Selective flow visualization of traced particles

A method for tracing a plurality of virtual particles through a flow field, comprising:

• receiving a flow field encompassing a flow domain;
• dividing the flow domain into a plurality of cells;
• establishing a simulation of a plurality of virtual particles placed at an inlet of the flow domain;
• generating a statistical representation for each of the plurality of cells representing one or more flow properties for that corresponding cells, wherein the statistical representation comprises a histogram for each of the plurality of cells representing the collected one or more flow properties for that corresponding cells, wherein the histogram includes, for each of the one or more flow properties, a plurality of bins defining ranges of property values and a count of virtual particles within that cell that exhibit those properties;
• determining how the statistical representation for the plurality of cells change over time as a result of the flow field;
• and
• rendering a graphical representation of the plurality of particles within the flow domain based on the statistical representation for the plurality of cells over time with a graphics processor.

A computer system comprising:

• a processor;
• and
• a non-transitory, tangible, program storage medium, readable by the computer system, embodying a program of instructions executable by the processor to perform method steps for tracing a plurality of virtual particles through a flow field, the method comprising:
• receiving a flow field encompassing a flow domain;
• dividing the flow domain into a plurality of cells;
• defining a plurality of virtual particles within the flow domain;
• collecting one or more values for flow properties at each of the plurality of cells;
• generating a statistical representation for each of the plurality of cells representing the collected one or more flow properties for that corresponding cells, wherein the statistical representation comprises a histogram for each of the plurality of cells representing the collected one or more flow properties for that corresponding cells, wherein the histogram includes, for each of the one or more flow properties, a plurality of bins defining ranges of property values and a count of virtual particles within that cell that exhibit those properties;
• advecting the statistical representation for the plurality of cells with respect to the flow field over time;
• and
• rendering a graphical representation of the plurality of particles within the flow domain based on the advected statistical representation for the plurality of cells.