Using EDEM at Astec, Inc.

This webinar will show you how simulation tools and state of the art modeling techniques enable users to virtually test next generation blast furnace operation and processes and transform iron & steelmaking processes in line with your decarbonization goals. By applying the presented tools and methods, you can learn how to optimize the different stages of ironmaking processes such as: transportation and raw material handling, mineral processing, blast furnace and sintering.

For golf equipment manufacturers, wedge design for sand bunker play is a key part of the golfing clubs set. The club-sand interaction can be a defining condition for the club head design and hence success of the shot. In this video Altair® EDEM™ software is used to analyze a golf bunker shot by modeling the sand-club interaction down to the particle level to predict the performance of the club head design under different scenarios (different soil conditions, different club designs and swing motion parameters, etc.)

ArcelorMittal is the world’s leading steel and mining company, with a presence in 60 countries and primary steelmaking facilities in 17 countries employing more than 190,000 people. In a recent project, a large-scale charging chute of a sinter cooler plant in Fos-Sur-Mer had to be optimized by the ArcelorMittal R&D team to improve the reliability and efficiency of this device. The objective was to identify a better and more feasible design that improved granular segregation, abrasion, and mechanical resistance. ArcelorMittal R&D used the high-performance software for granular material simulation EDEM to simulate and analyze the granular flows in the charging chute. Providing pre-calibrated material models, EDEM enabled the engineers to create and calibrate their EDEM model to match the physical experiments. The DEM simulation provided valuable insight into the granular flow in the charging chute and segregation patterns, which is difficult and sometimes impossible to measure in experiments.

Nowadays most vehicles include cameras and sensor technology as useful driving and safety aids. Hazardous weather conditions such as snowfall can heavily impact a vehicle's performance, resulting in a higher risk for the driver and passengers. This video shows how EDEM simulation software can be used to predict and analyze where snow will accumulate over time. This allows automotive engineers and designers to virtually test different sensor and camera locations on vehicles under varying conditions such as the intensity of snowfall or at different vehicle speeds.

PM-FlexTire deformable tire model for use with EDEM soil models and ADAMS or Motion Solve. PM-FlexTire is an finite element-based tire model that is integrated with the Altair® EDEM™ soft-soil simulation platform and significantly expands what is possible in virtual development of soft-soil mobility. The model provides realistic deformation and high fidelity forces and moments through co-simulation between EDEM and multi-body dynamics (MBD) codes. Included time-varying air pressure model and detailed tread pattern interaction with particles are features unique to PM-FlexTire. Users can create models from tire CAD using various meshing solutions including Altair® HyperMesh® and Gmsh integrations, or use meshes generated from other third party meshing tools. Comprehensive integration with discrete element method (DEM) simulation provides a high level of utility relative to alternatives to support increased scope of virtual development. Simulation complexity and licensing cost of PM-FlexTire and the corresponding integrations are "best fit" for virtual mobility development in soft-soil DEM simulation environments.

Altair® EDEM™ is a discrete element method solver that enables users to accurately simulate particulate processes. When coupled with Altair Computational Fluid Dynamics (AcuSolve), these two solutions enable the simulation and analysis of two-phase solid-fluid systems. These simulation tools are widely used in various industries and in academia to deepen the understanding of different unit operations, such as mixers, coaters, fluidized beds and pneumatic conveyors. The unique and novel solutions that Altair offers address the challenges when using DEM and coupled CFD-DEM methods.

Dust is a serious problem for industries that handle and process bulk materials, causing deteriorating ambient air quality, human health concerns, while increases housekeeping labor costs to meet safe levels for health and fire risks. Learn from Dr. Andrew Grima about the technologies employed to develop a successful solution to minimize dust by using calibrated discrete element modeling (DEM) and new dust extraction technology.

The Digital Twin concept is broadly applicable to all Altair customer base wanting to develop better products faster. We will explain how to maximize the value you can get from the Altair Platform for Digital Twins. We will illustrate how this solution helps diverse engineering teams develop better, more complex products faster by avoiding work in silos. This will include proven uses cases for the convergence of simulation and data.

In this webinar, learn more about Altair EDEM software and how it can help optimize a range of pharmaceutical manufacturing processes including mixing, milling, tableting, and tablet coating.

