Detecting vorticity in cohesive deformable granular material

Abstract

Numerical models of granular materials are useful in tribology, and can be used to predict wear and friction in contacts. DEM-like simulations are used to model particles of third-body, which are partly wear debris from rubbing bodies. It has been shown that the third-body particles can have different flow regimes, depending on their mechanical properties. Among the different characteristics of flow regimes, agglomerate size seems to be crucial. A method based on vortex analysis used in fluid mechanics allows characterizing this cluster size. The results show that different vortex sizes can be observed during the simulation. In particular, it is observed that some vortexes of a characteristic size persist over time, and could be representative of agglomerates. These results pave the way for a better characterisation of the different flow regimes.