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Processes
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Challenges of Applying Discrete Element Method (DEM) to Industrial Applications
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Challenges of Applying Discrete Element Method (DEM) to Industrial Applications

A special issue of Processes (ISSN 2227-9717). This special issue belongs to the section "Particle Processes".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 May 2024 | Viewed by 19482

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Farhad Ein-Mozaffari

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Chemical Engineering, Toronto Metropolitan University, 350 Victoria Street, Toronto, ON M5B 2K3, Canada
Interests: fluid mixing; powder mixing; computational fluid dynamics; discrete element method; rheology; flow visualization; tomography
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Mohammadreza Ebrahimi

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Integrated Materials Engineering & Technology, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Summit, NJ 07901, USA
Interests: CFD-DEM; multi-phase flow; mixing
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Subhash Thakur

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Engineering and Material Science, Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Boston, MA 02210, USA
Interests: discrete element modelling; powder technology

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Granular materials are widely encountered in various industries such as pharmaceutical, chemical, mining and agriculture. The efficient handling of granular materials is an ongoing challenge due to the very complex nature of particles/powders. Normally, experimental methods are utilized to investigate the behaviour of granular materials under different conditions. Experiments, however, could be costly, resource-intensive and wasteful. The limitations associated with experimental techniques have paved the way for the discrete element method (DEM) approach to become a valuable tool for studying particle/powder behaviour. Due to the advances in computational facilities in the last few years, the use of the DEM approach has rapidly grown across a range of industries that use granular materials and powders. The popularity of this method stems from its ability to reveal a comprehensive, particle level of information, which is hard or even impossible to obtain through experiments. Although commonly employed in both academia and industry, this method is still not as developed as other simulation techniques used to simulate fluid or structures. Variable physical characteristics (e.g., particle shape), particle size, particle cohesion, computational time, the calibration of input parameters, and validation of DEM results are among the challenges faced by DEM users, hindering the use of this simulation technique.

This Special Issue aims to cover current research on the following topics:

  • Novel developments in modelling complex interactions at a particle level such as cohesion;
  • Innovative approaches regarding DEM model calibration for static and dynamic systems;
  • The application of the coarse graining approach and GPU to reduce DEM simulation time;
  • Novel validation techniques;
  • Usefulness of DEM to provide answers to fundamental questions and innovative solutions to industrial problems.

Research and review articles, and communications related to the above topics are invited for this Special Issue.

Prof. Dr. Farhad Ein-Mozaffari
Dr. Mohammadreza Ebrahimi
Dr. Subhash Thakur
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Processes is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • DEM
  • particulate solid mechanics
  • contact models
  • particle dynamics
  • bulk solid handling
  • powder
  • coarse graining
  • calibration
  • particle shape
  • cohesion
  • free-flowing
  • followability
  • agglomeration
  • compaction
  • segregation
  • blending
  • conveying
  • storage
  • granulation
  • coating
  • breakage
  • dissolution
  • heat transfer
  • GPU
  • computational time

Published Papers (9 papers)

