ACM Transactions on Graphics (Proceedings of SIGGRAPH), 2025

Stressful Tree Modeling:
Breaking Branches with Strands

      Bosheng Li¹       Nikolas A. Schwarz²       Wojtek Pałubicki³       Sören Pirk²       Dominik L. Michels⁴       Bedrich Benes¹      

¹Purdue University, USA
²Kiel University, Germany
³AMU, Poland
⁴KAUST, Saudi Arabia

Abstract

We propose a novel approach for the computational modeling of lignified tissues, such as those found in tree branches and timber. We leverage a state-of-the-art strand-based representation for tree form, which we extend to describe biophysical processes at short and long time scales. Simulations at short time scales enable us to model different breaking patterns due to branch bending, twisting, and breaking. On long timescales, our method enables the simulation of realistic branch shapes under the influence of plausible biophysical processes, such as the development of compression and tension wood. We specifically focus on computationally fast simulations of woody material, enabling the interactive exploration of branches and wood breaking. By leveraging Cosserat rod physics, our method enables the generation of a wide variety of breaking patterns. We showcase the capabilities of our method by performing and visualizing numerous experiments.

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Bibtex

@article{Li:2025:StressfulTreeModeling,
  author    = {B. Li, N. Schwarz, W. Palubicki, S. Pirk, D. L. Michels, B. Benes},
  title     = {Stressful Tree Modeling: Breaking Branches with Strands},
  journal   = {SIGGRAPH Conference Papers},
  year      = {2025},
  month     = {},
  volume    = {},
  number    = {},
  doi       = {},
  publisher = {ACM},
  address   = {New York, NY, USA}
}