Funded by: Afeyan Family Foundation
PI: Hrachya Kocharyan
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Project description
Many numerical and experimental studies in the literature have extensively investigated how the geometric properties of granular particles modify the properties of granular matter, such as flowability and penetration resistance. However, all of these reports either experimentally study the macroscopic behavior of the matter or make simplifications in numerical analysis, which can result in significant distortion of real-world physical behavior. One of the major issues in numerical simulations is the inherent inaccuracy of the simple contact laws used, which approximate the contact behavior between spherical particles with high accuracy but fail to do so for complex shapes. There is a worldwide effort to improve the leading numerical technique used in granular matter simulations: the Discrete Element Method (DEM). One such effort is within the European COST Action CA22132 Open Network on Discrete Element Method (DEM) Simulations (ON-DEM), where the PI serves as one of the working group leads. The proposed research collaboration stemmed from this action attempting to improve existing contact models. Another significant outcome of the project was the creation of a substantial experimental base for ongoing research in materials science.