Basically, the new approach helps simulate complex surfaces in a stunningly realistic way.
"Dynamic fracture surrounds us in our day-to-day lives, but animating this phenomenon is notoriously difficult and only further complicated by anisotropic materials -- those with underlying structures that dictate preferred fracture directions." The team presented AnisoMPM (SIGGRAPH 2020 entry), a novel approach to animating the dynamic fracture of isotropic, transversely isotropic, and orthotropic materials. The new system is said to be based on three core components: a technique for anisotropic damage evolution, methods for anisotropic elastic response, and a coupling approach.
