EDEM Simulator

EDEM Simulator is a powerful solver used for fast and efficient simulations.

Use EDEM Simulator to:

Configure and control the EDEM simulation engine, and observe the progress of your simulation
Cutting-edge DEM solver, highly parallelized for use on multi-core shared memory workstations, GPU hardware, and Multi-GPU systems
Double-precision Solver engine used across all platforms
Simulations for large and complex particle systems.
Live viewer window to review progress and assess design performance
Ability to start and stop simulations at any time or configure data output while running a simulation

EDEM Simulator is supported by a range of time-saving tools, including the novel Dynamic Domain as well as auto-settings for key DEM solver parameters that help reduce the overall simulation run time.

The Simulator Pane
The Viewer
The Toolbar and Menu Bar
The Solve Report

The Simulator Pane

The Simulator pane is where you define the Time Step, simulation time, grid options and Simulator Engine for the CPU mode.

The Viewer

The Viewer displays 3D representations of your particles, Geometry, and fields (if applicable). You can control the rotation, position, and zoom factor of the Viewer using a mouse. There are a number of animation controls displayed below the Viewer.

You can set up more than one display by splitting the screen in order to see the progress of the simulation from different points of view. The simulation start/stop button and simulation progress bar are located below the Viewer.

The Toolbar and Menu Bar


Icon	Name	Description
	Creator	Opens EDEM Creator
	Simulator	Opens EDEM Simulator
	Analyst	Opens EDEM Analyst
	Save	Saves changes made to the Simulator settings
	Help	Displays the online Help
	Change Time Step Back	Moves to the first Time Step in the simulation
	Change Time Step Forward	Moves to the last Time Step in the simulation
	Filled Display Mode	Displays Geometry as filled
	Mesh Display Mode	Displays Geometry as a mesh
	Points Display Mode	Displays Geometry as points
	Display Particles	Displays or hides all particles
	Display Frozen Particles	When selected while using the Dynamic Domain, any frozen particles will be colored black
	Display Cylindrical Periodic Boundary Conditions	Displays cylindrical periodic boundary conditions
	Show GPU Splitting Plane	Shows/hides GPU splitting planes
	Refresh Display	Updates Viewer to display the 3D simulation at the Time Step when the button is pressed
	Auto Update	Activates/Disables automatic updates
	Simulator Grid	Shows/Hides Simulator Grid (Multi-Sphere particles only)
	Start Coupling Server	Starts the Coupling Server
	Coupling Server Disabled	Disables the Coupling Server


File Menu
Save	Saves the current model
Import Config	Imports a config (*.dfg) file
Export Config	Exports a config (*.dfg) file
Creator	Starts EDEM Creator
Simulator	Starts EDEM Simulator
Analyst	Starts EDEM Analyst
Quit	Exits EDEM


