粉体オートマトンを利用する大規模粉体シミュレーション

Abstract

A new method for a large-scale simulation of granular flow was developed using cellular automata. The automaton rule consists of the transition rule of constituent paticles and the interaction rule between particles. The interaction rule is further divided into three rules; the collision rule, the static contact rule between particles, and propagation rule of impulsive force through the particle bed. Tha interaction rule was derived quantitatively on the basis of microscopic information on the interactive force between flowing particles under gravity obtained by DEM simulation. The evolution of granular flow with time can be simulated by defining the time equivalent to one step in automaton simulation, and the state variables in granular flow can be obtained by the proposed simulation method. The validity of the proposed powder cellular automaton method was confirmed by comparison of the simulated flow pattern of discharging flow from a hopper with the experimental one. Granular flows in real powder equipments can be simulated with a high speed by the proposed automaton method.