An efficient algorithm to compute the genus of discrete surfaces and applications to turbulent flows

摘要

A simple and efficient algorithm to numerically compute the genus of surfacesof three-dimensional objects using the Euler characteristic formula ispresented. The algorithm applies to objects obtained by thresholding a scalarfield in a structured-collocated grid, and does not require any triangulationof the data. This makes the algorithm fast, memory-efficient and suitable forlarge datasets. Applications to the characterization of complex surfaces inturbulent flows are presented to illustrate the method.