Discrete element simulations and experiments : towards applications for cohesive powders

TL;DRAbstract

Granular materials are omnipresent in nature and widely used in various industries ranging from food and pharmaceutical to agriculture and mining – among others. It has been estimated that about 10% of the world’s energy consumption is used in the processing, storage and transport of granular materials. In this thesis, we couple experiments and particle simulations to bridge this gap and link the microscopic properties to the macroscopic response for frictionless, frictional and cohesive granular packings, with the final goal of industrial application. The procedure of studying frictionless, frictional and cohesive granular assemblies independent of each other allows to isolate the main features related to each effect and provides a gateway into the use of discrete element methods to model and predict more complex industrial applications. For frictionless packings, we find that different deformation paths, namely isotropic/uniaxial over-compression or pure shear, slightly increase or r

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