE HEART OF THE APPROACH IS THE CUSTOM SOFTWARE OF STEP (2). THIS PROGRAM WILL FORM A BRIDGE BETWEEN 3D MODELS AND POWERFUL MICROCOMPUTER GRAPHICS TECHNOLOGY, MAKING 3D MODEL IMAGES AVAILABLE ON MICRO DISPLAYS, VIDEOTAPE, SLIDES AND PRINTS, MEDIA WHICH ARE INEXPENSIVE AND ACCESSIBLE TO A WIDE AUDIENCE.