Material Point Method (MPM) -

Paper: Modeling large-deformation features of the Lower San Fernando Dam failure with the Material Point Method – Soga Research Group

Houdini's MPM solver just made dirt physics look this good. Sergei Sukhorukov has been experimenting with it to simulate how a tire's contact patch interacts with soil, capturing displacement and compression in real time with a level of fidelity that's rarely seen in procedural automotive VFX. For anyone working on vehicle dynamics or environment interaction in CG, this kind of tool opens up a lot of possibilities. MPM (Material Point Method) is exceptionally well-suited for granular materials l

Point-Based Methods in Shape Modeling and Physical Simulation

2.1: Melting Point Analysis