Rendering in computer graphics is the process of converting a three dimensional scene description into a two dimensional image. In this work we focus on high quality rendering, which has numerous applications in entertainment and visualization. Many films today are created either entirely or in concert with computationally generated imagery and serve as a vivid example of the benefits of high quality rendering. This dissertation consists of two parts, each presenting novel work in the field of high quality, high performance rendering. The first part proposes the use of volumetric occluders, or a collection of axis-aligned boxes placed within a polygonal model, to accelerate the rendering of shadows cast by the model while producing images identical to the unaccelerated baseline. We show that our approach performs well on single object scenes and extend our approach for use with scenes from a professional open source movie. Although the technique has not yet proven itself on these multi-object scenes, we identify the scene characteristics which are hampering the approach and show that in some cases it is still possible to achieve an improvement in performance. The second part of the dissertation presents a new way to determine micropolygon tessellation rate within a Reyes style renderer. Our new scheme, called final approach tessellation, evaluates the tessellation rate close to a Reyes surface rather than upon entry into its bounding box. Our determination of the tessellation rate is more aggressive than previous approaches, producing a more compact tessellation which in turn is faster to compute and requires less memory. Our evaluation shows that although final approach tessellation is promising in theory, it ultimately fails to improve performance on actual test scenes. / text

This exploratory case study was undertaken to obtain a greater understanding of the difficulties that physics students face when solving image-object projections in optics problems. This was carried out by studying the students’ reasoning when facing new kinds of problem settings using the refraction of light and the position of the virtual image and the real object as the frame for the research. The results show that there is more than one reasoning possibility that is feasible for students to use when dealing with the same problem. The results also illustrate how several different ways of reasoning may be simultaneously needed to solve a refraction problem. The different kinds of reasoning have been referred to as reasoning categories in this study. The analysis illustrates how the categories complement each other, and the use of many reasoning categories is shown to be fruitful. However, the vast majority of the participants made contradicting answer selections when solving similar problems by using contradicting reasoning approaches. This lack of consistency in the participants’ reasoning could indicate that they have a fragmentary understanding of optics in general. Both the capability to link reasoning approaches together, as well as the affordances that different modes of representations offer, are needed for the construction of a better conceptual understanding. Only mastering a few ways of reasoning and a few modes of representation could lead to fragmented knowledge, which, in turn leads to making problem solving really challenging. One purpose of this study was to find out if reasoning categories and modes of representations are essentially linked. If so, then the reasoning categories would be determined by the representation of the problem. The analysis shows that there is a connection, but that there are also other factors at play.

In the BATHOLITHSonland seismic project, a refraction - wide-angle reflection survey was shot in 2009 across the Coast Mountains and Interior Plateau of central British Columbia. Part of the seismic profile crossed the Nechako Basin, a Jurassic-Cretaceous basin with potential for hydrocarbons within sedimentary rocks that underlie widespread volcanics. Along this 205-km-long line segment, eight explosive shots averaging 750 kg were fired and recorded on 980 seismometers. Forward and inverse modelling of the traveltime data were conducted with two independent methods: ray-tracing based modelling of first and secondary arrivals, and a higher resolution wavefront-based first-arrival seismic tomography. Gravity modelling was utilized as a means of evaluating the density structure corresponding to the final velocity model. Material with velocities less than 5.0 km/s is interpreted as sedimentary rocks of the Nechako Basin, while velocities from 5.0-6.0 km/s may correspond to interlayered sediments and volcanics. The greatest thickness of sedimentary rocks in the basin is found in the central 110 km of the profile. Two sub-basins were identified in this region, with widths of 20-50 km and maximum sedimentary depths of 2.5 km and 3.3 km. Such features are well-defined in the velocity model, since resolution tests indicate that features with widths greater than ~13 km are reliable. Beneath the sedimentary rocks, seismic velocities increase more slowly with depth – from 6.0 km/s just below the basin to 6.3 km/s at ~17 km depth, and then to 6.8-7.0 km/s at the base of the crust. The Moho is interpreted at a depth of 33.5-35 km along the profile, and mantle velocities are high at 8.05-8.10 km/s.

