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

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.