AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ADVANCED SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH

Farzin Salehpour-Oskouyi and Amin Hadidi, Vol. 1, Issue. 2, pp. 44-51, 2012




Development of a Numerical Model of the Granular Material
Flow under Vibration based on Discrete Element Method (DEM)

Farzin Salehpour-Oskouyi
1*
, Amin Hadidi
1

1
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Ahar Branch, Islamic Azad University, Ahar, Iran
*
Corresponding Author Email Address: f_salehpour@sut.ac.ir

Various methods have been used to study the
AbstractIn recent years, one of important aspects of
the granular material physician industries is controlling way
of the granular flow. One of the best ways to do this is use of
mechanical vibrations to guide the flow of particles in
desirable way. This paper theoretically and experimentally
investigates the effect of horizontal sinusoidal vibration on
the particles flow. Certainly, the base vibration causes the
spherical particles collide with each other and with the wall.
These collisions cause their moving and displacement which
is interpreted as flow. In this study, a new numerical model
of spherical particles movement and the exerted forces from
them to each other and also on the wall due to the vibration
is proposed. Discrete Element Method (DEM) is used here.
Finally, the presented numerical model is compared with
experimental model and a good agreement between them is
noticed.

Index Termsgranular materials, mechanical vibrations,
discrete element method, vibration acceleration.

I. INTRODUCTION
The dynamic analysis of granular particles which
present as discrete and segregated in a system and
have the force and energy interactions with each other
can be observed in various fields such as chemistry,
agriculture, pharmaceutical, powder metallurgy, soil
mechanics, casting, cement manufacturing, civil, and
etc. In all these fields, the interaction between particles
and the effect of internal and external parameters on
the behavior of these particles have been studied. One
of the important aspects related to the subject,
considered today in most industries, is the control way
of granular particles flow. One of the best ways to do
this is use of mechanical vibrations to guide the flow of
particles in a desirable way. For example, for the
discharge of particles from tanks and silos, compression
of set of particles, separation and equalizing of system,
the best solution is use of external vibrations on the
considered set.

Manuscript Received Aug. 18 2012 ; Revised Aug. 28 ; Accepted Aug.
29
dynamics of granular materials each has its unique
advantages and disadvantages. In this paper, Discrete
Element Method (DEM) is used which is proposed by
Cundall in 1979 for the first time [1]. This method is
based on the modeling of each particle separately in a
way that it moves and by calculating all the applied
forces and moments the motion of the particle is
predicted in the next time step. In this method, we
have nothing to do with the whole set and we study the
dynamics of individual particles.
The point that distinct the different problems
related to the vibration of granular materials is
boundary conditions and type of external applied
excitation on the system and also other assumptions
that vary regarding the aims of researchers and their
needs. For example, it may be assumed as a two-
dimensional problem [2] which in this case relatively
simple assumptions are applied on the system and
force equations take a simple form. While the three-
dimensional case, is more complicated [3] and [4]. Also,
the assumptions related to the used force model can
have different conditions which according to the
researchers objectives the number of forces may be
eliminated [5-6]. Various methods are used to
numerically solve the force equations depending on the
required accuracy in the problem [6]. On the other
hand, some researchers just address the quality aspect
of problem [7] whereas others analyzed the problem
analytically [8-10]. The application of it in various
industries has caused scientists to study various aspects
of the subject. The dominant view in any study
depending on the aim it seeks has its own unique
characteristics.

II. DISCRETE ELEMENT METHOD
Discrete element method is a novel method in
solving of granular materials problem. Recently

44
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ADVANCED SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH
Farzin Salehpour-Oskouyi and Amin Hadidi, Vol. 1, Issue. 2, pp. 44-51, 2012



researchers have utilized this method to study and
analyze the various granular issues [11]. In this method,
the problem is analyzed at consecutive time steps. The
whole of a collision process can be in several successive
time steps. Since, the onset of ball-ball or ball-wall
contact until the interference and indentation of them
with each other and then onset of separation stage until
their complete separation from each other occur in
several steps (Figure 1). For better understanding of this
case we can say that from a general view it seems that
the balls begin to move inside the chamber and
sometimes collisions take place. They interfere in each
other and then separation onsets until they are
completely separated and each under its own velocity
and gravity force continue moving along new paths.







Figure 1. Simulation of collision [4].

