A GPU Accelerated Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics Capability For Houdini

Abstract

Fluid simulations are computationally intensive and therefore time consuming and expensive. In the field of visual effects, it is imperative that artists be able to efficiently move through iterations of the simulation to quickly converge on the desired result. One common fluid simulation technique is the Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) method. This method is highly parellelizable. I have implemented a method to integrate a Graphics Processor Unit (GPU) accelerated SPH capability into the 3D software package Houdini. This helps increase the speed with which artists are able to move through these iterations. This approach is extendable to allow future accelerations of the algorithm with new SPH techniques. Emphasis is placed on the infrastructure design so it can also serve as a guideline for both GPU programming and integrating custom code with Houdini.