Weight Distributions of Particle Beds on the Bottom of a Container by a Computer Simulation

Abstract

Weight distributions of particle beds on the bottom of a container are obtained from a computer simulation. Three typical types of beds of spherical particles are dealt with : beds formed by particle feeding from the center of the cylinder (a) without and (b) with the wall effect, and beds (c) formed by particle feeding from the periphery. This paper deals with vertical forces only; the transverse forces acting on each sphere are neglected except for the spheres in contact with the wall. In each of these beds the particle number density is uniform in the radial direction of the container. Microscopically, however, the packing structure is found to be formed such that the weight of each particle spreads outwards from the feeding position. That is, the anisotropy in the packing structure is found to play an important role in the weight distributions of the particle beds on the bottom of the container.