(350q) Coarse-Grained DEM Simulation of a High Shear Mixer

A discrete element method (DEM) is widely used for numerical simulations of various powder handling processes. However, the DEM is still computational costly. In order to overcome this issue, a coarse-grained (CG) model has been proposed. In the CG model, a group of original particles is replaced to a single CG particle which is larger than the original particle. Thereby, a large-scale DEM simulation can be performed using much fewer particles than that in the original system. We have developed a new CG model for a powder shear flow, which is named as the CGSF: Coarse-grained method for Granular Shear Flow. We have demonstrated that the CGSF is applicable to the coarse-grained DEM simulation of a rotating drum. However, its applicability to other powder handling processes was still unknown. We here present for the first time a coarse-grained DEM simulation of a vertical high shear mixer by using the CGSF. It was demonstrated that by using the CGSF the powder shear flow in the high shear mixer can be simulated accurately from the view point of the particle velocity, kinetic energy, and powder mixing.