DEM investigation on conveying of non-spherical particles in a screw conveyor

Screw conveyors are extensively used in modern industry such as metallurgy, architecture and pharmaceutical due to their high-efficiency in the transportation of granular materials. And substantial efforts have been devoted to the study of the screw conveyors. Numerical method is an effective way to study screw conveyor. However, previous studies have mainly focused in the regime of spherical particles while the in-depth investigations for non-spherical particles that should be the most encountered in practical applications are still limited. In view of the above situations, discrete element method (DEM), which has been widely accepted in simulating the discrete systems, is utilized to investigate the conveying process of non-spherical particles in a horizontal screw conveyor, with particles being modeled by super-ellipsoids. In addition, a wear model called SIEM (Shear Impact Energy Model) is incorporated into DEM to predict the wear of screw conveyor. The DEM simulation results demonstrate that the particle shape is influential for the flow behaviors of particles and the wear of conveyor. The conveying performance evaluated quantitatively of both mass flow rate and power consumption is subsequently obtained to investigate the effect of sphericity of particle with different operation parameters. Moreover, particle collision frequency and collision energy consumption are acquired to investigate the possible particle breakage between particles and screw blade. The comparisons between particle–particle collision and particle–wall collision reveal that particles with large shape index have more possibility to be damaged in particle–wall impingement.     

Discrete element simulation of effects of multicontact loading on single particle crushing

Particle crushing commonly occurs in granular materials and affects their structures and mechanical properties. Unlike idealized particles in experimental single particle crushing tests with two loading points, natural particles are crushed under multicontact loading. To date, the criteria and patterns of particle crushing under multicontact conditions are not fully understood. By using the three-dimensional discrete element method, this report explores the effect of multicontact loading on the crushing criterion of a single particle, the crushing pattern, and the relationship between the particle crushing strength and loading distribution. The particles are modelled as aggregates of glued Voronoi polyhedra. The numerical results indicate that the logarithm of the mean principal stress has a good linear correlation with the coordination number. For a specific coordination number, the number of child particles presents a significant normal distribution. For a specific number of child particles, the volumes of child particles can be statistically described as normal or gamma distribution. Three typical models are proposed to qualitatively analyse the relationship between the loading distribution and crushing strength. The relevant conclusions can be helpful in engineering practice and in further studies on crushable granular materials via the discrete element method.     

Influence of aspect ratio and arrangement direction on the shear behavior of ellipsoids

This work studies the macroscopic and microscopic behaviors of ellipsoids under triaxial tests using 3D discrete element method (DEM) simulation. To avoid the boundary effect, a novel stress servo-controlled periodic boundary condition is proposed to maintain the confining pressure of samples during testing. The shape features of ellipsoids are investigated, including the aspect ratio of elongated/oblate ellipsoids and the initial arrangement directions of ellipsoids. The macroscopic properties of ellipsoidal particle samples, such as the deviatoric stress, volumetric strain, internal friction angle, as well as dilatancy angles are explored. Elongated and oblate ellipsoids with varying aspect ratios are investigated for the occurrence of stick-slips. In addition, it is demonstrated that the initial arrangement direction has a significant impact on the coordination number and contact force chains. The corresponding anisotropy coefficients of the entire contact network are analyzed to probe the microscopic roots of macroscopic behavior.     

Reliability study of super-ellipsoid DEM in representing the packing structure of blast furnace

In industrial blast furnaces (BFs), the investigations involving the flow behaviors of particles and the resultant burden structure are essential to optimize its operation stability and energy consumption. With the advance of computing capability and mathematical model, the discrete element method (DEM) specialized in characterizing particle behavior has manifested its power in the investigation of BFs. In the framework of DEM, many particle models have been developed, but which model is more suitable for simulating the particle behaviors of BFs remains a question because real particles in BFs have large shape and size dispersity. Among these particle models, the super-ellipsoid model possesses the ability to change shape flexibly. Therefore, the focus of this study is to investigate whether the super-ellipsoid model can meet the requirement of authenticity and accuracy in simulating the behaviors of particles with large shape and size dispersity. To answer this question, a simplified BF charging system composed of a hopper and a storage bin is established. The charging process and the final packing structure are analyzed and compared between experiments and simulations with different shape indexes. The results show that super-ellipsoid particles have prominent advantages over spherical particles in terms of representing the real BF particles, and it can more reasonably reproduce the flow behaviors and packing structure of experimental particles. The computation cost of super-ellipsoid particles is also acceptable for engineering applications. Finally, the micro-scale characteristics of packing structure is analyzed and the single-ring charging process in industry-scale BF using super-ellipsoid particles is conducted.     