Tools > Options Menu
GPU Memory Calculator
Total Available Memory Size	Indicates the memory available within the used GPU device. If a different GPU is used for display and processing, the value available may not match the true amount available.
Required Memory for Grid	Indicates the memory allocated to the domain grid
Required Memory for Particle	Indicates the memory allocated to particle data
Required Memory for Contact Cache	Indicates the memory allocated to the possibility of simultaneous contacts in one particle
Required Memory for Contact Storage	Indicates the memory allocated for contact data
Number of Particles	Indicates the amount of initial memory allocated for particles. It is recommended to input the number if it is known. Otherwise, click the green arrow to let EDEM estimate it from the factories already set in the Creator. While the default value is 100k, the minimum value can be set to 10k.
Number of spheres (Multi-Sphere only)	Defines the amount of initial memory allocated for contact cache and contact storage. It is recommended to input the number if it is known. Otherwise, click the green arrow to let EDEM estimate it from the factories already set in the Creator. While the default value is 100k, the minimum value can be set to 10k.
Number of Particle – Particle Contacts	Indicates the number of Particle-Particle contacts and can be set up if known. Otherwise, with the green arrow, EDEM will estimate an average of three Particle-Particle contacts per sphere. While the default value is 300k, the minimum value can be set to 10k.
Number of Particle – Geometry Contacts	Indicates the number of Particle-Geometry contacts and can be set up if known. Otherwise, with the green arrow, EDEM will estimate an average of one Particle-Geometry contact per sphere. While the default value is 100k, the minimum value can be set to 10k.
Required Memory for Geometry	Indicates the memory allocated to the Geometry mesh
Total Required Memory size	Indicates the total memory required by all the above parameters
Additional Components
Coupling Options	RecurDyn Coupling Select the checkbox to view the Import Geometry from RecurDyn option after you right-click Geometries in the Creator Tree. This allows you to read a `*.wall` file generated by RecurDyn after which you can import a Geometry from RecurDyn. Once the Geometry is imported and the coupling interface is enabled, RecurDyn can control the Geometry motion. The forces experienced by these Geometries are passed back to RecurDyn, which then calculates any motions resulting from these forces.
	Abaqus Coupling Select the checkbox to view the Abaqus Co-Simulation option in the Analyst > Tools menu allowing you to couple EDEM with Abaqus FEA.
	Enable FlexTire Select the checkbox to enable coupling with FlexTire, if available.
Experimental Options	Contact Models Select the Experimental Contact Models checkbox to view Experimental Contact models in the Edit Contact Chain dialog box of the Physics tree in EDEM Creator.
Data Browser
Color Options	Select the Text, Link, and Background colors to configure the color of the data browser text and background.
Display Options
Default View Projection options	Perspective Select to change the default view for the deck to Perspective.
Default View Projection options	Orthographic Select to change the default view for the deck to Orthographic.
Background Color	Select the fill color of the Viewer background. The background can be colored with a single color or gradient fill. The color change will affect EDEM Creator, Simulator, and Analyst.
User Logo	Select the Enable checkbox to display a custom logo.
Logo File Path	Click the … icon to browse to the path of the logo file.
Scaling in Width	Use the scaling options to position, scale, and specify the opacity as required.
Display As	Select the Foreground or Background option to display the user logo.
File Locations
Materials Database	Browse to the location of the Materials database used to store and transfer materials to and from simulations.
GEMM Database	Browse to the location of the Generic EDEM Material Model database used to import to EDEM.
Contact Models	Browse to the location of the custom(user-defined) contact models. For more information about user-defined models, see the Programming Guide.
Particle Body Force	Browse to the location of custom(user-defined) particle body force models.
Particles	Browse to the location of particles saved independently of the model for reuse in other projects.
Factories	Browse to the location of any user-defined factories.
Geometry Import Temporary File Location Override	Select the checkbox to change the temporary file location used during the Geometry import process. Use this option only if there is an issue with using the default TEMP file location.
Alternate Windows import method	Select the checkbox when you import a file using Windows. A command line window is displayed and the command `hmbatch import` is executed, and you can view the output. However, the import operation is executed as normal.
Mouse 3D Configuration
Enable 3D Mouse Control	Select the checkbox if you want to use a 3D Mouse for navigation. Specify the parameters such as translation, rotation sensitivity, and axis inversion.
Mouse Configuration
Camera Actions	Change the mouse button and modifier key to pan, track, zoom, and rotate the camera. Modifier keys assign keys to perform the specified camera action. Note: Select any unique combination of three mouse buttons and three keys for each motion.
Rotate on Axis	Change the mouse button and modifier key used to rotate on an axis. You can also set rotation on the model or screen axis for both horizontal and vertical rotations.
Bin Control	Select an option from the Bin Control Modifier dropdown list to change the color from blue to green. Select the Pan, Track, Axis Locked Rotation, and Free Rotation options using the Bin Control Modifier (default Ctrl) to move the bin.
Mouse Sensitivity	Select the Invert Zoom checkbox to reverse the zoom direction. Note: The options to redefine the buttons and sensitivity sliders do not work for Track and Zoom.
Mouse Sensitivity	Select the Track and Zoom options to alter the mouse sensitivity independently. You can also specify modifier keys for each sensitivity setting.
Rendering Options
Render all using legacy display	Select the checkbox if EDEM cannot use the Computer Graphics Card. This is applicable when using Remote Desktop or EDEM on computers with out-of-date graphics card drivers.
Reduce new template details during camera movement	Select the checkbox to speed up the manipulation of the EDEM Viewer when using particle templates. Particles will be visualized as spheres while the view is being adjusted and then switch to templates when the view is fixed.
Display Templates	Select the 3D CAD files to be used as particle templates. You use templates as a guide (outline) to help define the shape of your particle in EDEM Creator as well as providing, if required, the shape for calculation of the center of gravity and mass moments of inertia, or as a display option in EDEM Analyst. When a model containing a particle template is saved, an extra file `(.ptf)` is created. If this file is deleted, the template information will no longer be stored within the model.
Section Options
Creator
Timestep on Switch	Select the Load Last checkbox to automatically load the last Time Step when you switch to the Creator automatically.
Hide Options	Select the Hide Electrostatics checkbox to hide the configurations for Geometries and Particle factories.
Simulator
Compress Save Data	Select the checkbox to compress the simulation data as it is saved to minimize file size. Unselecting this option will reduce the time taken to save the simulation data but increase the file size.
Show Licensed CPUs	Select the checkbox to display the number of CPUs available under the current software license. Warning: System specifications may limit the number of CPUs that can be used.
Timestep on Switch	Select the Load Last checkbox to view the last Time Step when switching to the Simulator. By default, the current Time Step is displayed.
Particle Size Distribution Solver Graph	Select the number of Histogram bars to be displayed in the Solve Report.
Number of Histogram Bars	Select the number of Histogram bars to be displayed from the dropdown list.
Analyst
Timestep on File Load	Select the Load Last option to load models into EDEM Analyst with the last Time Step appearing first.
Timestep on File Load	Select the Load First option to load models into EDEM Analyst with the first Time Step appearing first.
Display	Select the Auto Update Display checkbox to automatically toggle between updating the display when changing display properties, or an Apply button that must be first selected.
	Select the Axis Key checkbox to turn the display of the Axis key in the Viewer on or off.
	Select the Domain Box checkbox to turn the display of the boundary box (marking the domain edges) in the Viewer on or off.
	Select the Timestamp checkbox to turn the display of the time stamp in the Viewer on or off.
Data Export Defaults	Select the default format from the Notation dropdown list when exporting data using the data export tool. Options are Smart, Fixed-Point, and Scientific.
Data Export Defaults	Select the corresponding default precision from the Precision dropdown list when exporting data using the data export tool.
Suppress Warning Messages	Select the Suppress Deprecated Contact Model Warning Messages checkbox to disable warning messages when deprecated Contact models (models that are outdated in this release of EDEM) are used.
Simulator Engine
Engine Default Settings	Select an engine from the Default Engine dropdown list. Options are CPU Solver, and GPU CUDA Solver. Note: In EDEM Simulator, you can modify the default engine after which this information is stored for every simulation in the `simulation_name.dfg` file. While opening existing simulations, the engine that is displayed will have the last saved setting for the simulation.
Engine Default Settings	Default Number Of Cores allows you to specify the default number of cores. When starting a new simulation, EDEM uses the default number of the Maximum Cores available on the local PC. This can be specified once for every user after which EDEM will use the default setting.
Units	Select Set All to SI to specify all the measurement units used throughout EDEM to be standard SI measurement units.
Units	Select Set All to CGS to specify all the measurement units used throughout EDEM to be standard SI measurement units.