The philosophy of this approach is clear. Balls exert
forces to each other during contact. These forces are
different but the simplest of them is elasticity force
(spring force) which is an attempt to create an opposing
force in direction of balls separation. This force
gradually (during successive time steps) becomes so
great that eventually causes speed variation. In fact, it
creates a conductive acceleration that after a while it
will stop during balls concurrent, and then onset to
separate from each other. Even during leaving until the
two objects interfere, the force is still existed and
constantly increases the balls speed. This will continue
until the balls are completely separated. When no other
contact is existed between the balls, the other force
(due to collisions) will not exist. In the DEM, it is not
important that a particular ball in a specific moment is
in interaction with several balls or the wall; but what is
important is effect of these factors on it. The
surroundings of a particular ball interacting with it
(other balls, obstacles, walls) each, independently
leaves its force effects on the ball. In this method, the
effect of each ball is independently investigated free
from of effects of other balls on the central ball. Then,
by formation of free diagram of the ball, the ball will be
studied in an isolated environment. The applied total
forces and moments from the surrounding environment
create a resultant force and torque that having these
two the new position of the ball at the next time step is
obtained and the information are updated. This new
obtained information is initial conditions of the next
time step.
First, the collision must be identified before
calculation of collision force. It should be determined
that each ball interacts by what factors (ball-ball and
ball-wall collision). Therefore, collisions can be
identified at the beginning of each time step. The
created forces resulted from collisions are computed
and then the balls information and whole of system are
updated using the mentioned equations and finally a
time step is moved forward.

A. Collision Detection Algorithm
Large scale simulation of granular materials always
includes many collisions between discrete particles. The
importance of these collisions and the distinguishing
way of them are more when we know that at the next
stage of simulation, including force modeling and
analysis of dynamic particles, detection of collisions and
calculation of forces and moments form the main part
of the investigation. Thus, attempt to find suitable and
optimal ways in detection of collisions between
particles will greatly help to simulation progress. In this
method, the whole of system is modeled using a cubic
grid as shown in Figure 2. The grid is consisted of small
cubes which size of each one is equal to ball diameter.
Therefore, the center of ball is in the each house, the
house will belong to it.









Figure 2. The system grid [11].

After meshing the system, a specific number is
allocated for each house. On the other hand, every ball
has a unique number. Therefore, a matrix is defined in
which it determines that which ball lays in which

45
F
nE
=

K
n' n
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ADVANCED SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH
Farzin Salehpour-Oskouyi and Amin Hadidi, Vol. 1, Issue. 2, pp. 44-51, 2012



house.Hence, positioning of balls is simply done. In this
study, this matrix is used as an addressing matrix. In the
algorithm used in this study, instead of individually
studying of balls, all houses of grid system are
investigated. So, it is checked that whether a ball is in
an assumed house or not. In the absence of ball we
move to the next house. This continues until a house is

found with a ball inside. In this case, 26 houses around
the mentioned house are studied as shown in Figure 3.
Figure 4. Modeling of forces [3].

Forces resulted from the collision in the model are
considered including elastic force, friction force and
damping force. The final force acting on each particle is
consisted of the sum of above forces and external
forces applied on the particle. The collision force in
vertical direction is consisted of following
components[3],

Figure 3. Available housed around the central ball.
F
n
=

F
nE
+

F
nD
+

F
C
(1)

B. Collision Modeling
We are faced with two general cases in modeling of
collision between two balls. In the first model called
solid ball model, balls are assumed to be completely
solid and impervious. In this case, there is no need for
WhereFNE is the normal elastic force, FC is the
cohesion force and FND is the normal damping force.
The collision force in the tangential direction is limited
by Coulomb friction force [3],
accurate studying of the ball-ball collision. On the other
hand, systems with high particles can be analyzed using
this model because of less volume of calculations.
F
t
=

F
Fbgs
+

F
tD

F
t
=

F
Fags
(2)

(3)