In ground based high frequency (HF) radio pumping experiments, absorption of ordinary (O) mode pump waves energises the ionospheric plasma, producing optical emissions and other effects. Pump-induced or natural kilometre-scale field-aligned density depletions are believed to play a role in self-focussing phenomena such as the magnetic zenith (MZ) effect, i.e., the increased plasma response observed in the direction of Earth's magnetic field. Using ray tracing, we study the propagation of ordinary (O) mode HF radio waves in an ionosphere modified by density depletions, with special attention to transmission through the radio window (RW), where O mode waves convert into the extraordinary (X, or Z) mode. The depletions are shown to shift the position of the RW, or to introduce RWs at new locations. In a simplified model neglecting absorption, we estimate the wave electric field strength perpendicular to the magnetic field at altitudes normally inaccessible. This field could excite upper hybrid waves on small scale density perturbations. We also show how transmission and focussing combine to give stronger fields in some directions, notably at angles close to the MZ, with possible implications for the MZ effect. In a separate study, we consider electromagnetic (e-m) beams with helical wavefronts (i.e., twisted beams), which are associated with orbital angular momentum (OAM). By applying geometrical optics to each plane wave component of a twisted nonparaxial e-m Bessel beam, we calculate analytically the shift of the beam's centre of gravity during propagation perpendicularly and obliquely to a weak refractive index gradient in an isotropic medium. In addition to the so-called Hall shifts expected from paraxial theory, the nonparaxial treatment reveals new shifts in both the transverse and lateral directions. In some situations, the new shifts should be significant also for nearly paraxial beams.

A method of inferring tropospheric gravity wave source characteristics from middle atmosphere observations has been adapted from previous studies for use with MF radar observations of the equatorial mesosphere-lower thermosphere at Christmas Island in the central Pacific. The nature of the techniques applied also permitted an analysis of the momentum flux associated with the characterised sources and its effects on the equatorial mean flow and diurnal solar thermal tide. An anisotropic function of gravity wave horizontal phase speed was identified as being characteristic of convectively generated source spectra. This was applied stochastically to a ray-tracing model to isolate numerical estimates of the function parameters. The inferred spectral characteristics were found to be consistent with current theories relating convective gravity wave spectra to tropospheric conditions and parameters characterising tropical deep convection. The results obtained provide observational constraints on the model spectra used in gravity wave parameterisations in numerical weather prediction and general circulation models. The interaction of gravity waves with the diurnal solar thermal tide was found to cause an amplification of the tide in the vicinity of the mesopause. The gravity wave-tidal interactions were highly sensitive to spectral width and amplitude. Estimates were made of the high frequency gravity wave contribution to forcing the MSAO with variable results. The data used in the analysis are part of a large archive which now has the potential to provide tighter constraints on wave spectra through the use of the methods developed here. / http://proxy.library.adelaide.edu.au/login?url= http://library.adelaide.edu.au/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=1352362 / Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, School of Chemistry and Physics, 2009

[pt] Os efeitos da difração na propagação de ondas de rádio sobre terreno irregular em VHF e outras bandas a ser usado por futuras aplicações da TV digital são normalmente estimados usando um dos muitos modelos clássicos. Nesta dissertação é feita uma comparação dos erros cometidos na previsão do sinal recebido por três modelos de propagação computacionalmente intensivos. Os resultados da presente comparação indicarão se os esforços computacionais envolvidos na aplicação destes métodos são capazes de diminuir o valor médio e desvio padrão das diferenças entre as medidas e predições determinadas pelos métodos clássicos. / [en] Diffraction effects on the propagation of radio wave over irregular terrain in the VHF and other bands to be used by future digital TV applications are normally estimated using one of many classical models. In this dissertation is made a comparison of the errors committed prediction of signal received by three propagation models computationally-intensive. The results of the present comparison will indicate whether the computational efforts involved on the application of these methods are capable of decreasing the mean value and the standard deviation of the difference between measurements and predictions determined by the classical methods.

