vtkVisualizationLTM

Package with basic visualization tools for rendering Finite Element related figures efficiently using VTK.

The package was developed for the needs of the Laboratory of Topology Optimization and Multiphysics Analysis (LTM) group.

Description

The package contains high level classes that wrap several verbose VTK functionalities for general visualization needed in Topology Optimization and is much faster than matplotlib visualization functions such as imshow or patches, since it leverages GPU visualization capabilities of OpenGL availabe through the VTK package.

For now the package contains:

• A class for plotting and updating 2D topologies of uniform rectilinear rectangular meshes.
• A class for plotting and updating 2D heatmaps of uniform rectilinear rectangular meshes.

The classes all inherit from a 2D visualization base class that contains general methods such as:

• saving to png with transparent background
• saving to the old VTK format ".vtk"
• saving to the newer XML VTK format as ".vti"
• translating the camera
• zooming the camera in or out

Since all VTK objects required for visualization are attributes of the instanced objects, all VTK methods may be used directly, if one is well-versed in VTK.

Getting started

Dependencies

• Python
• Numpy
• VTK
• Matplotlib (for colormaps)
• A "current" GPU. Due to the way transparent backgrounds for PNG images are implemented. This may be changed in future versions.

Installing

• Copy the vtkVisualizationLTM folder to your working directory.
• To run the test, copy the /tests/test.py file (just the file, not the tests folder) to your working directory.

Running

• Be sure your file structure looks as follows:

.
├── ...
├── /your modules, scripts and packages/
├── ...
├── test.py
└── vtkVisualizationLTM
    ├── __init__.py
    ├── VTKVisualizationBase.py
    ├── VTKImageData2DTopology.py
    └── VTKImageData2DHeatmap.py

• Run the test.py file as a script.

Help

All classes and methods in the implementation are well documented.

If unimplemented functionalities are required, it is possible to use the underlying VTK methods directly. Reading the VTK Doxygen is recommended in order to understand what these functionalities are.

Further questions may be sent to balmeida /at/ fem.unicamp.br

Authors

Breno Vincenzo de Almeida bva99

Version history

• 0.2

  • Added support for plotting nodal values to the heatmaps.

• 0.1

  • Initial release.
  • Contains only classes for 2D visualization (topology and heatmaps).

License

Distributed under the MIT License. See LICENSE for more information.

Acknowledgments

• VTK support
• VTK Doxygen
• Schroeder, Will; Martin, Ken; Lorensen, Bill (2006), The Visualization Toolkit (4th ed.), Kitware, ISBN 978-1-930934-19-1