However, this model cannot study simultaneous
collision of a ball with more than a ball. In the second
model called soft ball model, balls are assumed to be
completely soft and permeable. One of the modeling
methods related to this case is the springdamper
model. Different views about the dynamic modeling of
collision using spring-damper were expressed in the
literature. The two main approaches are widely used in
the DEM. In the first approach, which is simpler than the
other approach, the linear model of spring-damper-
slider (Figure 4) is used to model interactions between
the particles. In the second approach details of
collisions between particles are more focused. In this
approach, the Hertz-Mindlin model which is a non-linear
model is used for collision modeling [11]. The first
approach is the appropriate approach for problems
where FFbgs is the elastic component of the friction force
prior to gross sliding, FtD is the tangential damping
force, and FFags is the friction force at and after gross
sliding.
The normal elastic force FnE represents the repulsive
force between any two particles. It is calculated using a
simple Hookes linear spring relationship,
(4)

where Kn is the stiffness of the spring in the normal
direction, and n is the displacement between particles
i and j. If ith particle collide with jth particle, assuming
ri as center of ith ball, rj as center of jth ball, Ri as
radius of ith ball and Rj as radius of jth ball, the
amount of can be calculated as [9],
dealing with overall movement of collection. But, the
second approach is the appropriate approach for

'n
=

R
i
+

R
j

r
i
+

r
j
(5)

problems dealing with accurate amounts of forces and
stresses between particles. In this study, the first
approach is used.
The normal damping force FND is modeled as a dashpot
that dissipates a proportion of the relative kinetic
energy. It is calculated using a relationship [3],

46
3(1 )
ij
C
n
=

2

m
ij
K
n
d
' t
R
ij =
(9)

m
ij
=

(10)

+ (ln( ))
2

dv
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ADVANCED SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH
Farzin Salehpour-Oskouyi and Amin Hadidi, Vol. 1, Issue. 2, pp. 44-51, 2012



F
nD =
C
n
d
'n
dt
(6) where
'R
is

a

constant.

Langston

et

al.

(1995)

showed

how coupling of the tangential displacement to the
where Cn is the normal damping coefficient. In order to
obtain Kn and Cn following empirical relationships are
used [9],
normal displacement, can be calculated as a function of
Poissons ratio and the coefficient of friction of the
particles.
K
n =
R
0.5
E
2
(7) The tangential damping force FtD is modelled as a
dashpot that dissipates energy from the tangential

(8)

in which, Eis elasticity modulus, and is Poissons ratio.
motion. It is calculated using a relationship,
F
tD =
C
t
dt

(16)
Rij and mij are effective radius and mass of two balls
during collision, respectively and are calculated as [9],
R
i
R
j
R
i +
R
j
m
i
m
j
m
i +
m
j
is the coefficient of critical damping coefficient and
where Ct is the tangential damping coefficient.Ct is
calculated using following equation [9],
C
t =
2

m
ij
K
t (17)
Note that the calculation of this force is omitted if gross
sliding occurs because Kt is zero in this region.
The vibration force is introduced to the model by
oscillating the vessel. Currently this is limited to the z-
is calculated as [9],
ln()
=
2


(11)
direction only. Hence the particles move as a result of
contact between the moving wall and the particles.
Hence for particle i, the vibration force FV is calculated
as,
where, is elasticity modulus and is defined as the
ratio of the post- to pre-collisional tangential
component of the relative velocity.
The variation of the friction force prior to gross sliding
FFbgs is calculated using a simple Hookes linear spring
relationship,
F
Fbgs
=

K
t't (12)
Where Kt is the tangential stiffness coefficient, and
't
is

the

total

tangential

displacement

between

the

surfaces since their initial contact. Kt is calculated by
equaling the collision time in vertical and tangential
directions as following [11],
2
K
t
=

K
n
(13)

7
As mentioned earlier, the total tangential force is
limited by the Coulomb frictional limit. If exceeds then
sliding occurs and does not increase. In this case the
friction force after gross sliding FFags is calculated as,
F
Fags =
F
n (14)
where is the coefficient of friction, and FNE is the
normal elastic force which is calculated by the following
relationship [3],
F
v =
F
ny +
F
ty (18)
The vessel movement is defined relative to the vessel
base, which at any time is defined as,
t

<

t
start
Y
base
=

0

t
>
t
start Y
base =
A.sin(f.(t
t
start
))

where A is the amplitude, f is the frequency, t is the
time, and tstart is the time vibration starts.

C. Application of Euler-Newton law and numerical
analysis
Particle i motion is calculated by Newtons equation
of motion as follows.
Translational motion:


m
i
=

F
G
+

F
n
+

F
t
(19)

dt
where m is the mass of particle i, FG is the gravitational
force,

F
n
is

the

sum

of

the

normal

forces

(particle

particle

and

particlewall)

acting

on

the

particle,

F
t
is

sum of the tangential forces (particleparticle and
particlewall) acting on the particle and v is the linear
velocity of the particle. The acceleration of the particle
is computed from the net force, which is then
integrated for velocity and displacement as shown
'tMax = 'R'n (15)
below.

