A volume rendering visualization method oriented to explosion field features

To observe the deformation and the failure process of solid objects in explosion and impact simulations, the clarity and accuracy of simulation image representations should be ensured. However, in the results of three-dimensional (3D) explosion field rendering, surface confusion and blurred images of the microstructure often lead to misunderstandings of the simulation results. In this work, based on the ray casting method and the Blinn–Phong lighting model, a volume rendering method is proposed that can adapt to the characteristics of step changes in the explosion field data and satisfies the requirements of observing the microstructure. The Blinn–Phong lighting model is applied to the light and shade calculation of the resampling point, and the gradient of the resampling point is obtained via interpolation calculations; then, it is normalized to obtain the normal vector. Finally, the opacity of the resampling point and the associated material color are substituted into the ray casting synthesis formula. In addition, several groups of examples of visual effects are analyzed from the subjective point of view of human visual effects and the objective points of view of image entropy, the mean gradient, image mean, and standard deviation. The results show that the new method addresses the problem of interface color confusion, improves the accuracy of microstructure rendering in solid media, increases the spatial sense of visual images, and satisfies the visualization requirements for explosion products and shock waves. At the same time, this approach effectively shortens the time for volume rendering of the explosion field.