nanoFluidX Auxiliary Tools for ParaView

ParaView is a powerful post-processing tool and in its open-end generality, it exposes a large number of tools which exceed typical use of nanoFluidX users. This was clearly a hurdle to a smooth post-processing experience and the nanoFluidX team felt that it needed to be addressed. To that goal, starting with version 2020.1, nanoFluidX install package contains a ParaView Plugin for exposing nanoFluidX post-processing tools.

This Plugin, when enabled, exposes two nanoFluidX-dedicated toolbars and allows for easier post-processing as the user no longer needs to worry which filters can or should be used, and also conveniently removes the need for filter searching through the drop-down menus.

Starting with the version 5.6, ParaView features Intel OSPRay ray-tracing engine as a part of the default installation. The OSPRay engine in ParaView is conveniently exposed in the filter properties menu. Combined with already powerful and intuitive camera and animation capabilities of ParaView, it is now possible to create high-quality rendered images and videos with tremendous ease.

With ParaView version 5.8, general performance and the OSPRay capabilities have been significantly improved. One example of this is making use of advanced algorithms for denoising – so it is now possible to create stunning rendered visuals in under an hour on very modest hardware.

However, one noticeable drawback in the OSPRay application under ParaView is severe lack of material library items which can be assigned to the geometry on screen. By default, the user would get to choose from 8 materials – aluminium, checker_alpha (checker-board pattern), copper, glass, thin glass, scratched, water and wood.

To improve on this issue, nanoFluidX is now shipped with a substantial material library covering various metals, five colors of oil (light, medium, dark, Altair orange and Altair blue) and other colors with matte, glossy or transparent variants. Certainly, it is not on a “dedicated ray-tracing software” level, but it is sufficient for engineering purposes, impressing management, or creating some eye-catching marketing material.