Integrating GPU-Accelerated Tetrahedral Mesh Editing and Simulation

The use of computer-aided methods for the design of parts that must meet functional or stability requirements typically consists of an iterative cycle of design, physical simulation and testing or analysis, followed by redesign, etc. Each step is often performed with a domain-specific tool, e.g., a specific CAD modeling suite. This results in the need to convert the model representation between steps, such as meshing for finite element simulation for example. In recent work, a distributed application framework has been proposed that allows for the interactive modification and simulation of tetrahedral meshes derived from existing CAD models, e.g., to create customized versions of parts that were designed for mass production. This shortens the design cycle by eliminating the need for conversion and switching between tools. In this paper, we present a more detailed description and improvements to this architecture by using GPU parallelization not only for simulation but also for mesh editing, which leads to even shorter iteration cycles.