EDEM Terminology

Definitions of terms used in EDEM.

BCC: A Body-centered Cubic (BCC) lattice has one particle at each corner of a cubic unit cell and one particle in the cell center. The packing efficiency of a BCC lattice is considerably higher than that of a simple cubic lattice.
CAD (Computer-Aided Design): CAD refers to the use of computer-based software to aid in design processes. The purpose of CAD is to optimize and streamline the designer's workflow, increase productivity, and improve the quality and level of detail in the design.
CAE (Computer-Aided Engineering): CAE refers to the complete engineering process from product design ideation and drafting to simulation and analysis testing. CAE involves the practice of applying computer assisted, math-based analysis, and simulation techniques to the product development process.
CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics): CFD refers to a branch of fluid mechanics that uses numerical analysis and data structures to analyze and solve problems involving fluid flows. Computers are used to perform the calculations required to simulate the free-stream flow of the fluid, and the interaction of the fluid (liquids and gases) with surfaces defined by boundary conditions.
Coefficient of Restitution: The Coefficient of Restitution is the ratio of the speed of separation to the speed of approach in a collision.
Coefficient of Rolling Friction: The Coefficient of Rolling Friction is a scalar value used to determine how much torque is needed to be applied to an object of a given material at rest on a flat surface to put it into motion. When a body rolls on a surface, both the body and the surface can deform to oppose this rolling motion. This is usually represented as a torque being applied to each of the bodies.
Coefficient of Static Friction: The Coefficient of Static Friction is a scalar value used to determine how much force is required before an inert object, of a given material, at rest on another known substance, can be put into motion.
Constructor: A constructor is a special method which puts the object's members into a valid state. It is a block of statements called when an object is created, either when it is declared or dynamically constructed.
Coordination Number: Co-ordination number is the total number of contacts in a simulation.
Cubic Lattice: A cubic lattice is defined by setting the start point, separation, and rotation. The start point is the point in the domain from where the lattice will be drawn. The separation is the distance between each corner node in the lattice which can be defined for each dimension. The rotation is the angle at which the entire lattice is tilted. EDEM Simulator will attempt to place a particle at every node, side center and cell center on or in the selected section. The center of each cell and side is not marked when the lattice is displayed in EDEM Viewer.
Deconstructor: A deconstructor is a method which is automatically invoked when the object is destroyed. The main purpose of a deconstructor is to clean up and free the resources which were acquired by the object along its life cycle and unlink it from other objects or resources invalidating any references in the process.
DEM: Discrete element method (DEM), also known as distinct element method, is any of a family of numerical methods for computing the motion and effect of a large number of small particles.
Deprecated: This feature has been superseded but is still available in the software. An alternative has been suggested. This feature may be removed in the future. If the removal of this feature causes issues, and the suggested alternative does not work as expected, contact the Support team.
Dynamic Factory: A dynamic factory produces particles over the course of a simulation. You can define the total number of particles to be created, the creation rate, and creation start time.
Dynamic Section: Sections can be static or dynamic. Dynamic sections move during the course of a simulation.
Facet Length: Facet length is the maximum length of a facet edge.
Facet Sag: Facet sag is the distance between the curved body surface and the facet.
FCC Lattice: A Face-Centered Cubic (FCC) lattice has one particle at each corner of a cubic unit cell and one particle in the center of each face. The packing efficiency of a FCC lattice is considerably higher than that of both a simple cubic lattice and a body centered cubic lattice.
FEA: Finite Element Analysis (FEA) refers to the simulation of any given physical phenomenon using the numerical technique called the Finite Element Method (FEM).
Fixed Time Step: A fixed Time Step is a Time Step that remains constant throughout the simulation.
Header File: A header file (or include file) is a file that a compiler automatically includes when processing another source file. Typically, the inclusion of header files are specified via compiler directives at the beginning (or head) of the other source file.
Log-Normal Distribution: Log-normal distribution is the probability distribution of any random variable whose logarithm is normally distributed. If x is a random variable with a normal distribution, then exp(x) has a log-normal distribution.
Makefile: Make is a utility for automatically building executable programs and libraries from source code. Files called makefiles specify how to derive the target program from each of its dependencies.
Method: A method (procedure, function, or subroutine) is a portion of code within a larger program which performs a specific task and is relatively independent of the remaining code.
Namespace: A namespace is a context for identifiers that groups related methods together.
Namespace Member: A Namaspace member is a method that belongs to a particular namespace.
Normal Distribution: Normal distribution is a theoretical frequency distribution with a finite mean and variance. A probability density function is used to represent the distribution in terms of integrals. It is usually represented by a bell-shaped curve, symmetrical about the mean also called the normal curve.
Object: An object is a data structure consisting of data fields and methods that can manipulate those fields. Generally, when calling a method from an object, the object itself should be passed as a parameter to the method.
Orientation Matrix: The orientation matrix describes the transformation of a co-ordinate to a new position. Non-spherical particles have their own three-dimensional co-ordinate system. This is necessary to define the position and orientation of the spheres making up the particle surface.
Particle Factory: Particle Factories are used to define where, when, and how particles appear in a simulation.
Physical Section: A physical section of a geometry is an actual surface or volume that particles can interact with.
Poisson's Ratio: Poisson's Ratio is the ratio of transverse contraction strain to longitudinal extension strain in the direction of the stretching force.
Shear Modulus: Shear Modulus (G) is defined as the ratio of shear stress (F) to the shear strain (A), G = F/A, where shear stress is the components of stress at a point that act parallel to the plane in which they lie, and shear strain is the components of a strain at a point that produce changes in shape of a body (distortion) without volumetric change.
Simple Cubic Lattice: A simple cubic lattice has one particle at each corner of a cubic unit cell.
Simulation Deck: An EDEM simulation usually consists of four files: a *.dem, *.dfg, *.idx and *.ptf file. All simulation data is stored within a sub-folder containing .h5 files. The .dfg and .idx files contain configuration and index information. If the .idx and .dfg files are not available, EDEM automatically creates them when the .dem file is loaded. The *.ptf file contains details of any particle templates imported into your model.
Simulation Time: The simulation time is the amount of real time your simulation represents. The number of iterations required to complete a simulation of a defined time is displayed at the bottom of the Simulation Time section.
Solids Density: Solids density is the density of a body is the weight per unit volume.
Static Factories: A static factory produces particles at a specified time. The simulation is paused while this takes place.
Thread: A thread results from a fork of a computer program into two or more concurrently running tasks. Multiple threads can exist within the same process and share resources such as memory, while different processes do not share these resources.
Time Step: Time Step is the amount of time between iterations (calculations).
User Defined Library (UDL): UDL, also known as a plugin, is a computer program that interacts with a host application.
Virtual Section: A virtual section is a surface or volume that does not actually exist and does not interact with anything in a simulation. Virtual sections are usually used to create particle factories.