Analysis and verification of the boundary surfaces of solid objects

Abstract

Triangulation of complex three-dimensional objects is a time-consuming process, and the boundary surfaces of the object have to be checked very carefully to ensure no error is made. With the increased use of computer graphics in the generation of complicated object shapes, such as aircraft, space vessels, machine parts, physical models, etc., visual inspection alone is not good enough to affirm the validity of the object, and a thorough verification of the output from a CAD system is necessary to ensure that the object is well defined and complies with the input requirements of the mesh generator. This paper describes such a data verification procedure for general curved surfaces and objects defined by the boundary surface modelling technique. The quality of individual elements, the overall topological structures, and geometrical correctness in terms of intersections, close touches and sharp angles will all be studied and verified. Several engineering objects are analysed to illustrate the practical applications of the procedure.