EDEM accurately simulates and analyzes the behavior of powders, tablets and capsules. It can provide key insight into operations and processes otherwise difficult or impossible to obtain using experiments alone.

Learn how leading pharmaceutical manufacturers including Novo Nordisk and Pfizer are using EDEM to increase process efficiency and capability, improve product quality, reduce prototyping costs, and get products to market quicker.

Webinar contents:
• Context and Challenges
• Introducing Altair EDEM
• Applications examples: storage and conveying, mixing, milling, tableting, and tablet coating
• Q&A

Duration: 57 minutes

In this workshop you will learn how EDEM can be used by engineers in a variety of industries for virtual testing. And, of course, how you can gain critical insights into the interaction of materials and plant during a range of operating and process conditions. The Discrete Element Method (DEM) is a discrete matter simulation method that captures the dual nature of fluid and solid properties of granular material flow. Bulk materials are complex in their behavior and this poses challenges for engineers, as granular materials often have a significant impact on the performance of a device or the efficiency of a process. Simulation-based design earlier in the design cycle can reduce the amount of prototype testing, cost and time, and deliver an improved design.

Heavy equipment manufacturers want to design products that are durable and perform at their peak under a variety of conditions. To accomplish this, Altair provides an integrated multi-disciplinary simulation environment to virtually test and optimize equipment performance and therefore, help reduce design and development costs. Using simulation-driven design, studying the full dynamics of a product or system is possible, from motion analysis to complete lifecycle durability testing.

Heavy mobile machines consist mostly of production equipment working almost twenty hours a day, year on year, in diverse harsh environments, undergoing extreme loads and overloads. Especially diggers and loaders such as hydraulic excavators, wheel loaders, and backhoes, cater to multiple applications with use cases such as digging, trenching, loading, lifting, breaking, and ripping. Many times, these machines undergo non-standard uses where the machine is subjected to unplanned forces and moments as in the case of self-loading on a trailer, or a bucket hitting a dump truck body. This paper highlights the workflow process and simulation-driven methods to integrate multi-physics with Altair’s industry-leading solutions. The latest generation of Altair simulation tools can capture a wider range of vehicle systems and environmental interactions.

Workflow using Altair SimSolid and EDEM to show particle flow of a transfer chute deflector plate.

This presentation provides an introduction to the Discrete Element Method (DEM) and its application to solve powder processing challenges. Use cases presented include the use of Altair EDEM to simulate a twin screw extruder as well as a proof of concept study using EDEM with CFD to investigate pneumatic conveying.

Presented at the 2nd Altair Academic Outreach Event in June 2021

Speaker: Dr. Akeem Olaleye, Research Fellow, University of Limerick
Duration: 17 minutes

Information silos present a major challenge to Heavy Equipment OEMs. Poor integration of simulation models across the product life cycle, limited reuse of models between programs, and a variation of modeling maturity across various engineering disciplines result in lack of traceability and ultimately hampers development efficiency and product performance. Using system modeling and asset-centric data analytics solutions help develop and orchestrate coherent models to increase decision-making confidence and speed.

This tutorial describes how to create a new cohesion contact model, based on an existing contact model supplied with EDEM. The cohesion model is modified to include time-dependent particle-to-particle and particle-to-geometry cohesion. The main focus is on: Editing the physics of the Linear Cohesion model on both CPU and GPU Compiling and loading a Custom Contact Model Post-Processing the model to investigate variable cohesion

This presentation introduces the co-simulation solution between Altair EDEM and MotionSolve which enables engineers to introduce realistic bulk material loads to their multi-body dynamics simulations.

Coupling EDEM with Altair AcuSolve Computational Fluid Dynamics enables engineers to perform coupled CFD-DEM simulations to accurately simulate particle-fluid systems such as fluidized beds, spray coating, spreading, and more. This presentation starts with an overview of CFD, then explains the Altair EDEM - AcuSolve coupling with some application examples.

