The Special Publications series is a collection of books produced from the proceedings of international symposia.

The first single work on DEM providing the information to get started with this powerful numerical modelling approach. Provides the basic details of the numerical method and the approaches used to interpret the results of DEM simulations. It will be of use to professionals, researchers and higher level students, with a theoretical overview of DEM as well as practical guidance.Selected Contents: 1.Introduction 2.Use of DEM in Geomechanics 3.Calculation of Contact Forces 4.Particle Motion 5.Particle Types 6.Boundary Conditions 7.Initial Geometry and Specimen Generation 8.Time Integration and Discrete Element Modelling 9.DEM Interpretation: A Continuum Perspective 10.Postprocessing: Graphical Interpretation of DEM Simulations 11.Basic Statisti

Proceedings of the Third International Conference on Discrete Element Methods, held in Santa Fe, New Mexico on September 23-25, 2002. This Geotechnical Special Publication contains 72 technical papers on discrete element methods (DEM), a suite of numerical techniques developed to model granular materials, rock, and other discontinua at the grain scale. Topics include: DEM formulation and implementation approaches, coupled methods, experimental validation, and techniques, including three-dimensional particle representations, efficient contact detection algorithms, particle packing schemes, and code design. Coupled methods include approaches to linking solid continuum and fluid models with DEM to simulate multiscale and multiphase phenomena. Applications include fundamental investigations of granular mechanics; micromechanical studies of powder, soil, and rock behavior; and large-scale modeling of geotechnical, material processing, mining, and petroleum engineering problems.

The book contains 11 chapters written by relevant scientists in the field of particle-based methods and their applications in engineering and applied sciences. The chapters cover most particle-based techniques used in practice including the discrete element method, the smooth particle hydrodynamic method and the particle finite element method. The book will be of interest to researchers and engineers interested in the fundamentals of particle-based methods and their applications.

This book brings together in a single volume various methods and skills for particle-scale or discrete-element numerical simulation of granular media. It covers a broad range of topics from basic concepts and methods towards more advanced aspects and technical details applicable to the current research on granular materials. Discrete-element simulations of granular materials are based on four basic models (molecular dynamics, contact dynamics, quasi-static and event driven) dealing with frictional contact interactions and integration schemes for the equations of dynamics. These models are presented in the first chapters of the book, followed by various methods for sample preparation and monitoring of boundary conditions, as well as dimensionless control parameters. Granular materials encountered in real life involve a variety of compositions (particle shapes and size distributions) and interactions (cohesive, hydrodynamic, thermal) that have been extensively covered by several chapters. The book ends with two applications in the field of geo-materials.

This book is devoted to the Discrete Element Method (DEM) technique, a discontinuum modelling approach that takes into account the fact that granular materials are composed of discrete particles which interact with each other at the microscale level. This numerical simulation technique can be used both for dispersed systems in which the particle-particle interactions are collisional and compact systems of particles with multiple enduring contacts. The book provides an extensive and detailed explanation of the theoretical background of DEM. Contact mechanics theories for elastic, elastic-plastic, adhesive elastic and adhesive elastic-plastic particle-particle interactions are presented. Other contact force models are also discussed, including corrections to some of these models as described in the literature, and important areas of further research are identified. A key issue in DEM simulations is whether or not a code can reliably simulate the simplest of systems, namely the single particle oblique impact with a wall. This is discussed using the output obtained from the contact force models described earlier, which are compared for elastic and inelastic collisions. In addition, further insight is provided for the impact of adhesive particles. The author then moves on to provide the results of selected DEM applications to agglomerate impacts, fluidised beds and quasi-static deformation, demonstrating that the DEM technique can be used (i) to mimic experiments, (ii) explore parameter sweeps, including limiting values, or (iii) identify new, previously unknown, phenomena at the microscale. In the DEM applications the emphasis is on discovering new information that enhances our rational understanding of particle systems, which may be more significant than developing a new continuum model that encompasses all microstructural aspects, which would most likely prove too complicated for practical implementation. The book will be of interest to academic and industrial researchers working in particle technology/process engineering and geomechanics, both experimentalists and theoreticians.

The Cell Method (CM) is a computational tool that maintains critical multidimensional attributes of physical phenomena in analysis. This information is neglected in the differential formulations of the classical approaches of finite element, boundary element, finite volume, and finite difference analysis, often leading to numerical instabilities and spurious results. This book highlights the central theoretical concepts of the CM that preserve a more accurate and precise representation of the geometric and topological features of variables for practical problem solving. Important applications occur in fields such as electromagnetics, electrodynamics, solid mechanics and fluids. CM addresses non-locality in continuum mechanics, an especially important circumstance in modeling heterogeneous materials. Professional engineers and scientists, as well as graduate students, are offered: • A general overview of physics and its mathematical descriptions; • Guidance on how to build direct, discrete formulations; • Coverage of the governing equations of the CM, including nonlocality; • Explanations of the use of Tonti diagrams; and • References for further reading.