EAPSI: Validation of a Numerical Method for the Simulation of Granular Materials

Kawamoto Reid Y, Pasadena CA

Investigators

Abstract

This project will validate a numerical method, the level set discrete element method (LS-DEM), that simulates the mechanical behavior of granular materials. Granular materials abound in the world and are the second most manipulated material in the world after water. A deeper understanding of their mechanics, gained through the use of LS-DEM, can have far-reaching implications in the fields of civil, mechanical, and aerospace engineering, as well as geophysics. This research will be conducted at the University of Tsukuba under Professor Takashi Matsushima, who researches granular materials and has a wealth of experimental data against which LS-DEM will be validated. LS-DEM is a variant of the discrete element method (DEM), but uses level set functions as the geometric basis for particles which gives it the ability to capture any particle shape as opposed to solely spheres as in DEM. LS-DEM integrates seamlessly with level set-based imaging techniques, allowing it to be able to replicate the exact shapes and initial conditions of particles in granular experiments, something which even other shape-based DEM variants cannot do. Furthermore, LS-DEM is computationally inexpensive. However, for all of its benefits, LS-DEM still needs to be validated against experimental data. To this end, the researcher will digitally replicate experimental specimens of standard sands commonly used in granular materials research and simulate them using LS-DEM in conditions identical to those in experiments. By showing that simulations and experiments yield similar mechanical responses, LS-DEM will be validated, thereby providing a greater justification for it to be used for granular applications in fields such as those previously mentioned. This award under the East Asia and Pacific Summer Institutes program supports summer research by a U.S. graduate student and is jointly funded by NSF and the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science.