Elastic Simulation of Joints with Particle-Based Fluid

Abstract

Skinning, which is used in skeletal simulations to express the human body, has been weighted between bones to enable muscle-like motions. Weighting is not a form of calculating the pressure and density of muscle fibers in the human body. Therefore, it is not possible to express physical changes when external forces are applied. To express a similar behavior, an animator arbitrarily customizes the weight values. In this study, we apply the kernel and pressure-dependent density variations used in particle-based fluid simulations to skinning simulations. As a result, surface tension and elasticity between particles are applied to muscles, indicating realistic human motion. We also propose a tension yield condition that reflects Tresca’s yield condition, which can be easily approximated using the difference between the maximum and minimum values of the principal stress to simulate the tension limit of the muscle fiber. The density received by particles in the kernel is assumed to be the principal stress. The difference is calculated by approximating the moment of greatest force to the maximum principal stress and the moment of least force to the minimum principal stress. When the density of a particle increases beyond the yield condition, the object is no longer subjected to force. As a result, one can express realistic muscles.