Paraview based block model visualization

cobo GmbH Cornelis Bockemühl (c) 2018

 ParaView

www.paraview.org
ParaView is an open-source, multi-platform data analysis and

« »
visualization application. ParaView users can quickly build visualizations
to analyze their data using qualitative and quantitative techniques. …
ParaView was developed to analyze extremely large datasets using
distributed memory computing resources. It can be run on
supercomputers to analyze datasets of petascale as well as on laptops
for smaller data. ParaView is an application framework as well as a turn-
key application.

Started in 2002 as a cooperation between Kitware Inc. and the

Los Alamos National Laboratory
cobo 2018 AthosGEO View 2
 ParaView Examples → website!

cobo 2018 AthosGEO View 3

 ParaView Flavors

● Desktop application – single PC (Windows, Linux etc.)

● Client/Server architecture
● Parallel computing
● Python:
– operate PV inside Python script
– extend PV functionality with Python
● ParaView Web
cobo 2018 AthosGEO View 4
 ParaView Customization

● Plugins (Python, C++):

– "Readers" → reading input data
– "Filters" → data processing
– "Views" → data visualization
– "Writers" → writing data
● Customization:
– AthosGEO is a ParaView "custom application", with customized
menus, toolbars and plugins
cobo 2018 AthosGEO View 5
 The Data Pipeline

● A basic concept of ParaView is the data pipeline: Source

– Sources: generate data or read from file
– Filters: process the data – everything! Filter 1
● can have 1 or more input ports
● can have 1 or more output ports Filter 2

– Sinks: visualize data, or write them to file

Viewer
Sources and Sinks are just special cases of filters, with either no input
port (sources) or no output port (sinks)
Writer

cobo 2018 AthosGEO View 6

 AthosGEO - Block Models & more

● Block Model Reader – the first AthosGEO plugin

– Input is a CSV ("Comma Separated Values", plain text) file
– Some columns with special meaning
– Model can be written back to CSV,
manipulated and re-imported
● DXF Reader (ported from ParaViewGeo)
– triangulated surfaces, lines, boundaries etc.
– Writer (AthosGEO) supports only surfaces – so far
cobo 2018 AthosGEO View 7
 Colors, Cuts, Charts and Numbers

● Attributes – color coded

Histograms ● Slice and cut views
● Histograms, box charts and
correlations
Cross sections
● Table views – raw data and
summaries
Tables
cobo 2018 AthosGEO View 8
 Assign Values to Attributes (cont.)
● Generate Pit Attribute filter – using triangulated
surface:
– value 100 if block is fully above the "topo"
– value 0 if block is fully below
– intermediate value if the block is cut by the "topo"
● Generate Zone Attribute filter – using boundary
line:
– as above: 100 for "inside", 0 for "outside" and
intermediate if cut

cobo 2018 AthosGEO View 9

 Selection

● Selecting blocks is the base of many "filters":

– Automatic selection – based on criteria
● value > 50
● value less than mean
● etc.
– Manual selection – in 3D or table view
● block by block
● with rectangle or polygon
● select "on" or select "through"

cobo 2018 AthosGEO View 10

 Conclusion

● Solid base for data visualization and analysis:

– Inherited from ParaView: 3D views, tables and charts
– Added for AthosGEO: Reading and manipulating block models
● Specialized customer solutions:
– Add plugins and customize the user interface
– No need to re-invent any wheels –
specially not if it is about impressive 3D visualizations

cobo 2018 AthosGEO View 11