Non structured meshes for Cloth GPU simulation using FEM

Abstract

We present a Finite Element Method (FEM) implementation for cloth simulation on the GPU. The advantages of FEM are twofold: the realism of cloth simulations using this method is improved compared with other methods like the widely used mass-spring one, and it has a wider application rank because it can be used for general triangulated cloth meshes. We are able to detect collisions between cloth and other objects (solids or deformables) and also we deal with self cloth collisions. This is also done in the GPU using image-based collision methods. We have also improved a GPU-Gradient Conjugate method for solving the linear equation systems involved in the FEM solution. Two more methods are also implemented in the GPU to compare with the FEM method: a mass-spring model (based on rectangular meshes) and a constraint method (based on triangular meshes).