Primer Presentation Plan: Smoke and Fire Simulation

30 min

Target: 25 pages/slides, with an introductory video and another video for future developments

Finalized Slide Breakdown (25 Pages)

📌 Section 1: Introduction (3 slides)

1. Title Slide (1 Page)
   • Title: Smoke and Fire Simulation
   • Presented by: Xiaonan Pan, David Liu
   • Date: February 10, 2025
2. Why Smoke and Fire Simulation Matter (1 Page)
   • Applications: Movies (VFX), Games, Engineering, Safety Training, VR
   • Examples: Lord of the Rings (Smoke Ship), Avatar, Hogwarts Legacy
   • Key Question: How do we simulate realistic smoke and fire efficiently?
3. 📹 Introductory Video (1 Page)
   • Short clip showing real-world vs. simulated smoke (e.g., SIGGRAPH videos or game VFX).
   • Purpose: Showcase the complexity and importance of smoke simulation.

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📌 Section 2: Fundamentals of Smoke Simulation (5 slides)

1. Physical Principles of Smoke (1 Page)
   • Smoke is a mixture of hot gases, particles, and vapor.
   • Key Physics: Navier-Stokes equations, turbulence, buoyancy effects.
2. Mathematical Models for Smoke (1 Page)
   • Euler equations vs. Navier-Stokes equations.
   • Key Challenge: Computational complexity & stability.
3. Advection, Diffusion, and Vorticity in Smoke (1 Page)
   • Semi-Lagrangian advection for stable simulations.
   • Why is vorticity important? Adds small-scale rolling details.
4. Stable Fluids Method (Stam, 1999) (1 Page)
   • First real-time stable smoke simulation.
   • Uses Semi-Lagrangian advection & implicit solvers.
   • Pros & Cons: Stable, but lacks fine turbulence details.
5. Interaction with Objects (Fedkiw et al., 2001) (1 Page)
   • Key Idea: Smoke should swirl realistically around objects.
   • Introduction of vorticity confinement to enhance realism.

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📌 Section 3: Advanced Smoke Simulation Techniques (6 slides)

1. Vorticity Confinement (Fedkiw et al., 2001) (1 Page)
   • Solves the issue of dissipating small-scale details.
   • Key Concept: Adds back lost energy to enhance realism.
2. Rendering Smoke with Photon Mapping (1 Page)
   • Rendering Challenge: Smoke interacts with light dynamically.
   • Solution: Photon mapping for accurate lighting & shadows.
3. Target-Driven Smoke Animation (Fattal & Lischinski, 2004) (1 Page)
   • Key Problem: How do we control smoke in animation?
   • Solution: Driving forces & gathering terms to match target shapes.
   • Example: Gandalf’s smoke ship in LOTR.
4. Real-time Smoke in Games (Game Engines like Unity/Unreal) (1 Page)
   • Particle-based vs. grid-based simulation.
   • Trade-offs between speed and realism.
5. Hybrid Techniques: Neural Networks for Smoke (Recent Research) (1 Page)
   • AI-based smoke simulation reduces computational cost.
   • Example: Machine-learning-assisted fluid simulations.
6. 📹 Video: Example of Advanced Smoke Simulation (1 Page)
   • Possible video sources: Deep-learning smoke generation or real-time VFX examples.

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📌 Section 4: Fire Simulation (4 slides)

1. Why is Fire Simulation Different from Smoke? (1 Page)
   • Fire = combustion + smoke + light emission.
   • Extra physics: Heat transfer, fuel consumption, chemical reactions.
2. Fluid Dynamics of Fire (Nguyen et al., 2002) (1 Page)
   • Fire modeled with Navier-Stokes equations + thermal dynamics.
   • Techniques: Procedural vs. physics-based methods.
3. Rendering Fire: How Light and Flames Behave (1 Page)
   • Key Concept: Black-body radiation model.
   • Realism Challenge: Simulating brightness & transparency.
4. Fire in Games and Movies (1 Page)
   • Real-time fire simulation in Battlefield V and Unreal Engine 5.

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📌 Section 5: Real-World Applications & Challenges (5 slides)

1. Smoke Simulation for Safety & Engineering (1 Page)
   • Firefighting training, industrial hazard simulations.
   • CFD applications in real-world safety systems.
2. Movie & Game Industry: Case Studies (1 Page)
   • Avatar: High-end fluid simulations.
   • Hogwarts Legacy: Real-time fire & smoke VFX.
3. Real-Time vs. Offline Rendering: Trade-offs (1 Page)
   • Offline: Physically-based simulations for realism (Pixar, Disney).
   • Real-time: Faster but less realistic (games).
4. Challenges & Limitations of Smoke Simulation (1 Page)
   • Main Issues: Computational cost, numerical stability, lack of precise control.
   • Potential Solutions: AI, GPU acceleration, hybrid models.
5. 📹 Future of Smoke & Fire Simulation (Video) (1 Page)
   • Possible sources: AI-driven smoke, real-time advancements.

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📌 Section 6: Conclusion & References (2 slides)

1. Final Takeaways (1 Page)
   • Smoke and fire simulation is a balance between accuracy, speed, and control.
   • Future trends: AI, GPU advancements, real-time physics.
2. References & Acknowledgments (1 Page)
   • List of papers used with short descriptions.

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Next Steps

✅ Prepare the PowerPoint slides based on this breakdown.
✅ Gather and insert relevant videos for slides 3, 14, and 23.
✅ Summarize reference materials for the bibliography.
✅ Submit the draft at least 3 days before the presentation date (by Feb 7).

Would you like me to help design the PowerPoint template or draft the first few slides? 🚀