Comparison of DEM predictions and measured wall-media contact forces and work in a vibratory finisher

Discrete element methods (DEM) have been widely used in predicting the behavior of vibrated granular media, including that in vibratory finishing (VF) processes. In VF loose abrasive particles are fluidized by a vibrating container and the particle vibration work on the surface of parts entrained in...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Powder technology 2020-04, Vol.366, p.434-447
Main Authors: da Silva Maciel, Lucas, Spelt, Jan K.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Abrasive finishing
Computer simulation
Contact force
Containers
Deformation
DEM
Discrete element method
Fluidizing
Force measurement
Granular materials
Granular media
Predictions
Random vibration
Trends
Vibration
Vibrational fluidization
Vibratory finishing
Wall forces
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Summary:Discrete element methods (DEM) have been widely used in predicting the behavior of vibrated granular media, including that in vibratory finishing (VF) processes. In VF loose abrasive particles are fluidized by a vibrating container and the particle vibration work on the surface of parts entrained in the granular bed. In the present work, DEM was used to predict the forces exerted by the container walls on the granular media and the results were compared with previous experimental measurements performed with varying frequencies of vibration and amounts of media in the container. It was found that the overall trends in the DEM simulations were comparable to the experiments results, in that wall forces increased significantly with frequency but less so with increasing media mass. This was attributed to the viscous forces of granular media deformation, which generated wall forces that tended to increase with increasing media deformation rate and with increasing media pressure, although these trends were less pronounced in the DEM models than in the experiments. The DEM predictions of the contact force magnitudes were, however, well predicted in only two of the three container locations. The DEM predictions were also characterized by much larger cycle-to-cycle variations in the wall-media contact behavior than was observed experimentally. This included the presence of apparently random vibration cycles without any wall-media contact, which were not present in the actual force measurements. [Display omitted] •DEM models compared with wall-media forces measured in a vibratory finisher.•Trends of wall forces and impulse were agreed with experiments.•Forces depended on deformation rate, with a viscosity independent of pressure.•DEM forces agreed with measurements in two out of three wall locations.•DEM predicted shorter and more random wall-media contacts.
ISSN:0032-5910
1873-328X
DOI:10.1016/j.powtec.2020.02.014