Computer graphics in civil engineering at RPI

The use of interactive computer graphics in civil engineering education at RPI is discussed. Emphasis is placed on how specific software packages are used in courses to increase a student's understanding of basic problem behavior and to reduce the effort required to generate meaningful problem inputs for computer solution.     

The impact of computer graphics on mechanical engineering education at the Ohio State University

Three years ago, The Ohio State University began to incorporate computer graphics into the regular undergraduate and graduate curriculum in Mechanical Engineering. This required the establishment of a graphics facility dedicated to Mechanical Engineering and changes in course structure to use the facility. This paper describes the formulation of the graphics laboratory, changes made to integrate computer graphics and computer aided design into several courses, and the favorable impact this has had on the curriculum.     

A Type of Triangular Ball Surface and its Properties

A new type of bivariate generalized Ball basis function on a triangle is presented for free-form surface design.Some properties of the basis function are given,then degree elevation,recursive evaluation and some other properties of the generalized Ball surfaces are also derived.It is shown that the proposed recursive evaluation algorithm is more efficient than those of the old surfaces.     

Desktop haptic virtual assembly using physically based modelling

This research investigates the feasibility of using a desktop haptic virtual environment as a design tool for evaluating assembly operations. Bringing virtual reality characteristics to the desktop, such as stereo vision, further promotes the use of this technology into the every day engineering design process. In creating such a system, the affordability and availability of hardware/software tools is taken into consideration. The resulting application combines several software packages including VR Juggler, open dynamics engine (ODE)/open physics abstraction layer (OPAL), OpenHaptics, and OpenGL/GLM/GLUT libraries to explore the benefits and limitations of combining haptics with physically based modelling. The equipment used to display stereo graphics includes a Stereographics emitter, Crystal Eyes shutter glasses, and a high refresh rate CRT Monitor. One or two-handed force feedback is obtained from various PHANTOM haptic devices from SensAble Technologies Inc. The application’s ability to handle complex part interactions is tested using two different computer systems, which approximate the higher and lower end of a typical engineer’s workstation. Different test scenarios are analyzed and results presented.     

Computer Graphics and Man-Machine Interactions

During the past 10 years, there has been a considerable growth of interest in the problems of applying computer graphics techniques to practical use. This interest has created an increasing need for the applications of theoretical computer graphics methods to software and hardware systems that are cost-effective as well as user-oriented. A number of books have been published on the subject of computer graphics, and some rather cost-effective graphics devices have been designed and built for practical use. The latter has mainly been the result of microminiaturization technology of the last five years. Microprocessors, microcomputers, and microprogrammability have helped considerably in making cost-effective display devices a reality, the intelligence of such devices being limited only by the capability of the microprocessors. Applications of computer graphics have steadily increased in such areas as engineering, design, education, medicine/biomedicine, chemistry, business, analysis, computer-aided design, management, structural design, simulation, and communication.     

USE of computer graphics instruments in application-oriented training

Training in the field of computer graphics usage is important for all engineering courses. Both in design and in production, as well as in technical marketing, graphic representations constitute an important means of expression for the engineer. In connection with the training of engineers, three directions of training can be discerned: basic principles of computer graphics, computer-aided design (CAD) systems with their design and application and employment of CAD systems as a new aid for the designer. Methodical didactic training constitutes a precondition for profitable application of the methods of computer graphics.     

A fixed-point DSP for graphics engines

The use of the 16-bit ADSP-2100 digital signal microprocessor as a fixed-point, low-end graphics engine for applications such as video games and small computer graphics packages is examined. It serves as the basis for a complete, hardware-oriented approach to performing graphics operations on a 3-D database. Normalization and formatting are performed to avoid overflow and preserve data formats through the transformation operation. Data structures that facilitate object rendering through the Bresenham line-segment drawing algorithm are used. A 3×3 rotation matrix is derived for this application, and the means for implementing translation, scaling, perspective, and zooming are described     

CAL in nuclear engineering: A personal case study

Computer Assisted Learning (CAL) plays an important role in the teaching of nuclear engineering at Queen Mary College. This role is illustrated by reference to examples taken from a suite of nuclear engineering packages in current use. The various features used in the design of a package are described. The author has had experience of these packages as an undergraduate and now as a member of the College staff. This unique position enables him to carry out a critical review of the packages used throughout the nuclear engineering course.     

Selection criteria for graphics hardware

Engineering design and drafting applications currently account for the largest number of computer graphics applications; however, experts predict that the growth of business graphics applications will exceed all others in the industry. Selection criteria for the various graphics hardware components commonly used in business environments—displays, terminals, hardcopy devices, input devices and storage media—will be discussed, with an emphasis on technology trends.     

如何给测绘工程专业的学生讲授计算机图形学

本文将计算机图形学与测绘工程专业的特点相结合,给出了更加贴近测绘工程专业的计算机图形学讲授方法。实践证明,通过分析测绘工程专业的主干课程及其与计算机图形学的关联,在讲授计算机图形学的过程中侧重对与测绘工程相关知识的介绍,使学生感觉更加亲切与实用,教学效果良好。     

An aide for instruction on integrated engineering design and support

Effective management of engineering information is critically needed for the design of future complex engineering systems. Yet engineers are not trained in engineering data base management concepts. To help address this issue, a prototype integrated design system has been developed for the Air Force to aide research and instruction on key integration concepts, including (1) the use of a shared data base to eliminate redundancies and inconsistencies; (2) the use of a relational data base management system to store, locate, and retrieve data from the shared data base; (3) the development of interfacing programs to act as interpreters between the application programs and the common data base; and (4) the role of executive software to manage the integrated system. Key software used includes a computer-aided design system, a structural analysis program, various graphics packages, and a relational data base management system. To assess system flexibility, additional programs were added to the system. The design of the data base proved to be an important step in this implementation. Several methodologies useful in the design of the data base were investigated and subsequently used to organize the data base for the integrated design system. Results discussed include system development, and applications, as well as the effectiveness of the integrated system's configuration.     