47
d(
TABLE I. REQUIRED

PARAMETERS

VALUES

IN

SIMULATION

t


AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ADVANCED SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH
Farzin Salehpour-Oskouyi and Amin Hadidi, Vol. 1, Issue. 2, pp. 44-51, 2012



Rotational motion:


I
i
=

M

(20)

dt

Where Ii is the moment of inertia, ( is the angular


velocity, M is the moment, which is calculated as,

M
=
R

F
t

(21)

Where R is the radial vector from the particle centre to
the point of contact. With the assumption that
acceleration is constant over the time step, the velocity
vector of each particle is then determined from,
r
+t
=

r

+

r

+t
t


\t+t
=
\t
+
\

+t
t

(22)

(23)

Where

r

is

the

position

vector,

r
t
is

the

linear

velocity

vector,

r

+t
is

the

linear

acceleration

vector,
\t
is

the

angular

velocity

vector

and
\

+t
is

the

angular

acceleration vector.
The positions and orientations at the end of the next
time step are then determined using an explicit
numerical integration, where the positions at are
obtained directly from the acceleration at t. Applying
the Euler method, the position is determined as
follows:





Figure 5. The simulated model.

Now, it is time to excite the system. It can be done by
applying a harmonic fluctuating motion on the
container (Figure 6). Now the final model is created in
software environment and is ready for analysis. The

r
t+t
=

r
t
+

0.5(r
t
+

r
t+t
)t


\t+t
=
\t
+

0.5(
\t
+
\t+t
)t

(24)

(25)
analysis is begun by choosing a suitable time step.

The time step is a constant value that is chosen to
ensure the stability and accuracy of the numerical
simulation, particularly the integration.
After performing the above steps once it comes to a
time step to move forward. Data obtained in the
specified time interval is the initial conditions of the
next step. Table 1 shows the model parameters used
here.

III. COMPUTER SIMULATION
In order to simulate the system, firstly different
parts of the system including container and particles
are created. In the next step, boundary conditions are
applied on the system. Then, container and particles
material and other specifications are determined.








Figure 6. Final model under vibration.


IV. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE
According to Figure 7, the used equipments include
Shaker, data acquisition system, accelerometer, and
related softwares. The excitation conditions of shaker
are determined through Pulse Labshop software and
are transferred to amplifier of shaker by data
acquisition system. After, amplifying the signal in
amplifier, the signal is transferred to the core of shaker
and its plane onsets to oscillate. Different types of

48
Parameter symbol Value
Stiffness coefficient (PP) Kn 10000 N/m
Stiffness coefficient (PW) Kn 8000 N/m
Tangential stiffness coefficient (PP) Kt 2850 N/m
Tangential stiffness coefficient (PW) Kt 2300 N/m
Friction coefficient (PP) 0.01
Displacement ratio (PP) 0.036
Normal damping coefficient (PP) Cn 0.3 N.s/m
Tangential damping coefficient (PP) Ct 0.03 N.s/m
Time step dt 0.001
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ADVANCED SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH
Farzin Salehpour-Oskouyi and Amin Hadidi, Vol. 1, Issue. 2, pp. 44-51, 2012



vibration and different oscillation conditions are
determined by software. The validation of proposed
model is studied using experiments.
particles is studied. The magnitude of frequency is set
on 10Hz. Increasing the amplitude from = 0 to = 2
the following positions are obtained.













Figure 7. Laboratory conditions.

V. SURVEY RESULTS
In this section we examine the effects of vibration
parameters on how the particles flow. The studied
parameters are frequency and amplitude of vibration.
As described in previous sections, a dimensionless


Figure 9. Final form of mixture for a:=0, b:=1,c:=1.5,d:=2.

As seen in Figure 9, slope of the line increases gradually.
Now with imposing the conditions of problem on the
theoretical model, we review the results of it. Initial
number defined as =
A(2f )
2

g
where A is amplitude
conditions, boundary conditions and excitation
conditions are applied on the mixture exactly as the

of vibration, f is excitation frequency and g is gravity. By
using this parameter, the effect of frequency and
amplitude of vibration can easily be studied separately.
System studied in this section is as figure 8.
experimental conditions applied. Following results
(figure 10) are obtained after 10 seconds.









