Enhanced Thermal Process Engineering by the Extended Discrete Element Method (XDEM)

Abstract

A vast number of engineering applications$\$ninclude a continuous and discrete phase simultaneously,$\$nand therefore, cannot be solved accurately by continu-$\$nous or discrete approaches only. Problems that involve$\$nboth a continuous and a discrete phase are important$\$nin applications as diverse as pharmaceutical industry$\$ne.g. drug production, agriculture food and process-$\$ning industry, mining, construction and agricultural$\$nmachinery, metals manufacturing, energy production$\$nand systems biology. A novel technique referred to as$\$nExtended Discrete Element Method (XDEM) is devel-$\$noped, that offers a significant advancement for coupled$\$ndiscrete and continuous numerical simulation concepts.$\$nThe Extended Discrete Element Method extends the$\$ndynamics of granular materials or particles as described$\$nthrough the classical discrete element method (DEM) to$\$nadditional properties such as the thermodynamic state$\$nor stress/strain for each particle coupled to a continuum$\$nphase such as fluid flow or solid structures. Contrary$\$nto a continuum mechanics concept, XDEM aims at$\$nresolving the particulate phase through the various$\$nprocesses attached to particles. While DEM predicts$\$nthe spacial-temporal position and orientation for each$\$nparticle, XDEM additionally estimates properties such$\$nas the internal temperature and/or species distribution.$\$nThese predictive capabilities are further extended by an$\$ninteraction to fluid flow by heat, mass and momentum$\$ntransfer and impact of particles on structures.$\$n