Abstract
Generation of particles with irregular shape and the overlap detection are crucial for numerical simulation of granular materials. This paper presents a systematic approach to develop a two-dimensional random particle model for numerical simulation of granular materials. Firstly, a random angular bend (RAB) algorithm is proposed and coded in Python to simulate the geometric model of individual particle with irregular shape. Three representative parameters are used to quantitatively control the shape feature of generated polygons in terms of three major aspects, respectively. Then, the generated geometrical models are implemented into particle flow code PFC2D to construct the clump library. The clumps are created via the mid-surface method. Besides, an overlap detection algorithm is developed to address the difficulties associated with spatial allocation of irregularly shaped particles. Finally, two application examples are adopted to validate the feasibility of the proposed algorithm in the numerical modeling of realistic granular materials. The study provides a solid foundation for the generation and simulation of the granular materials based on angular bend theory.
Highlights
Granular materials are conglomerations of discrete solids [1], which are widely used in various engineering fields, such as geotechnical engineering, mining engineering, and food and pharmaceutical industries
The discrete element method (DEM), originally developed by Cundall in 1971 [4,5], provides a convenient way to obtain particle information on multiple scales, and gradually becomes an effective tool to study the mechanical behaviors of granular materials [6,7,8,9]
This paper presents a systematic method to generate arbitrary two-dimensional particle for the
Summary
Granular materials are conglomerations of discrete solids [1], which are widely used in various engineering fields, such as geotechnical engineering, mining engineering, and food and pharmaceutical industries. The discrete element method (DEM), originally developed by Cundall in 1971 [4,5], provides a convenient way to obtain particle information on multiple scales, and gradually becomes an effective tool to study the mechanical behaviors of granular materials [6,7,8,9]. Voronoi grain-based method limited capability incontrolling precisely controlling particle shape and size. During the modeling of granular materials based on digital generated particle shape and size. Inspired by by the two-dimensional random particle model for the numerical simulation of granular materials. The two-dimensional random particle model for the numerical simulation of granular materials. Two application examples are further employed to are further employed show the feasibility algorithm numerical modeling of show the feasibility of to proposed algorithm forof theproposed numerical modelingfor of the realistic granular materials
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