Numerical Prediction of the Bulk Density of Granular Particles of Different Geometries

Abstract

The Discrete Element Method (DEM) is increasingly used to simulate the motion of granular material in engineering devices. The most widely used shape to model granular particles is the sphere due to its simplicity which facilitates computations. However, with increasing advancement and popularity of the DEM approach, a more accurate representation of real granular shapes is becoming intensely important. This paper is an attempt to predict the bulk density of granular particles of cylindrical shape by DEM. The method used to model tube-like particles is the composite method where the tube-like particle is composed of a number of spherical sub-shapes. The results show that the DEM prediction of the bulk density of tube-like particles were accurate provided that a sufficient number of spherical sub-shapes was used to construct the particle. In addition, the bulk density of granular particles in the shape of 32-face polyhedrons was also investigated. It was shown that 32-face polyhedrons can be approximated as spheres provided that the rolling resistance of the shape is taken into consideration.