This presentation focuses on the considerations for modelling particle solids with EDEM, introduces the philosophy and the importance of calibration. Furthermore, the participants will learn the calibration of coarse particulate solids and on the calibration approach for fine materials such as powders. Additional calibration tools, such as the GEMM Database, Calibration Kit and EDEM Cal are also introduced during this session. Goals and Objectives: Modelling approach for coarse particulate solids Modelling approach for powders and soils GEMM Database EDEM Calibration Kit EDEM Cal tool

This webinar session was presented during the 2021 organized in collaboration with Iowa State University on Off-Road Equipment Simulation and Modelling. The presentation covers the use of EDEM in a range of industry applications related to the workshop. In addition to showcasing some of the possible granular materials that can be modelled using EDEM, such as grain, fibers or soils. The EDEM industry examples include crop and soil interaction agricultural machinery, heavy equipment and off-road vehicles.

The EDEM API Introduction presentation gives an overview of the customization of EDEM physics and post-processing capabilities. The presentation introduces EDEMpy, the Python post-processing interface of EDEM and shows how to run and modify the analysis scripts. In addition, the presentation introduces the customization of physics models, custom factories and particle body forces through the CPU and GPU API capabilities.

This presentation introduces the Discrete Element Method and the EDEM Workflow, allowing the attendee to gain experience in the setup of an EDEM simulation. Goals and Objectives: Identify key aspects of the EDEM software Utilize EDEM applications and workflow Describe material models and material calibration Initiate solver settings (CPU and GPU)

The Mining industry faces a lot of challenges and remains under high pressure to control costs, improve operational efficiency as well as meeting stricter environmental regulations. Innovation and the use of technology play a key role in addressing these and in shaping the future of mining. This webinar will explore how simulation and advanced technologies such as digital twins, machine learning and Internet of things (IoT) can help mines increase productivity, reduce costs, and improve safety. You will hear from industry leaders and technical experts on how Altair’s solutions can be used for efficient development and operation.

The Mining industry faces a lot of challenges and remains under high pressure to control costs, improve operational efficiency as well as meeting stricter environmental regulations. Innovation and the use of technology play a key role in addressing these and in shaping the future of mining. This webinar will explore how simulation and advanced technologies such as digital twins, machine learning and Internet of things (IoT) can help mines increase productivity, reduce costs, and improve safety. You will hear from industry leaders and technical experts on how Altair’s solutions can be used for efficient development and operation.

The Mining industry faces a lot of challenges and remains under high pressure to control costs, improve operational efficiency as well as meeting stricter environmental regulations. Innovation and the use of technology play a key role in addressing these and in shaping the future of mining. This webinar will explore how simulation and advanced technologies such as digital twins, machine learning and Internet of things (IoT) can help mines increase productivity, reduce costs, and improve safety. You will hear from industry leaders and technical experts on how Altair’s solutions can be used for efficient development and operation.

For several years now, co-simulation between Multibody Dynamics (MBD) codes like MotionSolve and Discrete Element Method (DEM) software like EDEM has been used for many applications such as vehicles and material transportation. One missing link has been a realistic tire model that not only could interact with the soil material in a realistic way but also show the influence of varying tire pressure, change in contact area and pressure distribution over said contact area.

For very soft material such as deep mud with a high-pressure tire, using a rigid wheel is a decent approximation. But for tires on harder surface, this method has several short comings. For example, a rigid representation of the tire will have neglectable rolling resistance while the pressure distribution on a real tire has its peak well ahead of the centerline of the tire producing a resisting moment to the motion. The contact patch area will in reality not depend on sinkage, but the sinkage is dependent on the contact area that is dependent on load and internal pressure.

This presentation introduces the new PM-FlexTire model that is integrated in EDEM and will work with MotionSolve. Requirements for creating and correlating the tire model is presented together with several application examples on mud, clay and gravel beds.

Presented at the ATCx Heavy Equipment in May 2021.

Speaker: Jesper Slattengren, Technical Fellow, Pratt Miller

Duration: 20 minutes

Zoomlion Heavy Industry have been developing a simulation model of a threshing system of a combine harvester using the Discrete Element Method (DEM). Optimization of the performance parameters like grain recovery, grain damage and grain loss with an optimal use of power is the overall goal of the model. Dealing with small size multi-spheres with varying material properties and processing of large number of particles in a reasonable time were the real challenges which we successfully handled using Altair’s EDEM software. An important performance indicator of the agricultural crop processing and grain handling systems is the damage to the grain that occurs in the system.

Zoomlion are continuously discussing and working with Altair’s team to make it possible to study this important performance parameter. They are fully determined to address & solve the problems which are considered un-solvable in construction and agricultural industry of the world.