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Research

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18 pages, 5481 KiB  
Article
Mechanical Analysis of the Forces Involved in a Pilot-Scale Blast Furnace Raceway Formation by Means of CFD/DEM Simulations
by Francis Romano, Edouard Izard and Pascal Fede
Processes 2024, 12(4), 637; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr12040637 - 22 Mar 2024
Viewed by 491
Abstract
The CFD/DEM approach was used for investigating the forces playing a role in a furnace raceway formation and stability. The configuration is an actual pilot-scale hot blast furnace filled only with coke particles. In such a system, the raceway was unstable, with successively [...] Read more.
The CFD/DEM approach was used for investigating the forces playing a role in a furnace raceway formation and stability. The configuration is an actual pilot-scale hot blast furnace filled only with coke particles. In such a system, the raceway was unstable, with successively a growing phase and a collapse. The CFD/DEM numerical simulations were coupled with a core-shrinking model to mimic coke particle combustion. However, the kinetic reactions and heat transfers were not numerically predicted. Instead, the characteristic combustion timescale of one coke particle was imposed, and the combustion zone was adjusted to match the global combustion measured in the pilot-scale experiment. The results showed that the standard contact model was not enough to resist the pressure exerted by the granular weight on the raceway. However, the addition of a cohesive force, through the Johnson-Kendall-Roberts (JKR) model, allowed the qualitative reproduction of the gas pressure fluctuations and the collapse cycles in accordance with the experiment. A sensitivity analysis of the flow rate showed that CFD/DEM is able to reproduce quantitatively the time between two collapses, as observed in the experiment. Predicted raceway size and shapes are also in agreement with the experimental observations in the range of investigated parameters. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Challenges of Applying Discrete Element Method (DEM) to Industrial Applications)
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22 pages, 6686 KiB  
Article
Parametric Analysis of a Double Shaft, Batch-Type Paddle Mixer Using the Discrete Element Method (DEM)
by Jeroen Emmerink, Ahmed Hadi, Jovana Jovanova, Chris Cleven and Dingena L. Schott
Processes 2023, 11(3), 738; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr11030738 - 02 Mar 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2118
Abstract
To improve the understanding of the mixing performance of double shaft, batch-type paddle mixers, the discrete element method (DEM) in combination with a Plackett–Burman design of experiments simulation plan is used to identify factor significance on the system’s mixing performance. Effects of several [...] Read more.
To improve the understanding of the mixing performance of double shaft, batch-type paddle mixers, the discrete element method (DEM) in combination with a Plackett–Burman design of experiments simulation plan is used to identify factor significance on the system’s mixing performance. Effects of several factors, including three material properties (particle size, particle density and composition), three operational conditions (initial filling pattern, fill level and impeller rotational speed) and three geometric parameters (paddle size, paddle angle and paddle number), were quantitatively investigated using the relative standard deviation (RSD). Four key performance indicators (KPIs), namely the mixing quality, mixing time, average mixing power and energy required to reach a steady state, were defined to evaluate the performance of the double paddle mixer. The results show that the material property effects are not as significant as those of the operational conditions and geometric parameters. In particular, the geometric parameters were observed to significantly influence the energy consumption, while not affecting the mixing quality and mixing time, showing their potential towards designing more sustainable mixers. Furthermore, the analysis of granular temperature revealed that the centre area between the two paddles has a high diffusivity, which can be correlated to the mixing time. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Challenges of Applying Discrete Element Method (DEM) to Industrial Applications)
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24 pages, 11333 KiB  
Article
Effect of the Mixer Design Parameters on the Performance of a Twin Paddle Blender: A DEM Study
by Behrooz Jadidi, Mohammadreza Ebrahimi, Farhad Ein-Mozaffari and Ali Lohi
Processes 2023, 11(3), 733; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr11030733 - 01 Mar 2023
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 3328
Abstract
The design parameters of a mixing system have a major impact on the quality of the final product. Therefore, identifying the optimum parameters of mixing systems is highly relevant to various industrial processes dealing with particulate flows. However, the studies on the influences [...] Read more.
The design parameters of a mixing system have a major impact on the quality of the final product. Therefore, identifying the optimum parameters of mixing systems is highly relevant to various industrial processes dealing with particulate flows. However, the studies on the influences of the mixer’s design features are still insufficient. In this study, the Discrete Element Method (DEM) is used to examine the impact of paddle angle, width, and gap on the mixing performance of a twin paddle blender. The mixing performance and particle flow are assessed using the relative standard deviation (RSD) mixing index, velocity field, diffusivity coefficient, granular temperature, the force acting on particles, and the mixer’s power consumption. The mixing performance is highest for a paddle angle of 0° at the cost of the highest forces acting on particles. The paddle width is indicated as a critical factor for achieving better mixing quality. In contrast, the powder mixing efficiency and the mixer’s power consumption are not significantly affected by the paddle gap. The results regarding the power consumption denote that the mixer using the paddle angle of 60° has the minimum power consumption. Moreover, increasing the paddle width results in the enhancement of the mixer’s power consumption. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Challenges of Applying Discrete Element Method (DEM) to Industrial Applications)
