scholarly journals Analysis of Inter-particle Contact Parameters of Garlic Cloves Using Discrete Element Method

Author(s):  
Donghyeok Park ◽  
Chun Gu Lee ◽  
Doee Yang ◽  
Daehyun Kim ◽  
Joon Yong Kim ◽  
...  

Abstract Purpose The discrete element method (DEM) can be used in agricultural fields such as crop sowing, harvesting, and crop transportation. Nevertheless, modeling complex crops as appropriately shaped particles remains challenging. The modeling of particles and the calibration of input parameters are important for simulating the realistic behaviors of particles using the DEM. Methods In this study, particle models representing the morphological characteristics and size deviations of garlic cloves were proposed. Additionally, the coefficients of friction were analyzed as the contact parameters of the particles based on the heap formation experiments and simultations of the swing-arm method using 150 garlic cloves. Results The simulation results were analyzed that the residual number of particles, a bulk property that can be measured simply in the experiment, is related to the coefficients of friction. In the heap formation experiments with low particle counts, the bulk properties were more clearly differentiated by the residual number of particles than the angle of repose. Moreover, the bulk properties similar to the actual garlic could not be expressed as a spherical particle model. Thus, an equation for predicting the residual number of particles was derived for the non-spherical garlic clove particle model. Five sets of coefficients of friction were presented using the prediction equation, and all the simulation results were close to the actual residual number of particles and angle of repose of the garlic. Conclusions Although the sizes of garlic cloves have a wide distribution, appropriate inter-particle contact parameters could be predicted. Therefore, the calibration process of the DEM can be shortened using the proposed prediction equation for the residual number of particles with non-spherical particles.

2021 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 605-614
Author(s):  
Lingxin Geng ◽  
Jiewen Zuo ◽  
Fuyun Lu ◽  
Xin Jin ◽  
Chenglong Sun ◽  
...  

Highlights The static friction coefficient and rolling friction coefficient of oat seeds were calibrated by the discrete element method. Two representative oat varieties were selected. The hollow cylinder method and sidewall collapse method were used together to reduce the test error. Abstract . Hulless and shelled oat are two types of oat with major differences in physical appearance. To study the contact parameters between the two different oat seed types, these parameters were delineated with the discrete element method and graphic image processing technology. Using plexiglass as the contact material, the experiments used two different angle of repose measurement methods—hollow cylinder and collapse sidewall devices, to perform bench and simulation experiments on the two different oats. Under different measurement methods, bench experiments measured the angles of repose of the two oat seed types at 33.19°, 33.82° and 22.45°, 23.57°; the static friction coefficient and rolling friction coefficient were the experimental factors, and the angle of repose was the experimental indicator in the simulation. The steepest climbing experiment determined the optimal range of the experimental factor, and the regression equation between the static friction coefficient, rolling friction coefficient and angle of repose was established by a quadratic orthogonal rotation combination experiment. Finally, the angles of repose measured by the bench experiment with the two different measurement methods were treated as target values, the coefficient of static friction and the coefficient of rolling friction were solved; the coefficient of static friction between hulless oats was 0.36, and the coefficient of rolling friction between hulless oats was 0.052; the coefficient of static friction between shelled oats was 0.24, and the coefficient of rolling friction between shelled oats was 0.036. The obtained contact parameters between seeds were input into EDEM, the simulation and bench experiment results were verified. The difference between the simulation results and the actual values was within 3%. The angle of repose of oats after calibration was close to the actual situation, and the calibration results had high reliability and provided a referencefor the measurement of contact parameters between other agricultural crop seeds. Keywords: Calibration, Contact parameters, Discrete element method, Oat.


