DEM analysis of interaction between granular materials and a cutting blade

Abstract

Cutting of granular materials by a vertical flat blade is numerically investigated using a large-scale DEM. To examine the effects of particle size on the cutting behavior and force acting on the blade, three different-sized particles with 2, 1 and 0.4 mm in particle diameter are employed. Results show that for the larger particle, the force increases with the cutting distance after the initial shear process, whereas the force profiles for the smaller particles have repeated fluctuations. The analysis of the shear band development in the materials shows that the fluctuations are attributed to the consecutive appearing and disappearing of shear bands from the blade tip. The appearing and disappearing of the bands are not observed for the larger particle case and hence it can be concluded that the development of the shear band and force working on the blade are significantly influenced by the particle size.