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16 pages, 6608 KiB  
Article
Design Optimization and Experimental Verification of Spiral Cone Centrifugal Fertilizer Apparatus Based on the Discrete Element Method
by Xiaodong Liu, Qingqing Lü, Guangxi Li, Jianbo Wang, Dongwei Yan, Liquan Yang and Erbo Liu
Processes 2023, 11(1), 199; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr11010199 - 07 Jan 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1477
Abstract
This study attempts to optimize the arc-shaped coned disk affecting the uniformity of the earlier designed fertilizer apparatus (FA), in particular, for application in the rice–oil rotation region in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, China. Based on theoretical analysis, [...] Read more.
This study attempts to optimize the arc-shaped coned disk affecting the uniformity of the earlier designed fertilizer apparatus (FA), in particular, for application in the rice–oil rotation region in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, China. Based on theoretical analysis, a circular coned disk with the curvature gradual decline (GD) from top to bottom was designed, and the equation of the circular cone was determined. The EDEM discrete element software was used, using the coefficient of variation of the fertilization amount consistency in every row, the coefficient of variation of the fertilization amount stability, and the coefficient of variation of the fertilization amount consistency in the same row as evaluation indices. Simulations and comparative tests of FA performance were performed for three cases of the busbar top-to-bottom curvature variation: (i) gradual increase (GI), (ii) gradual decline (GD), and (iii) zero (0) variation. The experimental results show that at the FA rotation speed of 100~120 r/min and tilt of 1°~5°, the optimized FA had the optimal performance. High tilts and low rotation speeds provided the worst performance, with the variation coefficient of inter-row fertilization amount consistency of the FA below 10.23%. The variation coefficient of fertilizing amount stability was lower than 6.74%. The variation coefficient of intra-row fertilizing amount consistency was lower than 3.52%, while all performance indicators met the quality requirements of fertilizer discharge. Bench tests of the FA revealed that the variation coefficient of inter-row fertilizing amount consistency of the FA was below 10.23%, the variation coefficient of fertilizing amount stability was below 6.74%, and the variation coefficient of intra-row fertilizing amount consistency was below 3.52%. Field tests of the FA revealed that the variation coefficient of inter-row fertilizing amount consistency was below 7.68%, the variation coefficient of fertilizing amount stability was below 4.95%, and the variation coefficient of intra-row fertilizing amount stability was below 3.57%. All parameters were better than the industry standard, demonstrating that the FA had good fertilizing performance and met the quality requirements of field fertilization operations. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Challenges of Applying Discrete Element Method (DEM) to Industrial Applications)
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24 pages, 10323 KiB  
Article
Particle Scale Insights into a KG-Pharma RoTab Tablet Press Feed-Frame System Using the Discrete Element Method (DEM) Modeling
by Zihao Li, Rohit Kumar, Hector Rafael Guzman and Renato Andrés Chiarella
Processes 2023, 11(1), 119; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr11010119 - 01 Jan 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2911
Abstract
In the pharmaceutical industry, tablets are a common dosage form. As part of the manufacturing process, powder in a tablet press passes through a feeding system called the feed-frame before reaching the die cavity. Under different manufacturing conditions (e.g., paddle speed, turret speed), [...] Read more.
In the pharmaceutical industry, tablets are a common dosage form. As part of the manufacturing process, powder in a tablet press passes through a feeding system called the feed-frame before reaching the die cavity. Under different manufacturing conditions (e.g., paddle speed, turret speed), issues such as segregation of powder blend components, over lubrication, and drug particle attrition often occur in the tablet press feed-frame, which affect the final drug product quality. Therefore, developing a particle-scale understanding of powder behavior in a feed-frame is essential. This paper used the discrete element method (DEM) to study powder flow in the feed-frame of a kg-pharma RoTab tablet press. Simulation results show that an increase in paddle speed has less effect on tablet mass than turret speed and that an increase in turret speed reduces tablet mass and increases variability in the tablet mass. The effect of paddle speed and turret speed on the API content in the tablet is small, but large paddle speeds exacerbate the segregation of powder blend components in the feed frame, increase particle traveled distance, particle shear work, and torque on the paddle wheel, thereby increasing particle over lubrication and attrition. However, the increase in paddle speed reduces the mean residence time of drug particles and prevents over lubrication at low turret speeds. Increasing the turret speed reduces tablet mass, particle shear work, paddle torque, and mean residence time. Although increasing turret speed can effectively prevent particle attrition and over lubrication, short residence times are not conducive to mixing excipients and API components, leading to higher tablet mass variability. This study not only gives us a particle-level insight into the process but can also be used to inform and optimize the design of experimental studies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Challenges of Applying Discrete Element Method (DEM) to Industrial Applications)
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16 pages, 4654 KiB  
Article
Determination and Validation of Discrete Element Model Parameters of Soybeans with Various Moisture Content for the Discharge Simulation from a Cylindrical Model Silo
by Hwabin Jung and Won Byong Yoon
Processes 2022, 10(12), 2622; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr10122622 - 07 Dec 2022
Viewed by 1283
Abstract
This study investigates the physical parameters that affect the flow patterns of soybeans with various moisture content (12% to 60%) at varying orifice sizes (20, 40, and 60 mm) in a cylindrical silo. The flow conditions required to obtain a steady mass flow [...] Read more.
