Celeris Base: An interactive and immersive Boussinesq-type nearshore wave simulation software

Abstract

We introduce our interactive and immersive coastal wave simulation software, Celeris Base, which is the successor to Celeris Advent. Celeris Base is an open source software developed in the Unity3D game engine and in C# language. It supports an interactive environment and allows users to view the simulations in a virtual reality headset. Celeris Base solves the same equations as Celeris Advent, the extended Boussinesq equations, using our hybrid finite volume–finite difference method. These equations are solved on the GPU using compute shaders, written in HLSL. Celeris Base has several new features such as 360°video capturing, geographic map overlays, built-in real-time gauge plotters, etc. It also improves the implementation of the sponge layer boundary condition by introducing new damping equations. Celeris Base is designed and implemented using the best software engineering practices in the hope that it will be a base for further developments of the Celeris software series by researchers around the globe. We validate Celeris Base against experimental results in this paper. Program summaryProgram Title: Celeris BaseProgram Files doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.17632/jdx7tddcxz.1Licensing provisions: MIT LicenseProgramming language: C#, HLSLNature of problem: Celeris Advent enabled researchers and engineers for the first time to simulate nearshore waves with a Boussinesq-type model, faster than real-time and in an interactive environment. However, its development platform and implementation complexity hindered researchers from developing it further and made adding new features to the software a daunting task. The software used graphics shaders to solve scientific equations which could be confusing for many. The visualization environment was wired from scratch which made it very difficult to add features such as virtual reality.Solution method: A new software is developed completely from scratch following Celeris Advent, called Celeris Base. This software uses the same hybrid finite volume–finite difference scheme to solve the extended Boussinesq equations, but using a variant of shaders called compute shaders, removing possible barriers for other researchers to understand the code and develop it further. The software is developed in Unity3D, a popular game engine with a large and helpful community as well as thousands of ready to use plugins. Celeris Base is equipped with virtual reality and is the first nearshore simulation software to provide this feature.