浅谈软件工程学在软件类学生毕业设计中的应用

软件工程学是指导计算机应用专业软件类学生进行毕业设计的重要工具之一。将毕业生设计过程、文档书写与软件工程学紧密结合起来是提高学生毕业设计论文质量的一个重要途径。本文结合软件工程的基本知识,通过对软件类学生毕业设计过程存在的常见问题的研究,提出了应用软件工程学去指导学生毕业设计的方法。     

一种支持群体设计的工程数据库管理系统的结构及实现

计算机支持下的群体合作设计是一种新的ＣＡＤ工作环境，而工程数据库管理系统则是ＣＡＤ／ＤＡＭ／ＣＩＭＳ等统计数据管理的基础。为了支持群体协同设计，工程数据库管理必须研究适应于群体工作的系统结构和工作模式。     

Interactive computer graphics in c.a.d.

The mid-1970s will make its mark as the period when interactive computer graphics came of age. Factors such as advances in hardware technology, the expanding number of different types of applications which have recognized the use of interactive computer graphics and the growing number of commercially available systems have contributed to the realization of interactive computer graphics as a cost-effective production tool. What is now needed is improvement in system software which will facilitate interfacing commercially available systems with existing c.a.d. processes and procedures.

This review paper was presented at the 2nd International Conference on computers in engineering and building design, organized by Computer Aided Design journal and held in London on March 23–25 1976.     

浅谈软件工程学在软件类学生毕业设计中的应用

软件工程学是指导计算机应用专业软件类学生进行毕业设计的重要工具之一。将毕业生设计过程、文档书写与软件工程学紧密结合起来是提高学生毕业设计论文质量的一个重要途径。本文结合软件工程的基本知识，通过对软件类学生毕业设计过程存在的常见问题的研究．提出了应用软件工程学去指导学生毕业设计的方法。     

AutoCAD三维实体图形生成二维图形的实现

计算机辅助设计(CAD)是计算机应用技术中一项重要的技术。在CAD领域中,技术人员利用专门的计算机辅助设计软件来制作表现物体几何特征。AutoCAD是新一代计算机辅助设计软件,其功能强大,使用方便的特点在多种工程设计中得到广泛的应用。AutoCAD有强大的三维功能,可以在三维空间中先建立模型并从不同角度观察和处理模型,从三维模型可以生成各个方向的视图。本文主要介绍在AutoCAD中使用相关命令完成三维实体图形生成二维图形的方法。     

三维造型设计与工程图学的有效融合

随着计算机软硬件技术的普及和飞速发展以及制造业对二维计算机绘图以及三维设计造型技术日益增长的需求,在工程图学教学中有效地融入二维计算机绘图以及三维设计造型技术已显得尤为重要。论文介绍了北京理工大学在工程图学和三维造型创新设计方面“外挂式、分段式和融合式”三种模式的教学改革实践,并着重对如何将三维造型设计与工程图学有效地融合进行了论述。     

工程图学内涵的变化与发展

工程图学是研究工程图样表达与技术交流的一门学科。图形计算及数字化制造等 技术的飞快发展,正在改变着工程图的呈现介质、应用范围、交流主体、甚至工程图本身的定 义。这些变化正在刷新着工程图学的内涵,同时,也正在重塑人们对工程表达与交流的认知。 为此,本文力图挖掘工程图学在变化中的共性基础理论,分析其变化中的发展规律与趋势,并 讨论数字化制造背景下的工程图学的发展定位以及与发展相适应的工程图学知识体系。最后给 出与此相适应的教学定位、教材规划以及教学模式。     

中国图形工程：2001

该文是关于“中国图形工程”年度文献综述系列之七。为了让图形学及其相关领域内的理论研究和开发人员对中国图形学研究进展有一个全面的了解，以及为读者查阅相关文献提供方便，对2001年发表的有关计算机图形学的主要论文根据内容进行了分类和统计，这些学术研究和技术应用论文是从图形学论文发表比较集的11种中文期刊上选取出来的，另外，还介绍了2001年有关的重要会议情况。     

Developments of CAD in civil engineering reviewed

Substantial progress has been made during the past decade in making the computer an effective analytical tool for the design engineer. However more recent development has concentrated on various features of a design offices final product. These areas comprise production of construction drawings, interactive graphics, colour graphics, pre-and post-processing of input and output data, linking analysis programs to modular design programs to provide a rapid transfer of design to the latest code requirement, use of microcomputers and personal computers. There is also significant software development for site management, cost analysis, general administration and documentation related to construction. This takes advantage of the availability of cheaper hardware which can communicate with other computers elsewhere in a network. User interaction facilities are being built into programs which allow the engineer to concentrate on design decisions. This paper reviews the developments during the last two-three years in CAD in Civil Engineering.