This study investigates the physical parameters that affect the flow patterns of soybeans with various moisture content (12% to 60%) at varying orifice sizes (20, 40, and 60 mm) in a cylindrical silo. The flow conditions required to obtain a steady mass flow during discharge were evaluated via experiments and three-dimensional discrete element method (DEM) simulation. The discharged mass flow rates at different flow conditions provided the critical size of the orifice. If the reduced diameter (Dred) of an orifice is >5.59, the flow showed a steady state. Based on the mass flow index (MFI), the flow patterns at 40% and 60% moisture content at 40 and 60 mm orifice sizes, respectively, showed funnel flows. although these flow conditions were satisfied to maintain a steady flow. The maximum wall pressure for the funnel flow showed the location of the interlocking phenomenon where the stagnant zone began during discharging. DEM simulation was validated through the mass profiles using the parameters obtained by the experiments. This study demonstrates that the experimental and analytical results with DEM simulation predict the flow behaviors of soybeans well at various moisture contents. These results are useful for designing silos for continuous food processing. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Challenges of Applying Discrete Element Method (DEM) to Industrial Applications)
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19 pages, 4347 KiB  
Article
Design and Parameter Optimization of a Soil Mulching Device for an Ultra-Wide Film Seeder Based on the Discrete Element Method
by Yuqi Wang, Min Wei, Wancheng Dong, Wenchun Li, Jimiao He, Chenyang Han and Zhen Jiang
Processes 2022, 10(10), 2115; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr10102115 - 18 Oct 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1222
Abstract
The soil mulching device plays an important role in the sowing stage of crops. Compared with the traditional narrow film planting mode, under the ultra-wide film planting mode adopted by crops in arid areas, the soil transportation distance inside the soil mulching device [...] Read more.
The soil mulching device plays an important role in the sowing stage of crops. Compared with the traditional narrow film planting mode, under the ultra-wide film planting mode adopted by crops in arid areas, the soil transportation distance inside the soil mulching device increases, resulting in the problem of uneven soil coverage thickness between sowing rows, which seriously affects the crop emergence rate. There are many methods available to solve the problems of ultra-wide film planting, such as theoretical analysis and discrete element method (DEM) simulation. In this paper, we design a covering device consisting primarily of the soil disc and the cylindrical sealer. By constructing and analyzing a mechanical model of the soil mulching device, the parameters related to the working performance are determined. In order to further optimize the parameters, the simulation model of the device and soil operation process is established by using DEM software. We design a single-factor simulation test. The structural parameters and operating parameters of the cylindrical sealer are divided into two experimental groups, and the soil transport volume (STV) and the coefficient of variation of the soil coating cover uniformity (G1) are used as response values. Based on the parameters of the single-factor test after narrowing the optimization range, the response surface test is designed. According to the experimental results, a quadratic regression model of STV and G1 is established, and the influence of the interaction of each parameter is analyzed. Finally, the optimal values of the structural parameters and operating parameters of the soil mulching device are determined. The actual field test was completed. The soil coverage thickness was between 1.42 cm and 1.50 cm, and G1 was 2.59%. The test results were very satisfactory. This shows that it is reliable to optimize the parameters of the soil mulching device by theoretical analysis and the DEM. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Challenges of Applying Discrete Element Method (DEM) to Industrial Applications)
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11 pages, 4803 KiB  
Article
Understanding Powder Behavior in an Additive Manufacturing Process Using DEM
by Marina Sousani and Stefan Pantaleev
Processes 2022, 10(9), 1754; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr10091754 - 02 Sep 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1461
Abstract
The handling of bulk solids in the form of powders is a fundamental process in a wide range of manufacturing industries, such as the automotive, aerospace, food, and healthcare sectors. All these sectors employ additive manufacturing (AM), as it enables the production of [...] Read more.
The handling of bulk solids in the form of powders is a fundamental process in a wide range of manufacturing industries, such as the automotive, aerospace, food, and healthcare sectors. All these sectors employ additive manufacturing (AM), as it enables the production of complex parts in a short amount of time. Thus, it is considered an established method for developing an agile manufacturing environment that can drastically reduce the lead time from conception to the production stage. At the same time, powder is a unique material sensitive to environmental and machine conditions; hence, establishing an optimal configuration is not straight-forward. This work presents a discrete element method (DEM) simulation of an experimental dosing system used in AM. We introduce a robust workflow that correlates suitable experimental data with simulation results, establishing models of real powders with different flowability. The results showed an excellent agreement between the experimental data and the simulation results and provided a better understanding of the material behavior. Furthermore, we employed a coarse-grained approach to extract continuum fields from the discrete data. The results showed that the cohesion level in the system was enough to create agglomerates that hindered the transport of the material and produced nonuniform distribution. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Challenges of Applying Discrete Element Method (DEM) to Industrial Applications)
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Review

