Visualisation of flow with the aid of textures

Many new methods of flow visualisation have been developed in recent years. One of the most promising approaches is the visualisation of flow with the aid of textures. Textures are graphic structures containing directional information. They can be calculated with the Line Integral Convolution (LIC) algorithm developed by Cabral and Leedom, according to which pixel-oriented random entry fields are convoluted along integral lines, This paper uses the LIC algorithm for texture generation. Known procedures for texture generation and for spatial representation of textures are considered and extended by the authors' own work. Textures are compared with traditional approaches, which use flow lines and vector arrows for flow visualisation, and evaluated. In their presentation of the topic the authors use a easily comprehensible representation which the user can readily reproduce rather than an exact mathematical-statistical analysis of texture generation.