Deformation Embedding for Point-Based Elastoplastic Simulation

Abstract

We present a straightforward, easy-to-implement, point-based approach for animating elastoplastic materials. The core idea of our approach is the introduction of embedded space—the least-squares best fit of the material’s rest state into three dimensions. Nearest neighbor queries in the embedded space efficiently update particle neighborhoods to account for plastic flow. These queries are simpler and more efficient than remeshing strategies employed in mesh-based finite element methods. We also introduce a new estimate for the volume of a particle, allowing particle masses to vary spatially and temporally with fixed density. Our approach can handle simultaneous extreme elastic and plastic deformations. We demonstrate our approach on a variety of examples that exhibit a wide range of material behaviors.