Figure 8. Initial condition.

One way to study the particles flow is to check the final
form of mixture after specified time. In this section,
according to this subject, the effect of described
parameters on the final form of mixture is studied.


A. Effect of Changes in the Amplitude of Vibration
in a Constant Frequency on the Final form of Mixture
In this section, assuming a constant frequency of
vibration and increasing the magnitude of , the flow of

Figure 10. Final form of the theoretical model in 10Hz fora:=1, b:
=1.5,c: =2,d: =2.5, e: =3.

Comparing theoretical samples with the experimental
ones, it is observed that the numerical model which is
presented for a mixture of particles under vibration
gives a satisfactory result. Change of slope of mixture
surface is shown in Figure 11.




49
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ADVANCED SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH
Farzin Salehpour-Oskouyi and Amin Hadidi, Vol. 1, Issue. 2, pp. 44-51, 2012



Applying the same conditions on the theoretical
model, final form of mixtures after 10 seconds are obtains
as figure 13.






















Figure 11. Slope of mixture surface as a result of increasing the
vibration acceleration in the frequency of 10Hz.

B. The Effect of Vibration FrequencyChanges in a
Fixed Vibration Accelerationon the Final Form of
Mixture
In this section, assuming a constant vibration
acceleration and changing the magnitude of frequency,
the flow of particles is studied. The following results
(figure 12) are obtained in =2 after 10 seconds.
Figure 13. Final form of theoretical model for a: f=10Hz, b: f=15Hz, c:
f=20Hz.

Comparing the two models, it can be inferred that
increasing the frequency (vibration acceleration
remains constant) will cause the slope of mixture
surface to decline. So with increasing frequency, the
particles and their collisions with each other is less
severe. This is evident in both theory and empirical
model. Effect of frequency on the slope of mixture
surface is shown in Figure 14.













Figure 12. Final form of experimental model for a: f=10Hz, b: f=15Hz,
c: f=20Hz.
Figure 14. Change of slope as a result of increasing frequency.


VI. CONCLUSION
In this paper, a comprehensive model of interactions
resulted from collision of particles has been presented.
Then, the post-collision motion of particles was studied
using DEM. A system of spherical balls under vibration
was modeled and motion of them at different

50
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ADVANCED SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH
Farzin Salehpour-Oskouyi and Amin Hadidi, Vol. 1, Issue. 2, pp. 44-51, 2012



conditions was investigated. According to the results of
experiments and theoretical model analysis, it was
found that the proposed model is a complete model
and is near to actual case. Furthermore, various systems
with different initial conditions can be simulated using
this model.


REFERENCES
[1] Cundall,P.A., Formulation of a three dimensional distinct
element model, International Journal of Rock Mechanics
and Mining Sciences & Geomechanics, Vol. 25 (3), pp.
107-116, 1988.
[2] Cleary, P.W., DEM simulation of industrial particle flows:
case studies of dragline excavators, mixing in tumblers
and centrifugal mills,Powder Technology, Vol. 109, pp.
83-104, 2000.
[3] Asmar, B. N.,Langston, P. A.,Matchett, A. J.,Walters, J.
K.,Validation tests on a Distinct Element Model of
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[4] Aste, T., Di Matteo, T., Tordesillas, A., Granular and
Complex materials, World Scientific Lecture Notes in
Complex Systems, Vol. 8, 2007.


Farzin Salehpour-Oskouyireceived his B.Sc. degree in
Mechanical Engineering from Tabriz University in 2008
and his M.S. from Tabriz University in 2011. Mr.
Salehpour-Oskouyi is currently working on his Ph.D.
thesis at Department of Mechanical Engineering, in
Sahand University of Technology. His research
interests include the Reliability analysis and system
maintenance. He is a lecturer of Islamic Azad
University.




Amin Hadidireceived his B.Sc. degree in Mechanical
Engineering from Tabriz University in 2009 and his
M.S. from TarbiatModares University in 2011. Mr.
Hadidi is currently working on his Ph.D. thesis at
Department of Mechanical Engineering, in
TarbiatModares University. His research interests
include the numerical and experimental study of
magnetohydrodynamics. He is a lecturer of Islamic
Azad University.
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