Simulation of fluids with Blender for scientific illustration

Abstract

Physics teachers and students rarely have access to the services of a professional illustrator, so when they want to write didactic texts, they have to create their own illustrations. Representing fluids convincingly is a major challenge because of the complexity of the optical and rheological phenomena that affect the image of a fluid. Blender is a computer program with a simulation tool that allows realistic representations of fluids. The user has the option to set values of attributes such as viscosity, transparency and color, as well as defining solid obstacles to the fluid flow. As a simulation model, it is possible to choose between a continuous fluid and a fluid represented by particles. Here, we show some infographics created by the participants of ``Fluid simulation with Blender'', a project of the A3M Program (CEAD & DEC-UnB). These infographics present the main aspects of the simulation and illustration of fluids in Blender, illustrated through images produced in the program itself by our team. Thus, we offer an option of software to which teachers and students can devote themselves in order to improve the illustration of fluids in their teaching material and scientific texts.