Animation of chemically reactive fluids using a hybrid simulation method

Abstract

Chemical phenomena abound in the real world, and often comprise indispensable elements of visual effects that are routinely created in the film industry. In this paper, we present a hybrid technique for simulating chemically reactive fluids, based on the theory of chemical kinetics. Our method makes synergistic use of both Eulerian grid-based methods and Lagrangian particle methods to simulate real and hypothetical chemical mechanisms effectively and efficiently. We demonstrate that by modeling chemical reactions using a particle system, an established, physically based fluid system can be extended easily to generate a wide range of chemical phenomena, ranging from catalysis and erosion to fire and explosions, with only a small additional cost.