Octree-Generated Virtual Mesh for Improved Contact Resolution in CFD-Dem Coupling

Abstract

The present work is focused on improving the efficiency of a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) – discrete element method (DEM) solver allowing for computations with non-spherical solids. In general, the combination of CFD and DEM allows for simulations of freely moving solid particles within a computational domain containing fluid. The standard approach of CFD-DEM solvers is to approximate solid bodies by spheres, the geometry of which can be fully defined via its radius and center position. Consequently, the standard DEM contact models are based on an overlap depth between particles, which can be easily evaluated for a sphere-sphere contact. However, for a contact between two non-spherical particles, the overlap depth cannot be used and has to be replaced by the more general overlap volume. The precision of the overlap volume computation is (i) crucial for the correct evaluation of contact forces, and (ii) directly dependent on the computational mesh resolution. Still, the contact volume evaluation in DEM for arbitrarily shaped bodies is usually by at least one order of magnitude more demanding on the mesh resolution than the CFD. In order to improve the computational efficiency of our CFD-DEM solver, we introduce the concept of an OCTREEbased virtual mesh, in which the DEM spatial discretization is adaptively refined while the CFD mesh remains unchanged.