A visualisation procedure was developed which predicts excited hydroxyl (OH*) radiation from the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) solutions of cryogenic hydrogen-oxygen rocket flames. The model of backward ray tracing through inhomogeneous media with a continuously changing refractive index was implemented. It obtains the optical paths of light rays that originate in the rocket chamber, pass through the window and enter a simulated camera. Through the use of spectral modelling, the emission and absorption spectra eλ and κλ are simulated on the ray path from information about temperature, pressure and concentration of constituent species at relevant points. By solving a radiative transfer equation with the integration of emission and absorption spectra along the ray line-by-line, a spectral radiance is calculated, multiplied with the spectral filter transmittance and then integrated into total radiance. The values of total radiances at the window edge are visualised as a simulated 2D image. Such images are comparable with the OH* measurement images. The modelling of refraction effects results in up to 20 % of total radiance range absolute difference compared to line-of-sight integration. The implementation of accurate self-absorption corrects significant over-prediction, which occurs if the flame is assumed to be optically thin. Modelling of refraction results in images with recognisable areas where the effect of a liquid oxygen (LOx) jet core can be observed, as the light is significantly refracted. The algorithm is parallelised and thus ready for use on big computational clusters. It uses partial pre-computation of spectra to reduce computational effort.

Ces travaux de recherche s’inscrivent dans la problématique scientifique de reconstruction du relief sous un couvert végétal à partir d’observations aéroportées. Le scanner laser aéroporté est une technique d’imagerie très prometteuse, notamment pour l’observation des zones forestières. Sa déclinaison "onde complète" consiste à émettre une impulsion laser et à enregistrer temporellement l’intégralité des échos de retour réfléchis par la scène. La forme des échos de retour fournit des informations sur l’épaisseur optique du couvert végétal. De nombreux systèmes commerciaux sont en exploitation, en particulier en topographie ou en bathymétrie. Mais ces systèmes ne sont pas dédiés à l’observation de la végétation. L’objectif de cette thèse est l’étude de l’intérêt de ces systèmes pour la construction de modèle numérique de terrain (MNT) sous couvert végétal. Elle est basée sur le développement d’outils de simulation du signal temporel incident au capteur lidar et de traitement des données. Dans un premier temps, le modèle physique de lidar onde complète, DELiS (n-Dimensional Estimation of Lidar Signals) a été développé. Il permet de simuler l’observation de scènes de végétation réalistes, tout en incluant la prise en compte de l’environnement extérieur (atmosphère, soleil) ainsi que des caractéristiques de la source et de la chaîne de détection (bruits de mesure). DELiS a été validé par confrontation à des résultats analytiques. Ensuite, DELIS a permis de comprendre et d’évaluer l’importance des diffusions multiples dans le couvert en fonction du champ de vue du lidar mais aussi de justifier l’utilisation d’acquisitions aéroportées petit champ pour simuler le signal d’un lidar spatial plus grand champ. Dans une deuxième étape, ses capacités de simulation ont été utilisées afin d’étudier l’intérêt du lidar onde complète pour la reconstruction d’un MNT sous couvert végétal. Dans ce but, nous avons développé et implémenté numériquement une méthode originale de traitement et de classification des données lidar onde complète permettant de séparer les échos lidar provenant du sol de ceux provenant de la végétation. Après classification des échos, nous avons reconstruit la géométrie du sol et des objets occultés par la végétation. Enfin, nous avons