Presented at the ATCx Heavy Equipment in May 2021.

Speaker: Syed Hussain, Senior Mechanical Engineer Zoomlion Heavy Industry NA

Duration: 20 minutes

The production of agricultural commodities is a multi-billion dollar industry in Canada representing nearly 7% of the national GDP. While the food production system is complex and specific to each type of product grown, challenges in processing, handling, and storing agricultural commodities occur throughout the value chain.

Significant benefits and insights have been derived from the ability to model the interactions between granular particles in systems in the value chain. Two case studies from industry are presented where the effects of the geometry of bulk grain storage and processing equipment are considered. In one case, detailed insights were developed about the variation in bulk properties due to filling and storage details. In a second case, geometric design details were optimized virtually during the development of novel processing equipment. This resulted in improved performance and reduced physical prototyping costs.

Presented at the ATCx Heavy Equipment in May 2021.

Speaker: Ian Paulson, Technical Services Lead – Simulation and Numerical Modeling Prairie Agricultural Machinery Institute (PAMI)

Duration: 20 minutes

In this webinar, we will discuss how Altair EDEM software can help the food manufacturing industry address a range of challenges.

EDEM accurately simulates the behavior of various foods such as grains, coffee beans, spices, fruits, or dairy powders and provides key insight into a range of operations and processes, including material handling and processing such as mixing, milling, drying, coating, and more.

By deploying EDEM software companies are able to ensure a high-quality end product, minimize damage and wastage, improve scale-up procedures, reduce operating costs, and drive product innovation.

Webinar contents:
• Background and industry challenges
• Introducing Altair EDEM
• Material handling applications: sorting, transport, feeding and storing
• Material processing applications:
granulation, mixing, extruding, coating

Duration: 37 minutes

From detailed component analysis to full systems performance, Altair provides a range of scalable solvers and robust pre- and post-processing software for CFD.

Wood is responsible for assessing material handling transfer chutes for crushed ore. The large number of transfer chutes must be optimized to enable the transfer of bulk material from one conveyor belt to another, and to adequately direct the flow of material. Some of the most common issues with material transfer designs include plugging, segregation, and abrasion wear. In an effort to reduce operating maintenance costs, Wood employed the use of Altair EDEM, a discrete element modeling (DEM) solution, to visualize the flow of material and analyze forces and moments acting on different parts of the transfer chute. As a result, Wood reduced the weight of this transfer chute by approximately 10%, adding $20,000 in NPV to the project.

Create detailed hydraulic circuits & actuation systems as part of your multi-disciplinary system simulations, especially for heavy machinery & agricultural equipment, in combination with multi-body systems (Altair MotionSolve®) and granular material systems (Altair EDEM®).

Coating of particulate solids by a thin film layer is of interest in many industrial applications such as seed and tablet coating. In seed processing, seeds are commonly coated with a protective coating layer consisting of fertilizers and crop protection products. Rotary drum batch coaters are typically used for this purpose.

In the present study, Discrete Element Method (DEM) simulations are used to analyze the seed coating process, using corn seed as model material. The coating uniformity of the seeds is predicted by implementing two coating models. The distribution of mass of sprayed spheres on the corn seeds, their residence time in the coating zone and the coefficient of variation of coating mass and residence time of the seeds are evaluated for a range of process conditions, such as spinning disk rotational speed, droplet size, and baffle arrangement and designs.

Presented as part of the virtual ATCx Discrete Element Method in November 2020.

Speaker: Mehrdad Pasha, Powder Expert Scientist, UCB Pharma
Duration: 20 minutes

The Battery Production Group at the Institute for Machine Tools and Industrial Management at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) researches the production of innovative battery cells.

The core of the work is process development and the optimization of processes within battery production – from mixing, coating and calendering of the electrode materials to the formation of the final battery cells. All battery production steps are carried out in-house using the TUM’s electrode and battery production line.

TUM uses Altair EDEM software to simulate the calendering process for lithium-ion batteries.

The development of novel active materials and compositions in lithium-ion battery electrodes is a main research focus due to the increasing demand for electric mobility. Calendering, as the final step in electrode production, is a critical process that significantly influences the mechanical and electrochemical properties of the electrode.

