Rope simulation

Simulation of a rope under the effect of gravity

Concepts	Verlet Integration, Constraints, Real-time Simulation
Context	Introduction to C++ and Numerical Methods course
Status	Completed

Table of Contents

• Implementation
• Folder Structure
• Building Instructions
• References

Implementation

Folder Structure

Rope_simulation
├── dependencies/          # Third-party libraries (GLFW, GLAD, GLM, KHR)
├── src/
│   ├── physics/           # Rope physics and numerical integration
│   │   ├── constraints_JakobsenMethod.*
│   │   ├── systemDynamics.*
│   │   └── updatePositions_verletIntegration.*
│   │
│   ├── shaders/           # GLSL shader programs
│   │
│   ├── rendering.*        # Rendering pipeline and OpenGL drawing
│   ├── libraries.h        # External library includes
│   ├── glad.c             # OpenGL loader source
│   └── main.cpp           # Application entry point
│
├── CMakeLists.txt         # Build configuration
└── README.md

Description

• dependencies/ – Contains all third-party libraries required to build the project. No additional downloads are needed.

• physics/ – Implements the rope simulation using Verlet integration and Jakobsen's constraint relaxation method.

• shaders/ – GLSL vertex and fragment shaders used for rendering.

• rendering.cpp / rendering.h – Handles OpenGL rendering, drawing routines, and visualization.

• main.cpp – Initializes the application, creates the simulation, and manages the main loop.

• CMakeLists.txt – Defines the build configuration using CMake.

Building Instructions

Windows building

All relevant libraries are found in /dependencies. It is necessary to download and configure CMake (https://cmake.org/download/). Run CMake script and generate project of choice.

Linux/WSL building

It is necessary to have CMake, Git and the required packages: Using root (sudo) and type apt-get install libsoil-dev libglm-dev libglew-dev libglfw3-dev

Build through CMake command line:

cd /path/to/Rope_simulation
mkdir build && cd build
cmake ..
make

References

1. R. Badea, Owlree—Simulating a Rope (Games Series). Accessed: Apr. 4, 2024.