Surface-resolved dynamic simulation of charged non-spherical particles

Abstract

We present a numerical method for simulating the electrostatic interaction of a cluster of charged non-spherical particles as they collide with each other. The boundary element method (BEM) is employed to resolve the highly nonuniform surface charge distribution on individual particles, based on which their electrostatic interactions can be computed. The method of generalized minimum residual (GMRES) incorporated with the fast multipole method (FMM) is adopted to accelerate the electrostatic calculation. The framework is validated through four different cases and is proven to capture the induced higher-order multipole interaction as two particles become very close to each other. This interaction is also shown to be sensitive to the particle geometry, in particular the local curvatures. In addition to the electrostatic interactions, the contact forces and torques are included using the Hertzian contact model to capture the particle collision. Finally, this comprehensive framework is demonstrated by reproducing typical collision outcomes, e.g., sticking and fragmentation, among several non-spherical charged particles.