Facility Vulnerability with VISAC

QuickView 3D

This program generates a 3D view of the plant geometry by converting all of the solids into groups of triangles. While very fast, some features of the geometry are not preserved, such as curved surfaces or very small details. This geometry viewer can also used to set individual component failure probabilities for VISAC Component Damage incidents.

Rendering

Rendering can be done in four different ways: show the points of each triangle, show the lines of every triangle, show the lines of every triangle facing the camera (wireframe) or shade each triangle facing the camera. These rendering modes can be activated using either the 'Scene' menu, 'Render Style' option or by using the icons in the tool bar.

Navigation

Navigation is done by either through the 'Scene' menu, 'Camera' option or by using the mouse. Menu commands include camera position (moves camera up, down, right, left, forward or backward), camera orientation (twists camera up, down, right or left), and camera revolution, which rotates the camera around the model (up, down, right or left). The default view can be obtained using the menu 'Scene', option 'Camera', option 'Default View'. Clicking on any point of the geometry will center that point within the view screen.

For navigation with the mouse, first the mouse mode must be chosen using one of the icons on the tool bar. There are four mouse modes: Move, Turn, Pivot and Select. In Move mode, clicking and holding the mouse will move the position of the camera. Similarly, in Turn or Pivot mode, clicking and holding the mouse will turn the direction of the camera or pivot the camera about a fixed point. Select Mode allow the user to define a rectangle (click, drag, release) to zoom to. Using the mouse wheel will move the camera position forwards and backwards, independent of which mouse mode is active.

Figure 7. A generic plant shown with QuickView 3D.

Standard Features

As the mouse is moved around the image, the status bar below the image shows the coordinates (usually feet), the name of the region, and the material code for the region. For detailed models, the names of critical components and their damage probabilities will also be displayed. For basic models, the building name will be displayed.

The geometries for the VISAC library plants have collections of related regions called groups. These groups can be selected or de-selected for display by using the 'Geometry' menu, 'Choose Groups' option.

Colors for each material type present can also be selected by the user by using the 'Geometry' menu, 'Materials/Colors' option. Another way to help visualize the interior of facilities is to make some of the materials transparent. Associated with each material is an alpha value. An alpha of 255 makes a material completely opaque and an alpha of 0 makes a material completely transparent. An alpha value in between will give different levels of transparency. The background color, which defaults to cyan, can also be changed by the user.

The 'File' menu allows the geometry to be exported or the current image to be saved.

'Export Geometry' option - writes out the geometry information in a variety of formats, including BRL-CAD, WaveFront and Unreal Tournament.
'Save Image as JPEG' - creates a *.jpeg file for the current view.
'Copy Image to Clipboard' - copies the current image to the system clipboard, which can then be pasted into other programs, such as MS Word.

QuickView Features

Simple animation is available by either the menu 'Animate', 'Spin' option or by using the spin icon in the tool bar. To stop spinning, use the menu 'Animate', option 'Stop' or the stop icon in the tool bar.

For systems with three monitors attached as a single desktop, a three-screen view can be launched with the "triple screen" icon. This makes for a miniature CAVE-like environment. Parameters for screen sizes and viewing distance are set using the 'Scene' menu, 'Advanced Options' choice.

The 3D Ray Tracer package can be launched from QuickView using the current camera angle by using the menu 'File', 'Launch Ray Tracer' option. Once a good view of the plant is shown, the Ray Tracer can be used to make presentation-quality images.

Menu 'Scene', option 'Cut Planes' allows the user to set upper and lower limits to the render. This can be used to cut the top or bottom off of a facility to view internal structures.

Advanced Options

The 'Scene' menu, 'Advanced Options' options allows the users to control some of the finer points of the 3D rendering. These options include the background color (default is white), culling (which triangle faces to hide), the step sizes to take when performing a camera position or orientation change, and the strengths of the ambient and directional lighting, as well as the material shininess, which can be set to enhance the 3D look of the image. The spin rotation rate is also set here, in number of rotations per minute. Changes in these parameters should be seen in the image immediately.

Setting Component Damage

When used to set critical component failure probabilities for a Component Damage incident, simply double click on a critical component to bring up a window to set that component's failure probability. Damaged components will appear in a different color. There are two tricks to help pick components out of buildings:

Make the walls completely transparent - 'Geometry' menu, 'Materials/Colors' option, select the material concrete, set its alpha value to 0.
Turn off the groups that contain the walls - 'Geometry' menu, 'Choose Groups' option.

When done, simply close the viewer ('File', 'Close') and the updated component damage will be returned to the incident.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory, 2004

Return to the VISAC home page