Enhanced Thermal Process Engineering by the Extended Discrete Element Method (XDEM)

in Universal Journal of Engineering Science (2013), 1

A vast number of engineering applications <br />include a continuous and discrete phase simultaneously, <br />and therefore, cannot be solved accurately by continu- <br />ous or discrete approaches only ... [more ▼]

A vast number of engineering applications <br />include a continuous and discrete phase simultaneously, <br />and therefore, cannot be solved accurately by continu- <br />ous or discrete approaches only. Problems that involve <br />both a continuous and a discrete phase are important <br />in applications as diverse as pharmaceutical industry <br />e.g. drug production, agriculture food and process- <br />ing industry, mining, construction and agricultural <br />machinery, metals manufacturing, energy production <br />and systems biology. A novel technique referred to as <br />Extended Discrete Element Method (XDEM) is devel- <br />oped, that o ers a signi cant advancement for coupled <br />discrete and continuous numerical simulation concepts. <br />The Extended Discrete Element Method extends the <br />dynamics of granular materials or particles as described <br />through the classical discrete element method (DEM) to <br />additional properties such as the thermodynamic state <br />or stress/strain for each particle coupled to a continuum <br />phase such as <br />uid <br />ow or solid structures. Contrary <br />to a continuum mechanics concept, XDEM aims at <br />resolving the particulate phase through the various <br />processes attached to particles. While DEM predicts <br />the spacial-temporal position and orientation for each <br />particle, XDEM additionally estimates properties such <br />as the internal temperature and/or species distribution. <br />These predictive capabilities are further extended by an <br />interaction to <br />uid <br />ow by heat, mass and momentum <br />transfer and impact of particles on structures. [less ▲]