Data Visualization, 2nd Edition

Chapter 7

Tensor Visualization

AS explained in Section 3.6.4, tensor data encode some spatial property that varies as a function of position and direction, such as the curvature of a three-dimensional surface at a given point and direction. Most visualization applications deal with rank 2 symmetric tensors, so in this chapter we shall treat only the visualization of such tensors. When represented in a global coordinate system, such tensors are 3×3 matrices. Every point in a tensor dataset carries such a matrix as its attribute data.

Tensor datasets are common in different application domains. Properties of 3D surfaces, such as curvature, can be described by curvature tensors. Material properties in mechanical engineering, such as stress and strain ...