Numerical investigation of compaction of deformable particles with bonded-particle model

¹ Hamburg University of Technology, 21073 Hamburg, Germany
² Federal University of Santa Catarina, 89218-000 Joinville, Brazil

^* Corresponding author: dosta@tuhh.de

Published online: 30 June 2017

Abstract

In this contribution, a novel approach developed for the microscale modelling of particles which undergo large deformations is presented. The proposed method is based on the bonded-particle model (BPM) and multi-stage strategy to adjust material and model parameters. By the BPM, modelled objects are represented as agglomerates which consist of smaller ideally spherical particles and are connected with cylindrical solid bonds. Each bond is considered as a separate object and in each time step the forces and moments acting in them are calculated. The developed approach has been applied to simulate the compaction of elastomeric rubber particles as single particles or in a random packing. To describe the complex mechanical behaviour of the particles, the solid bonds were modelled as ideally elastic beams. The functional parameters of solid bonds as well as material parameters of bonds and primary particles were estimated based on the experimental data for rubber spheres. Obtained results for acting force and for particle deformations during uniaxial compression are in good agreement with experimental data at higher strains.