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45 pages, 5863 KiB  
Review
Review: The Calibration of DEM Parameters for the Bulk Modelling of Cohesive Materials
by Corné J. Coetzee and Otto C. Scheffler
Processes 2023, 11(1), 5; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr11010005 - 20 Dec 2022
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 3532
Abstract
Granular materials are abundant in nature, and in most industries, either the initial constituents or final products are in granular form during a production or processing stage. Industrial processes and equipment for the handling of bulk solids can only be improved if we [...] Read more.
Granular materials are abundant in nature, and in most industries, either the initial constituents or final products are in granular form during a production or processing stage. Industrial processes and equipment for the handling of bulk solids can only be improved if we can understand, model and predict the material behaviour. The discrete element method (DEM) is a numerical tool well-suited for this purpose and has been used by researchers and engineers to analyse various industrial applications and processes. However, before any bulk scale modelling can be undertaken, the input parameters must be carefully calibrated to obtain accurate results. The calibration of parameter values for non-cohesive materials has reached a level of maturity; however, the calibration of cohesive materials requires more research. This paper details the most prevalent contact models used to model cohesive materials—presented in a consistent notation. Moreover, the significant differences between the models are highlighted to provide a reference for engineers and researchers to select the most appropriate model for a specific application. Finally, a critical review of calibration experiments and methodologies often used for cohesive materials is also presented. This provides a solid basis for DEM practitioners to select the most appropriate calibration methodology for their application and for researchers to extend the current state-of-the-art practices. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Challenges of Applying Discrete Element Method (DEM) to Industrial Applications)
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