Full Text Available

Note: Clicking the button above will open the full text document at the original institutional repository in a new window.

The modelling of granular flow using the particle-in-cell method

Thesis (PhD (Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering))--University of Stellenbosch, 2004.

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Coetzee, Corne J.
Other Authors: Basson, A. H.
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch 2010
Subjects:
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1867614091435048960
access_status_str Open Access
author Coetzee, Corne J.
author2 Basson, A. H.
author_browse Basson, A. H.
Coetzee, Corne J.
author_facet Basson, A. H.
Coetzee, Corne J.
author_sort Coetzee, Corne J.
collection Thesis
dc_rights_str_mv University of Stellenbosch
description Thesis (PhD (Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering))--University of Stellenbosch, 2004.
format Thesis
id oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/1334
institution Stellenbosch University (South Africa)
language English
last_indexed 2026-06-10T12:46:31.699Z
license_str Other — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository
publishDate 2010
publishDateRange 2010
publishDateSort 2010
publisher Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch
publisherStr Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch
record_format dspace
source_str SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository
spelling oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/1334 The modelling of granular flow using the particle-in-cell method Coetzee, Corne J. Basson, A. H. Vermeer, P. A. University of Stellenbosch. Faculty of Engineering. Dept. of Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering. Dissertations -- Mechanical engineering Theses -- Mechanical engineering Granular materials -- Fluid dynamics Dynamics of a particle Earthmoving machinery -- Dynamics Thesis (PhD (Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering))--University of Stellenbosch, 2004. Granular flow occurs in a broad spectrum of industrial applications that range from separation and mixing in the pharmaceutical industry, to grinding and crushing, blasting, stockpile construction, flow in and from hoppers, silos, bins, and conveyer belts, agriculture, mining and earthmoving. Two totally different approaches of modelling granular flow are the Discrete Element Method (DEM) and continuum methods such as Finite Element Methods (FEM). Continuum methods can be divided into nonpolar or classic continuum methods and polar continuum methods. Large displacements are usually present during granular flow which, without remeshing, cannot be solved with standard finite element methods due to severe mesh distortion. The Particle-in-Cell (PIC) method, which is a so-called meshless method, eliminates this problem since all the state variables are traced by material points moving through a fixed mesh. The main goal of this research was to model the flow of noncohesive granular material in front of flat bulldozer blades and into excavator buckets using a continuum method. A PIC code was developed to model these processes under plane strain conditions. A contact model was used to model Coulomb friction between the material and the bucket/blade. Analytical solutions, published numerical and experimental results were used to validate the contact model and to demonstrate the code’s ability to model large displacements and deformations. The ability of both DEM and PIC to predict the forces acting on the blade and bucket and the material flow patterns were demonstrated. Shear bands that develop during the flow of material were investigated. As part of the PIC analyses, a comparison between classic continuum and polar continuum (Cosserat) results were made. This includes mesh size and orientation dependency, flow patterns and the forces acting on the blade and the bucket. It is concluded that the interaction of buckets and blades with granular materials can successfully be modelled with PIC. In the cases conducted here, the nonpolar continuum was more accurate than the polar continuum, but the polar continuum results were less dependent on the mesh size. The next step would be to apply this technology to solve industrial problems. Doctoral 2010-02-04T14:07:39Z 2010-06-01T08:18:53Z 2010-02-04T14:07:39Z 2010-06-01T08:18:53Z 2004-03 Thesis http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/1334 en University of Stellenbosch application/pdf Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch
spellingShingle Dissertations -- Mechanical engineering
Theses -- Mechanical engineering
Granular materials -- Fluid dynamics
Dynamics of a particle
Earthmoving machinery -- Dynamics
Coetzee, Corne J.
The modelling of granular flow using the particle-in-cell method
title The modelling of granular flow using the particle-in-cell method
title_full The modelling of granular flow using the particle-in-cell method
title_fullStr The modelling of granular flow using the particle-in-cell method
title_full_unstemmed The modelling of granular flow using the particle-in-cell method
title_short The modelling of granular flow using the particle-in-cell method
title_sort modelling of granular flow using the particle in cell method
topic Dissertations -- Mechanical engineering
Theses -- Mechanical engineering
Granular materials -- Fluid dynamics
Dynamics of a particle
Earthmoving machinery -- Dynamics
url http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/1334
work_keys_str_mv AT coetzeecornej themodellingofgranularflowusingtheparticleincellmethod
AT coetzeecornej modellingofgranularflowusingtheparticleincellmethod