颗粒材料三维应力路径下的接触组构特性

颗粒材料的宏观应力变形特征与其微观接触力、组构等紧密相关.一般而言,强接触系统属于颗粒内部体系的传力结构,其对应的组构张量是影响宏观应力性质的重要因素.细观数值方法(如离散单元法)能够反映物理试验的基本规律,并且可以方便地提取宏微观数据来研究颗粒体系的应力变形机制.采用离散单元法(discrete element method,DEM)进行一系列等$p$等$b$应力路径下颗粒材料的真三轴试验,在此基础上研究了三维应力路径下颗粒材料的宏微观力学参数的演化过程、三维组构张量与应力张量多重联系以及强接触体系反映的宏观应力特征.研究表明:颗粒体系偏应力峰值状态和临界状态均存在与加载路径无关的宏微观特征;三维应力路径下组构张量与应力张量存在非共轴性,但其联合不变量演化过程表现出加载路径无关的特征;与弱接触系统的组构张量相比,强接触系统的组构张量更能反映宏观应力张量的特征;强弱接触体系的组构张量对颗粒体系宏观响应的贡献不同,其分界点存在一定取值范围,但采用平均接触力较为简单合理.      

基于Voronoi切割算法的碎冰区构造及离散元分析

离散元方法广泛应用于海冰,特别是碎冰区的动力过程及其对海洋结构作用过程的数值模拟。为构造碎冰区中的冰块几何特性,基于二维Voronoi图方法对计算域进行随机切割以生成碎冰区中冰块的几何形态,并采用球体单元对每个碎冰块单元进行填充,从而确定碎冰区的初始分布场。在采用Voronoi图进行碎冰区构造时,可对冰块尺寸、几何形态和密集度等海冰参数进行设定。为确定冰块的不同几何规则度,综合采用排斥法和扰动法以定量地控制碎冰块几何形态从完全随机分布到规则分布的连续变换。为分析不同几何规则度下碎冰块的几何特性概率分布规律,对计算域内冰块的面积和边数等参数进行统计分析,从而可更合理地参数化控制初始冰场中碎冰块的几何特性。在此基础上,本文基于粘接-破碎的球体离散元方法对不同冰况下锥体结构的冰荷载进行了数值计算,讨论分析了碎冰区的海冰密集度、冰块面积和几何规则度对冰载荷的影响。     

基于DEM数据机载气象雷达地杂波抑制方法

针对机载气象雷达工作于气象模式时地杂波的抑制问题,应用基于地形可视化的方法在时域对地杂波进行抑制的方法.首先分析机载气象雷达下视时气象目标和地杂波的分布特点,然后根据DEM（DigitalElevation Model）表达地形的特点,利用增量法对地形进行可视化判断.对于气象雷达扫描区域内的可视化点判断其所在的距离单元.将这些贡献地杂波的单元予以剔除.通过仿真实验验证了该方法的有效性.     

成分无序颗粒体系中切向力的分布

采用离散元模拟研究成分无序颗粒体系中切向力的几率分布.将切向力分为主切向力和次切向力分别进行统计,结果表明主切向力与次切向力服从不同的分布.随着缺陷率的增加,主切向力由近似的正态分布变为双峰状的分布,最后变为单峰状的分布;而次切向力总是指数型分布.通过理论计算和模拟讨论了切向力分布,说明缺陷率较大的成分无序体系与结构无序体系有类似的力分布规律.     

基于StereoSAR辅助的InSAR DEM重建方法研究

StereoSAR与InSAR是两种利用合成孔径雷达图像重建DEM的关键技术。InSAR利用SAR干涉像对的相位信息重建高程,具有DEM重建精度高的特点,但DEM重建精度受环境、时间等失相干因素影响较大;StereoSAR是利用SAR立体像对的幅度信息重建高程,尽管DEM重建理论精度比InSAR差,但受失相干因素影响小,并且可以在缺乏外部辅助高程信息时获取绝对DEM。在传统的InSAR处理中,干涉条纹密集区域相位解缠难度较大,存在相位解缠错误和错误传播现象,且在没有地面控制点或外部DEM的时难以获得绝对DEM。文中提出了一种迭代式的基于StereoSAR辅助的InSAR高精度DEM重建方法,该方法可以在缺乏外部高程信息时获得绝对DEM,降低干涉条纹密集区域相位解缠的难度,提高DEM重建精度。采用文中所提方法、传统InSAR方法及公开DEM辅助InSAR DEM重建方法,分别在地形复杂与平坦区域进行DEM重建,并用ICESat/GLAS及TanDEM-X DEM进行精度评估。DEM重建结果验证了文中所提方法的有效性,所提方法的DEM重建精度优于传统InSAR方法且与公开DEM辅助InSAR DEM重建方法精度相当。     

机载干涉雷达数据的直接地学编码处理

机载InSAR系统可以获取地面的高度信息，同时还能获取地面的SAR图像，因此机载InSAR可以获取地面的三维遥感信息。应用InSAR的图像和高度信息，结合飞机平台的三维位置和速度信息，依据SAR斜距一多普勒构像方程进行图像和DEM的地理编码处理，能够将SAR图像和DEM直接校正到大地坐标系统中，从而给出地面的三维遥感信息。通过对机载InSAR实际飞行数据像的处理，证明了该方法的可行性。