Deformable & Brittle Solids

EDEM provides the capability to approximate the deformation, fracture and break-up of solids ranging from soft solids, cementitious or compacted granular materials such as concrete, tarmacadam, briquettes, tablets, bricks etc, or more crystalline materials such as rock.

The model solids comprise an assembly of sub-particles which are “glued” together using various types of bonds as necessary for the engineering application.

The models of the bond mechanism can be customized and calibrated against relevant stress-strain and breakage tests to produce a close approximation of the failure of the real material.

The fidelity of the model will depend on the choice of sub-particle size and shape as well as the inter-particle bond model.

It is possible to customize the bond models to impose a distribution of bond strengths and allow variation of bond strength with time or as a function of some property of the system, e.g. temperature.

In the first video example a compacted flat brick-shape solid is being crushed. The failure strength of the model “meta-particle” is calibrated by adjusting the yield point for the bonds forces resisting relative normal, tangential and torque loads between adjacent sub-particles. The bond failure strengths in this model were quite high so approximating a type of brittle facture.

In the second example a softer, more deformable solid is being flexed through a loading and unloading cycle in a single-point bending test. The bonding model used in this case is designed to allow some slippages between the sub-particles which results in plastic deformation of the material after the load is removed.

For more information on this application and how to put EDEM and DEM Solutions simulation know-how to work for you… Contact us