Particles Flows

Simulate lean and dense gas-solid as well as solids only flow

Particulate flows in engineering exist everywhere – fluidized beds, cyclone separators, coating, conveyors, roasters, and more. Whether lean or dense particle flows, Simcenter is the first CAE tool to have full particle-flow integration to maximize particle efficiency and distribution, minimize energy consumption, avoid excessive wear and abrasion and optimize the overall performance.

By simulating realistic particle shapes accurately with proper particle motion and contact, engineers can ensure particulate performance. Unlike other tools, a single license is enough for resolving coupled flow and particulate physics, reducing expensive software and testing cost.

Comprehensive contact physics

Model the right contact for particle-particle and particle-wall collisions to simulate the accurate behavior of granular materials. Model everything from rolling friction, linear cohesion, artificial viscosity, heating impact, parallel bonds, and user-defined particle contacts.

Discrete Element Method (DEM)

Simcenter offers the industry’s first fully-integrated CAE tool for predicting and understanding particle behavior for highly loaded particulate flows. The Discrete Element Method (DEM) capability can accurately model non-spherical particle behavior. Unlike most codes, the particle behavior can be coupled with the flow and moving bodies in a single package, eliminating the need for expensive multiple software tools and reducing time and cost. The DEM model is widely used to simulate fluidized beds, rock mechanics, conveyors, tablet coating, plugging fissures in oil wells, crop harvesting, and lawnmowers.

Lagrangian particle model (LMP)

The Lagrangian Multiphase Model (LMP) provides an effective means of modeling particle movements in equipment. Erosion of safety valves due to the impingement of particles or droplets can be examined. Separation efficiency of particles across cyclone separators can be determined. Coupled with built-in heat and mass transfer models, the combustion of solid particles can also be simulated.

Multiple particle injectors

Simulate the right flow rate and particle size with multiple injector types for volumetric, surface or user-based injection of particles.

Particle Boundary Types and Motion

The dissipative nature of particles often requires moving boundaries. With Simcenter, motion can be applied to particle problems across the whole region, boundary tangential velocity, unsteady sliding mesh interface, overset boundary, DFBI body boundaries, and periodic boundaries. Fully capture particle interaction with multiple boundaries including baffles, porous walls, phase impermeable and thermal scenarios.

Particle Multiphysics

The particle models can be combined with multiple physics in the same interface allowing for accurate simulation of particulate behavior and extending application coverage. DEM is compatible with erosion, combustion, dynamic fluid-body interaction (DFBI), LMP and motion models. Applications include blast furnaces, coal combustion, calcination, excavators, agricultural attachments, marine vessels in ice, the slurry flows, subsea equipment, spray coating and melting.

Particle-Fluid Interaction (DEM/CFD)

DEM can be two-way coupled with the fluid in the same single interface without the need for additional software or license. Capture the right fluid-particle interaction with a fluid drag model, pressure gradient force model, shear lift and rotational lift/drag.

Range of particle shapes

Simulate real particulate behavior with primitive particle shapes (spherical, cylindrical, capsules, polyhedral), composite particles or particle clumps. The comprehensive suite of shapes can handle applications like bulk material handling, processing, fluidized bed, rock/soil, coal, ores, other mining materials, fibers, dishwashers, conveyors and tablet coating.