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New 3D geometrical deposition methods for efficient packing of spheres based on tangency
Author(s) -
De Cola F.,
Falco S.,
Barbieri E.,
Petrinic N.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
international journal for numerical methods in engineering
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.421
H-Index - 168
eISSN - 1097-0207
pISSN - 0029-5981
DOI - 10.1002/nme.4955
Subject(s) - spheres , planar , discrete element method , stacking , dispersity , materials science , porosity , atomic packing factor , funnel , mechanics , sphere packing , geometry , computer science , physics , composite material , mathematics , engineering , mechanical engineering , chemistry , crystallography , computer graphics (images) , nuclear magnetic resonance , astronomy , polymer chemistry
Summary The morphology of many natural and man‐made materials at different length scales can be simulated using particle‐packing methods. This paper presents two novel 3D geometrical collective deposition algorithms for packed assemblies with prescribed distribution of radii: the ‘planar deposition’ and the ‘3D‐clew’ method. The ‘planar deposition’ method mimics an orderly granular flow through a funnel by stacking up spirally ordinated planar assemblies of spheres capable of achieving the theoretical maximum for monodisperse aggregates. The ‘3D‐clew’ method, instead, mimics the winding of a clew of yarn, thus yielding densely packed 3D polydispersed assemblies in terms of void ratio of the aggregate. The morphologies of such geometrically generated assemblies, achieved at several orders of magnitude reduced computational cost, are comparable with those consolidated uni‐directionally by means of discrete element method. In addition, significantly faster simulations of mechanical consolidation of granular media have been performed when relying upon the proposed geometrically generated assemblies as starting configurations. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.