Visualizing Lagrangian Coherent Structures and Comparison to Vector Field Topology

Abstract

This paper takes a look at the visualization side of vector field anal ysis based on Lagrangian coherent structures. The Lagrangian coherent structures are extracted as height ridges of finite-time Lyapunov exponent fields. The result ing visualizations are compared to those from traditional instantaneous vector field topology of steady and unsteady vector fields: they often provide more and better interpretable information. The examination is applied to 3D vector fields from a dynamical system and practical CFD simulations.