Contact forces between viscoelastic ellipsoidal particles

• Published in: Powder technology Vol. 248; pp. 25 - 33
• Main Authors: Zheng, Q.J., Zhou, Z.Y., Yu, A.B.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 01-11-2013
• Subjects: Collisions; Contact; Contact laws; Discrete element method; Ellipsoidal particles; Ellipsoids; finite element analysis; Finite element method; Granular materials; Mathematical analysis; Mathematical models; mechanics; Powder technology; Viscoelasticity; Finite element method; Ellipsoidal particles; Contact laws; Discrete element method; Granular materials
• ISSN: 0032-5910; 1873-328X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.powtec.2013.03.020

The normal (NFD) and tangential contact forces (TFD) between viscoelastic ellipsoidal particles are studied based on the contact mechanics and finite element method. It is found that the NFD and TFD force models previously formulated for spheres are valid for ellipsoidal particles and non-spherical particles of smooth surface, provided that some variables in the models are properly considered. The applicability of the NFD and TFD models are demonstrated in the collisions of two viscoelastic ellipsoids and shown to agree well with the results calculated by means of the finite element method. As part of the study, the applicability of the Linear-Spring-Dashpot (LSD) model which is widely used in the discrete modeling is also examined, and its limitation is identified.
The normal (NFD) and tangential contact forces (TFD) between viscoelastic ellipsoidal particles are studied. The NFD and TFD contact force models are proposed for ellipsoidal and non-spherical particles of smooth surface. Their applicability is verified by the comparison between model predictions and FEM results. [Display omitted]
•Contact force models are formulated for viscoelastic ellipsoids.•Good agreement is achieved between the model predictions and FEM results.•The Linear-Spring-Dashpot model is assessed quantitatively.