Solve Report

The Solve Report is an .html page that displays detailed information about your model. It provides detailed information from the last refresh point which may not be the current simulation time.

In the Simulator tab, right-click the tool bar, and click Solve Report to launch the Solve Report in case it is disabled.
You can move and position the Solve Report below the 3D Viewer, above the Simulator settings, or in place of the Simulator Settings where you can navigate back and forth between the Solve Report and Simulator settings.
Right-click the Solve Report and select Save to save the information in an .html file.
Right-click the Solve Report and select Refresh to update the information to the current simulation time.


Tools > Options
Color Options
Text	Changes the color of the text used in the Solve Report
Link	Changes the color of the hyperlinks used in the Solve Report
Background	Changes the background color of the Solve Report
Categories Displayed
Simulation	Shows statistics related to the entire simulation in the Solve Report
Custom Simulation Properties	Shows details of the Custom Properties in the Solve Report
Grid Cells	Shows details of the cell grid size (only if you have selected the CUDA Solver) in the Solve Report
Particles	Shows details related to particles in the Solve Report
Geometry	Shows details related to Geometry in the Solve Report
Energy	Shows statistics related to energy in the Solve Report
Factories	Shows statistics related the factories in the Solve Report
Auto Update
Enabled	Updates the Solve Report at regular intervals
Update Every <n> Iterations	Modifies the number of intervals used to update the Solve Report