étudié comment combiner des données aéroportées acquises sous différents points de vue afin d’améliorer les reconstructions. Nos travaux montrent que le scanner laser aéroporté onde complète pourrait permettre d’obtenir en milieux forestier des reconstructions de la géométrie du terrain à des résolutions sub-métriques et avec une précision de l’ordre de 10 à 20 centimètres. La combinaison de visées multi-angulaire permet, par l’apport d’une quantité importante d’information supplémentaire, d’améliorer encore la reconstruction du MNT. Nous montrons cependant que les visées inclinées sont plus sensibles à la présence des troncs et branchages des arbres, éléments qui sont susceptibles d’introduire une erreur importante dans les processus de classification et de reconstruction. Pour cette raison, nous recommandons l’utilisation de la visée nadir pour la reconstruction mono-vue des modèles numériques de terrain, et nous proposons une méthode permettant de choisir de façon optimale les visées inclinées à ajouter pour l’observation détaillée d’une portion plus restreinte de la scène. / This research work regards the scientific challenge of reconstructing the ground and the object presents under a vegetation cover from airborne observations. Airborne laser scanning is a promising technology. Full-waveform devices are able to record the complete temporal return signal following the emission of a short laser pulse towards the ground. This offers a great potential for remote sensing of forested areas, since the laser pulse will travel through the vegetation. Many commercial systems are already operated for topography or bathymetry. Scientists have been using these systems for vegetation observation, even if they are not dedicated to this purpose. The objective of this thesis is to study the relevance of full-waveform lidars for the geometric reconstruction of digital terrain models (DTM) under vegetation. We also aim at developing simulation and data processing toolsthat will help design and optimize future sensors dedicated to vegetation observation. Our first task was the development of a new physical simulator for full-waveform lidar measurement. The DELiS model (n-Dimensional Estimation of Lidar Signals) is able tosimulate the observation of complex and realistic vegetation scenes while accounting for atmosphere and sun perturbations, and simulating the multiple scattering of the laser pulse in the canopy. We have also implemented a sensor model for simulation of the measurement, amplification and digitization noises. This operational simulation tool is a key asset for future physical studies as well as for designing and optimizing future sensors and data processing methods. After validating the DELiS model by confrontation with analytical results, we have used it for studying the interest of full-waveform lidar for digital terrain models reconstruction under vegetation. For this purpose, we have developed a full-waveform lidar data processing method for decomposition of the signals and classification of the lidar echoes into two classes : ’ground’ and ’vegetation’. We were then able to reconstruct ground geometry.Finally, we have led a study on the combination of multi-angular acquisitions for improvement of the reconstructions.Our work shows that airborne full-waveform lidar observations may allow ground reconstruction with sub-metric resolutions and a precision of 10 to 20 centimeters in forested areas. Combining multiple viewing angles provides additional data, and helps improving the precision of the reconstructions. Yet, we show that non-nadir viewing is much more sensitive to trunks and branches. These elements may be the cause of an additional error in the classification and reconstruction processes. For this reason, we recommend using nadir viewing for single-view ground reconstruction, and propose a method for optimally selecting non-nadir views for the detailed observation of restricted areas of interest.