2017 ◽  
Vol 140 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ling Zhou ◽  
Lingjie Zhang ◽  
Weidong Shi ◽  
Ramesh Agarwal ◽  
Wei Li

A coupled computational fluid dynamics (CFD)/discrete element method (DEM) is used to simulate the gas–solid two-phase flow in a laboratory-scale spouted fluidized bed. Transient experimental results in the spouted fluidized bed are obtained in a special test rig using the high-speed imaging technique. The computational domain of the quasi-three-dimensional (3D) spouted fluidized bed is simulated using the commercial CFD flow solver ANSYS-fluent. Hydrodynamic flow field is computed by solving the incompressible continuity and Navier–Stokes equations, while the motion of the solid particles is modeled by the Newtonian equations of motion. Thus, an Eulerian–Lagrangian approach is used to couple the hydrodynamics with the particle dynamics. The bed height, bubble shape, and static pressure are compared between the simulation and the experiment. At the initial stage of fluidization, the simulation results are in a very good agreement with the experimental results; the bed height and the bubble shape are almost identical. However, the bubble diameter and the height of the bed are slightly smaller than in the experimental measurements near the stage of bubble breakup. The simulation results with their experimental validation demonstrate that the CFD/DEM coupled method can be successfully used to simulate the transient gas–solid flow behavior in a fluidized bed which is not possible to simulate accurately using the granular approach of purely Euler simulation. This work should help in gaining deeper insight into the spouted fluidized bed behavior to determine best practices for further modeling and design of the industrial scale fluidized beds.


Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (15) ◽  
pp. 3836
Author(s):  
Shingo Ishihara ◽  
Kizuku Kushimoto ◽  
Junya Kano

The effect of ventilation bars on the porosity of a sinter bed charged on a sinter machine was investigated. The behavior of the sinter feed was calculated by discrete element method (DEM) simulation. By taking into account the adhesion force, the sinter feed in the wet state was represented and the simulation parameters were determined to reproduce the experimental values of the angle of repose. The porosity of the sinter bed was calculated, and the mechanism of the formation of the packing structure and the cause of the distribution of porosity in each region were clarified. As a result, it is shown that in the case of shear flow, the higher the powder pressure during flow, the higher the porosity.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Hongyi Zhao ◽  
Jing Chen

Railway ballast is a coarse granular material used to carry train loads and provide drainage for the rail tracks. This study presents numerical explorations of the mechanical performance of ballast aggregates subjected to direct shear tests. The discrete element method (DEM) was used to investigate the microscopic characteristics of ballast aggregates during shearing while considering contact distribution, particle rotation, and particle displacement. By testing the angle of repose of ballast aggregates, the parameters for the DEM contact model could be calibrated. Four specimens were prepared and then subjected to different normal pressures. The results show that the contact between ballast particles intensifies in terms of the amount and magnitude as the normal pressure increases. A Fourier analysis was applied to investigate the anisotropy of contact normal and the contact forces for ballast aggregates at different shearing phases. The rotational and translational movements of ballast particles were investigated, and this investigation revealed that particle rotation gradually increased as the shearing propagated. Four regions in the aggregates were identified according to the translational pattern of ballast particles. The results of this research provide an in-depth analysis of microscopic characteristics from a particulate scale.


2013 ◽  
Vol 372 ◽  
pp. 646-649 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yong Ye ◽  
Liang Kang

The bonded particle model (BPM) of granite for pre-stressed machining is build by using the discrete element method (DEM). This model can not only descript the intergranular fracture behavior but also the transgranular fracture behavior of the granite. The processes of crack propagation under different pre-stressed machining conditions are studied by means of DEM simulation. Damages and cracks of surface/subsurface are also observed. The simulation results show that, while the magnitude of pre-stress is controlled in a certatin range, the number of radial cracks reduce as the increasing of pre-stress magnitude, contray to the transverse cracks. It could be seen that maching damage is decreased and surface quality is improved by applying the pre-stressed machining method, and the discrete element method is an effective way to simulate the machining process of granite.


2011 ◽  
Vol 317-319 ◽  
pp. 2047-2050
Author(s):  
Hong Li Gao ◽  
You Chuan Chen

The discrete-element method(DEM) was employed to simulate the mixing and segregation process for size-type binary particulate systems in a rotating horizontal drum for dry particulate systems and wet particulate systems. The effect of interstitial liquid on the mixing and segregation process were studied. The simulation results showed that the liquid bridge between particles play an important role in mixing and segregation process, as a result, segregation may be mitigated and mixing may be enhanced. To assess the accuracy of the simulation result, some comparisons were made with the experimental results in the literature.


2011 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hiroshi Nakashima ◽  
Yasuyuki Shioji ◽  
Taizo Kobayashi ◽  
Shigeru Aoki ◽  
Hiroshi Shimizu ◽  
...  

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