The Solve Report contains the following sections:


Simulation
Status	Indicates whether the simulation is processing or stopped
Time Step	Indicates the time step used by the model as detailed in the Simulator
Estimated total computation time	Indicates the estimated total time to complete the simulation
Current time	Indicates the time elapsed into processing
Elapsed computation time	Indicates the time since the simulation started (excluding pauses)
Exported simulations	Indicates the elapsed time reset to 0 on export


Particles
Total number	Indicates the total number of particles in the model
Total removed	Indicates the total number of particles removed from the model. For example, particles that move beyond the domain boundaries.
Minimum speed	Indicates the speed of the slowest particle in the model
Maximum speed	Indicates the speed of the fastest particle in the model


Grid Cells (CUDA Solver)
Status	Indicates the allocation of grid cells or if grid cells have been initialized
Side Length	Indicates the dimensions of grid cells as specified in the Simulator
Created	Indicates the number of grid cells created


Geometry Section
Speed	Indicates the speed of the Geometry section
Number of particles in contact	Indicates the total number of particles in contact with the Geometry section at the current Time Step.


Energy
System energy	Indicates the total energy in the model at the current time. It is the sum of the kinetic energy, potential energy and the energy in any contacts taking place. It should be equal to the total energy gained by creating particles plus the total energy gained by Geometry movement minus the energy lost through contacts minus the energy lost by removing particles.
Kinetic and potential energy	Indicates the total kinetic and potential energy in the system
Total lost by removing particles	Indicates the total energy lost by removing particles from the domain
Total lost through contacts	Indicates the total energy lost by contacts between elements
Total gained by creating particles	Indicates the total energy gained
Total gained by external forces	Indicates the total energy gained from external forces.


Factory
Status	Indicates the current factory status
Total particles created	Indicates the number of particles that could not be placed after reaching the maximum attempts to place the particle
Total particles regenerated	Indicates the number of particle creation attempts. If this number is significantly larger than the total particles created, it is an indication that the simulation is running slowly due to excessive CPU effort going towards creating particles.
Total particles failed	Indicates the number of particles accepted and currently being generated
Total particles accepted	Indicates the number of particles accepted in the grid
Creation rate/target creation rate	Indicates the particle or mass creation rate as specified in the Factories pane
Mass created since rate change	Indicates the amount of mass created by the factory (when the creation rate is set to the target mass rate of particles).
Actual creation rate since rate change	Indicates the actual creation rate (as opposed to the target creation rate) when the creation rate is set to the target mass rate of particles


View Menu
Show Particles	Select to turn the particle display on or off in the Viewer
Parent-Child Lines	Select to view the lines connecting objects in the Creator and Simulator tabs that are linked with parent–child relationships.
Themes	Select Legacy (default) or Dark Theme for the EDEM interface
Toggle Display Command Line Output	Select to open the Command Line output window and view items that are not displayed in the EDEM interface, such as licensing errors.
Show Frozen Particles	Select to view the frozen particles in black when using Dynamic Domain
Refresh Display	Select to update the Viewer to display the 3D simulation at the Time Step when the button is pressed
Auto Update	Select to activate/deactivate automatic updates to the simulation in the Viewer
Show Simulator Grid	Select to activate/deactivate the Simulator Grid


Displays Menu
Show 1 Display	Shows the EDEM window in a single display.
Show 2 Displays	Shows the EDEM window in two viewer displays to review different view-points of the model within each window
Show 3 Displays	Shows the EDEM window in three viewer displays to review different view-points of the model within each window
Show 4 Displays	Shows the EDEM window in four viewer displays to review different view-points of the model within each window
Split Display Horizontally	Splits the displays horizontally so that simulations may be simultaneously reviewed qualitatively and quantitatively on the same display
Split Display Vertically	Splits the displays vertically so that simulations may be reviewed both qualitatively and quantitatively on the same display


Help Menu
Help	Displays information about the EDEM interface
About EDEM	Displays the current version of EDEM. The EDEM Version and Revision number are useful for EDEM Technical Support when discussing support cases.
About Altair Simulation Products	Displays the Copyright notices, Altair website, License Agreements, and Customer Support information.