Pseudo‐dynamics model of a cantilever beam for animating flexible leaves and branches in wind field

Abstract

AbstractWe present a pseudo‐dynamics model of a cantilever beam to visually simulate motions of leaves and branches in a wind field by considering the influence of natural frequency (f0) and damping ratio (e). Our pseudo‐dynamics model consists of a static equilibrium model, which can handle the bending of a curved beam loaded by an arbitrary force in three‐dimensions, and a dynamic motion model that describes the dynamic response of the beam subjected to turbulence. Using the static equilibrium model, we can apply it to controlling the free bending of petioles and branches. Furthermore, we extend it to a surface deformation model that can deform some flexible laminae. Based on a mass spring system, we analyze the property of dynamic response of a cantilever beam in turbulence with various combinations of f0 and e, and we give some guidelines to determine the combination types of branches and leaves according to their shapes and stiffness. The main advantage of our techniques is that we are able to deform curved branches and some flexible leaves dynamically by taking account of their structures. Finally, we demonstrate that our proposed method is effective by showing various motions of leaves and branches with different model parameters. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.