On the 'most normal' normal

Given a set of normals in ℛ3, two algorithms are presented to compute the ‘most normal’ normal. The ‘most normal’ normal is the normal that minimizes the maximal angle with the given set of normals. A direct application is provided supposing a surface triangulation is available. The set of normals may represent either the face normals of the faces surrounding a point or the point normals of the points surrounding a point. The first algorithm is iterative and straightforward, and is inspired by the one proposed by Pirzadeh (AIAA Paper 94-0417, 1994). The second gives more insight into the complete problem as it provides the unique solution explicitly. It would correspond to the general extension of the algorithm presented by Kallinderis (AIAA-92-2721, 1992). Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.