This presentation presents an approach using the Discrete Element Method (DEM) and Altair EDEM software to predict the influence of calendering on the electrode material, composition, thickness and the machine behavior. Additional investigations provide guidelines for optimizing the process. All in all, a deep understanding of how the calendering process effects the electrodes is presented and forms the basis for further investigations.

Presented as part of the virtual ATCx Discrete Element Method in November 2020.

Speaker: David Schreiner, Research Associate, Technical University of Munich
Duration: 24 minutes

Any industry that produces bulk quantities of goods such as pharmaceuticals, food, chemicals, or cosmetics, is seeking to produce these products consistently while reducing cost factors like waste and down time. Due to the nature of process manufacturing, multiple ingredients are combined to be mixed, coated, or sorted, so understanding the behavior of these processes is of paramount importance for manufacturers. Through the use of simulation modeling and Smart Manufacturing principals, manufacturers are now able to optimize these processes, leading to greater productivity and profitability.

When building simulation models of military vehicles for mobility analysis over deformable terrain, the powertrain details are often ignored. This is of particular interest for electric and hybrid-electric vehicles where the maximum torque is produced at low speeds. It is easy to end up with the drive wheels spinning and reducing traction and eventually the vehicle digging itself down in the soil.

The presentation discusses the reason why simplified terramechanics models (ST) such as the Bekker-Wong models are not suitable for dynamic traction control studies and shows how Altair EDEM's complex terramechanics models (CT) can be co-simulated with multi-body dynamics software Adams using the ASCI interface.

The presentation focuses around an 8x8 transport vehicle with and without TCS. To model the traction control system a PD controller is used to limit the slip velocity at low speed and wheel slip at higher velocity. A soil model has been correlated to the Pratt & Miller sandbox and a 35% hill climb was used to tune the TCS parameters in the co-simulation.

Presented as part of the virtual ATCx Discrete Element Method in November 2020.

Speaker: Jesper Slattengren, Technical Fellow, Pratt Miller Engineering
Duration: 20 minutes

The Discrete Element Method (DEM) is increasingly being used to simulate powders and particulates that are common in many industrial and natural processes. Since DEM computes at individual particle level, it has the potential to capture the underlying particle phenomena of a problem such as friction, cohesion or breakage, which in turn informs the bulk industrial process of interest. Using a few examples, this presentation will discuss model conceptualization of problems in developing effective solutions to address challenging industrial problems.

Presented as part of the virtual ATCx Discrete Element Method in November 2020.

Speaker: Prof. Jin Ooi, The University of Edinburgh
Duration: 30 minutes

Pneumatic conveying pipelines undergo series of direction changes due to space restrictions, site location, or position of receiving silos and hoppers. When dairy powder and air flows around pipe bends or experiences any change in flow direction during pneumatic conveying, the particles form a rope-like structure due to inertial, gravitational and centrifugal effects. The formation of such particle ropes can lead to particle stratification, re-agglomeration, deposition, and pipe blockages especially when handling cohesive powders.

This research focuses on the design and optimization of novel flow-aided pipe bends that prevents powder deposition, pipe clogging, and improves throughput. Several conceptual designs of such flow-aids are investigated for various bend orientation by coupling Altair EDEM with Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) supported with targeted experimentation. The optimum flow-aided design integrated into a pilot-scale conveying test rig results in higher rope dispersion after the than similar test rig with conventional bends.

Presented as part of the virtual ATCx Discrete Element Method in November 2020.

Speaker:Akeem Olaleye, University of Limerick
Duration: 24 minutes

Desired or not, particle breakage can occur when dealing with particulate materials in industry. For cases in which breakage severely influences the flow of the material, the only viable option is to describe it within the DEM environment. Several powerful approaches have been proposed over the years, but only very few are suitable to be used in large-scale simulations.

The presentation shows one such model that has been implemented in Altair EDEM to describe body breakage of brittle materials. It is based on a novel stochastic particle replacement approach involving spheres. It accounts for variability and size-dependence of fracture energies, besides weakening when particles do not break and fragment size distribution dependent on stressing energy. Results from model verification and validation in EDEM are presented, which demonstrate its high fidelity, besides examples of application to predict breakage in selected crushers.

Presented as part of the virtual ATCx Discrete Element Method in November 2020.

Speaker: Prof. Marcelo Tavares, University Federal de Rio de Janeiro
Duration: 25 minutes