Für die Herstellung von immer kleiner werdenden elektronischen Bauteilen ist es notwendig, Schichten verschiedener Stoffe auf einem Substrat abzuscheiden. Dazu werden häufig Verfahren verwendet, bei denen Gase in kleine Strukturen eindringen und dort an der Oberfläche reagieren. Damit können Schichten abgeschieden werden. Bei der Gasströmung in mikroskopischen Strukturen auf einem Wafer zeigt sich ein anderes Strömungsverhalten als bei einer Gasströmung in einer makroskopischen Struktur bei Normaldruck. Dabei sind Kollisionen zwischen Gasteilchen oft vernachlässigbar, und die Kollisionen von Teilchen mit der Geometrie, in der sich das Gas befindet, überwiegen. Zur Untersuchung solcher Vorgänge ist es von Interesse, eine derartige Gasströmung und die entsprechenden Schichtabscheidungen simulieren zu können. In dieser Arbeit wurde ein Simulationsverfahren entwickelt, welches Gase im Bereich der freien Molekülströmung und deren chemische und physikalische Interaktionen an Oberflächen simulieren kann. Die Simulationen sind dabei speziell für die freie Molekülströmung optimiert und ist nicht auf viele Aspekte angewiesen, die in anderen Strömungsregimen notwendig sind. Dies geschieht mittels einer Monte-Carlo-Simulation von Teilchen, welche mittels Pfadverfolgung in einer beliebigen dreidimensionalen Geometrie simuliert werden können. Dabei kann eine große Menge an verschiedenen Wechselwirkungen von Teilchen mit den Wänden der Geometrie simuliert werden. Es erfolgten Vergleiche mit bekannten Literaturwerten, wie der Durchlasswahrscheinlichkeit eines Zylinders oder einem einzelnen ALD Schritt in einem zylinderförmigen Loch bei verschiedenen Adsorptionswahrscheinlichkeiten. Das verwendete Simulationsverfahren erlaubt eine einfache Erweiterung von Wechselwirkungen, welche an Oberflächen auftreten können. So wurde auch ein PVD Verfahren und der Einfluss eines Kollimators auf die Teilchenströmung untersucht.:Inhaltsverzeichnis Abbildungsverzeichnis Tabellenverzeichnis Abkürzungsverzeichnis Symbolverzeichnis 1 Motivation und Einführung 2 Grundlagen 2.1 Knudsenzahl 2.1.1 Strömungsregime 2.1.2 Mittlere freie Weglänge bei verschiedenen Teilchenarten 2.2 Schichtabscheidungen 2.2.1 Chemische Gasphasenabscheidung 2.2.2 Atomlagenabscheidung 2.2.3 Physikalische Gasphasenabscheidung 2.3 Chemische Reaktionen an Oberflächen 2.3.1 Adsorption an einer freien Oberfläche 2.4 Simulationsansätze 2.4.1 Direct Simulation Monte Carlo 2.4.2 Angular Coefficient Method 2.4.3 Pfadverfolgung von Teilchen 2.4.4 Finite Volumen Methoden 3 Modellentwicklung 3.1 Grundidee 3.2 Interaktionen an Wänden 3.2.1 Reflexion und Reemission von Teilchen 3.2.2 Chemische Reaktionen 3.2.3 Tabellierte Oberflächeninteraktionen 3.3 Erweiterung für Bereiche geringerer Knudsenzahlen 3.4 Implementation 3.4.1 Wandkollisionen 3.4.2 Raytracing und Unterteilung der Geometrie 3.4.3 Simulationsdefinition 3.4.4 Simulationen in 2D 4 Simulationen und Ergebnisse 4.1 Durchlasswahrscheinlichkeit eines Hohlzylinders 4.2 Durchlasswahrscheinlichkeit durch ein gekrümmtes Rohr in 2D 4.3 ALD in einem zylinderförmigen Loch 4.4 Gleichgewicht zwischen Adsorption und Desorption an einer Oberfläche 4.5 Sputterabscheidung von Kupfer in einem PVD-Reaktor 4.5.1 Simulationen in einem Vakuum 4.5.2 Simulation bei Verwendung eines Hintergrundgases 5 Zusammenfassung und Ausblick 5.1 Zusammenfassung 5.2 Ausblick Literaturverzeichnis Danksagung Selbstständigkeitserklärung

This thesis deals with design of optical system for road lighting luminaire. In the beginning the basic photometric quantities and assessment methodology for requirements of lighting class M are described. The next step is the programming of algorithm which evaluates the road lighting requirements using few boundary conditions. The input of the algorithm is also luminous intensity (power emitted in a particular direction). By the turning the algorithm over, it is possible to evaluate the luminous intensity from the road lighting requirements. Those luminous intensities are used in the process of modification of optical lens. The ray tracing of modified models of lenses was performed to obtain the tables of luminous intensity. The values of luminous intensity are verified in the same algorithm. Finally, the comparison of results was made including several luminaires out there.