EDEM Creator - Set up the Model

Learn how to set up a simulation model and equipment, and define the generation of bulk materials using EDEM Creator.

To set up the model:
  1. Select the units of measurement to be used throughout EDEM.
    For more information about how to select units, see Select Units.
    1. Click Tools > Options... and then select the Units tab.
    2. In the Units tab, change the following measurement units:
      • Velocity to m/s
      • Length to mm
    3. Click OK.
  2. Specify a title and description for the model.
    1. Click Project in the Creator Tree.
    2. In the Detailed View, specify a title (LEBM Unconfined Compression).
    3. Enter a description in the Description field.
    The model title and description is displayed in the Data Browser window. You can close the Data Browser window to allocate more space for the windows that will be used throughout this tutorial. If required, you can open the Data Browser window again by right-clicking the menu bar and selecting Data Browser.

Define the Bulk Material

The first step in setting up the model is to add bulk material and bulk material particle shapes to a model and define their interactions.

To define the bulk material:
  1. Add the bulk material.
    1. Right-click Bulk Material in the Creator Tree, select Add Bulk Material, and enter the name Particle Material in the BulkMaterial 1 highlighted field. Alternatively, you can also use the icons in the Toolbar.
  2. Define the bulk material properties and interactions.
    1. Select Particle Material in the Bulk Material section.


    2. In the Particle Material Properties dialog box, specify the Poisson's Ratio, and Shear Modulus, and Density.
  3. Define the bulk material interactions.
    1. In the Interactions section, click the icon.
    2. In the Select Material dialog box, select Particle Material from the dropdown list and ensure that the settings have the default values.
  4. Create a new particle type.
    1. Right-click BulkMaterial 1 and then select Add Shape from Library > Single Sphere.
    2. Rename the particle to Bonded particle.
    3. Set the radius of the sphere to 1.5 mm.
    4. Select the Edit Contact Radius checkbox below the Viewer Window.
      A new column is displayed in the table as follows:


    5. Set the value of the Contact Radius to 1.7 mm.
  5. Set the size distribution of the bulk material.
    1. In the Creator Tree, select Grain Particle > Size distribution.
    2. Select random from the Size Distribution dropdown list.


    3. In the Random Size Distribution Parameters section, select 0.8 from the Minimum list and 1.2 from the Maximum list.
    4. Select Radius in the Scale By section.
    5. Navigate to Bonded Particle > Properties and select Calculate Properties based on Spheres.
    Note: In this tutorial, a bonded particles model is used. When using bonded models, it is recommended to have a Contact Radius between the particles greater than the Physical Radius. The Contact Radius is important as it determines the area in which a bond can exist. When the particles no longer overlap the bond information is lost.

    A bond will be formed in the first Time Step of the simulation only. After these initial bonds have been created, no new bonds will be formed. Due to the formation of bonds during the first Time Step, either the Volume Packing tool can be used which creates particles prior to the first Time Step starting (as detailed in this tutorial) or export a previous simulation with particles already in place and the particles are created using a Contact Radius (where possible) to allow for bonds to be created between particles even when physically not in contact.



Define the Equipment Material

The next step in setting up the model is to add the equipment material which will be used in the simulation.

To define the equipment material:
  1. Add new equipment material.
    1. Right-click Equipment Material in the Creator Tree, and then select Add Equipment Material and enter the name 'steel' in the highlighted field.
  2. Define the equipment material properties.
    1. Select Steel in the Equipment Material section.
    2. In the Steel Properties dialog box, specify the Poisson's Ratio, Solids Density, and Shear Modulus as follows:


  3. Define the bulk material - equipment material interaction.
    1. In the Interaction dialog box, click the icon.
    2. Select BulkMaterial 1 and then click OK.
    3. Ensure that the settings have the default values.

Define the Geometries

The next step in setting up the model is to define the Geometry used in the model.

To define Geometries:
  1. Create the Loading plate.
    1. Right-click Geometries in the Creator Tree.
    2. Select Add Geometry > Polygon and then enter the name CompressionPlate into the highlighted field.
    3. Expand CompressionPlate in the Creator Tree and select the Transform subsection and set the Z position to 100 mm.
    4. Select the Polygon subsection and specify the Number of Edges and Dimensions of the polygon as follows:


    5. Right-click CompressionPlate and then select Add Motion > Add Linear Translation Kinematic.


  2. Create the Base Plate.
    1. Right-click Geometries to create a second polygon.
    2. Rename the polygon to GroundPlate.
    3. Set the Number of edges to 50 and radius to 80 mm.
    4. Leave the transform position to 0,0,0.
  3. Create the particle factory.
    1. Right-click Geometries to create a cylinder and rename to Particle factory.
    2. Click Add Factory and select Dynamic Factory.
    3. Select the Transform subsection and set the Z position to 50 mm.
    4. Set the Radius Start, Radius End. and Length as shown:


    5. Right-click Particle factory to add Volume Packing.
    6. In the Volume Packing dialog box, click the icon to add BulkMaterial 1.
    7. Set the Imposed Solid Fraction to 60%.
    8. Set the Start Time as 0 s.
    9. In the Volume Packing Configuration section, clear the Shrink Overlapping Particles checkbox as follows:


Define the Physics

The next step is to select the contact models that describe how elements behave when they come into contact with one another.

To define the Physics:

In this example, the default Hertz-Mindlin contact model and Standard Rolling Friction are used for both Particle to Particle and Particle to Geometry interactions.

  1. Select Physics in the Creator tree.
  2. Select Particle to Particle from the Interaction dropdown list.
  3. Click Edit Contact Chain.
  4. Select No Base Model from the Base Model dropdown list (replace this model with the Linear Elastic Bonding model which includes the base component).


  5. Select LinearElasticBonding and click OK.
  6. Select the LinearElasticBonding model and click the icon to define the bonds.
  7. Click the icon and set the parameters as follows:


    Optionally, to select a different model, click Edit Contact Chain and select the required contact models.
Next Step - Run the Simulation