Flexible Fibers & Membranes

Employing a variation of the bonded particle capability in EDEM it is possible to simulate fibers and membranes.

Individual fibers are modeled using flexible bonds between element particles in a linear array. The choice of bonding model depends on the modes of bending, twisting and stretching needed to adequately simulate the bulk fibers. The bending strength, stiffness and tensile strength of the model fibers can be calibrated against physical tests.

In the video example shown flexible fibers were created using an array of spheres. The results were visualised in EDEM Analyst using a CAD template of a cylinder wrapping each sphere to generate the images.

The second example shows flexible fibermodeling in action simulating the sieving of grains and stems. The stems are modeled as an array of particles each of which is made of 3 or 4 rigidly connected spheres to represented a section of the stem. Again in this case, each element particle is visualized using a cylindrical CAD template.

The fiber model can be extended to model a membrane represented using a lattice of small particles one-layer thick each bonded to its neighbour. This custom capability has been used to model flexible plastics and food products.

The example shows a piece of model cloth being dragged in a moving fluid and impacting a rigid object. The bonds between the element particles in the membrane flex and slide in response to the loading which causes the membrane to deform and wrap around the rigid object. The fluid drag on the membrane was calculated using velocity data for the 3D flow field which was computed separately using a CFD program.

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