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The influence of sample generation and model resolution on mechanical properties obtained from DEM simulations

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Abstract

The discrete element method (DEM) is a numerical technique to simulate the mechanical behavior of a system of particles. Each particle is identified with a representative shape and size that interacts with other particles according to a contact model. Two important steps in modeling with DEM are defining model resolution (ratio of sample smallest dimension to average particle size) and sample generation. Some values of model resolution are proposed in the literature for simulations of different laboratory tests. In this study, values for model resolution are obtained for the uniaxial compressive test (UCT) simulations. Ten realizations for each scenario of model resolution were created to investigate its influence on the properties obtained by the UCT simulations. The values we suggest for model resolution are the ones with a good tradeoff between computational effort and property variations obtained by the DEM simulations. There are several methods for sample generation, considering a static or a dynamic approach. After comparing different techniques, a sample generation method is proposed, where a static algorithm is combined with a dynamic procedure. This generation technique is recommended to achieve dense packing while showing a low influence of particle assembly on the mechanical properties obtained by the DEM simulations.

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Abbreviations

\(A\) :

Contact surface from the contact model

\(E\) :

Macro-Young`s modulus

\(\mathrm{EF}\) :

Enlarge factor parameter from the contact model

\(F\) :

Force among particles

\({F}_{\mathrm{n}}^{max}\) :

Maximum cohesive tensile force from the contact model

\({F}_{\mathrm{s}}^{max}\) :

Maximum cohesive shear force from the contact model

\({N}_{\mathrm{c}}\) :

Total number of contacts among particles

\({N}_{\mathrm{p}}\) :

Number of particles

\(R\) :

Radius from particles

\({V}_{\mathrm{s}}\) :

Sum of all particle volumes (solid volume)

\({V}_{\mathrm{t}}\) :

Sample total volume

\(Y\) :

Micro-Young`s modulus from the contact model

\(Z\) :

Coordination number

\(c\) :

Cohesion from the contact model

\(e\) :

Sample porosity

\(f\) :

Front from the sphere generation algorithm

\(k\) :

Stiffness from the contact model

\(r\) :

Sphere radius from the sphere generation algorithm

\(t\) :

Tensile strength from the contact model

\(u\) :

Overlap between particles

\(\text{vr}\) :

Sample void ratio

\(\mathrm{dist}\) :

Distance between particle centers

\(\text{micro}\_\nu \) :

Micro-parameter Poisson`s coefficient

\({\delta }_{\mathrm{box}}\) :

Box size from the sphere generation algorithm

\(\Delta \) :

Increment

\(\phi \) :

Friction angle from the contact model

\(\nu \) :

Macro-Poisson’s coefficient

\(\sigma \) :

Stress

\(\epsilon \) :

Strain

\({\left[\right]}_{\mathrm{n}}\) :

Normal

\({\left[\right]}_{\mathrm{s}}\) :

Shear

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Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge support from the Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development CNPq (Grant 308547/2016-0) and FAPERJ (Grant CNE 202.928/2019).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute Tecgraf, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil

    Marcelo De Simone, Elias Lozano & Deane Roehl

  2. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil

    Marcelo De Simone & Deane Roehl

  3. Department of Computer Science, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil

    Elias Lozano

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  1. Marcelo De Simone
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Correspondence to Deane Roehl.

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De Simone, M., Lozano, E. & Roehl, D. The influence of sample generation and model resolution on mechanical properties obtained from DEM simulations. Comp. Part. Mech. 10, 1827–1841 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40571-023-00592-z

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