DEM simulation of particle flow on a single deck banana screen

A mathematical study of particle flow on a banana screen deck using the discrete element method (DEM) was presented in this paper. The motion characteristics and penetrating mechanisms of particles on the screen deck were studied. Effects of geometric parameters of screen deck on banana screening process were also investigated. The results show that when the values of inclination of discharge and increment of screen deck inclination are 10° and 5° respectively, the banana screening process get a good screening performance in the simulation. The relationship between screen deck length and screening efficiency was further confirmed. The conclusion that the screening efficiency will not significantly increase when the deck length L≥430 mm (L/B ≥ 3.5) was obtained, which can provide theoretical basis for the optimization of banana screen.

Failure characteristics and fracture mechanism of overburden rock induced by mining:A case study in China

This study employs similar simulation testing and discrete element simulation coupling to analyze the failure and deformation processes of a model coal seam's roof.The caving area of the overburden rock is divided into three zones:the delamination fracture zone,broken fracture zone,and compaction zone.The caving and fracture zones'heights are approximately 110 m above the coal seam,with a maximum subsidence of 11 m.The delamination fracture zone's porosity range is between 0.2 and 0.3,while the remainder of the roof predominantly exhibits a porosity of less than 0.1.In addition,the numerical model's stress analysis revealed that the overburden rock's displacement zone forms an'arch-beam'structure starting from 160 m,with the maximum and minimum stress values decreasing as the distance of advancement increases.In the stress beam interval of the overburden rock,the maximum value changes periodically as the advancement distance increases.Based on a comparative analysis between observable data from on-site work and numerical simulation results,the stress data from the numerical simulation are essentially consistent with the actual results detected on-site,indicating the validity of the numerical simulation results.

Cumulative damage effect on debris slopes under frequent microseisms

Debris slopes are widely distributed across the Three Gorges Reservoir area in China,and seasonal fluctuations of the water level in the area tend to cause high-frequency microseisms that subsequently induce landslides on such debris slopes.In this study,a cumulative damage model of debris slope with varying slope characteristics under the effects of frequent microseisms was established,based on the accurate definition of slope damage variables.The cumulative damage behaviour and the mechanisms of slope instability and sliding under frequent microseisms were thus systematically investigated through a series of shaking table tests and discrete element numerical simulations,and the influences of related parameters such as bedrock,dry density and stone content were discussed.The results showed that the instability mode of a debris slope can be divided into a vibration-compaction stage,a crack generation stage,a crack development stage,and an instability stage.Under the action of frequent microseisms,debris slope undergoes the last three stages cyclically,which causes the accumulation to slide out in layers under the synergistic action of tension and shear,causing the slope to become destabilised.There are two sliding surfaces as well as the parallel tensile surfaces in the final instability of the debris slope.In the process of instability,the development trend of the damage accumulation curve remains similar for debris slopes with different parameters.However,the initial vibration compaction effect in the bedrock-free model is stronger than that in the bedrock model,with the overall cumulative damage degree in the former being lower than that of the latter.The damage degree of the debris slope with high dry density also develops more slowly than that of the debris slope with low dry density.The damage development rate of the debris slope does not always decrease with the increase of stone content.The damage degree growth rate of the debris slope with the optimal stone content is the lowest,and the increase or decrease of the stone content makes the debris slope instability happen earlier.The numerical simulation study also further reveals that the damage in the debris slope mainly develops in the form of crack formation and penetration,in which,shear failure occurs more frequently in the debris slope.

Discrete element method for high-temperature spread in compacted powder systems

The discrete element method is applied to investigate high-temperature spread in compacted metallic particle systems formed by high-velocity compaction. Assuming that heat transfer only occurs at contact zone between particles, a discrete equation based on continuum mechanics is proposed to investigate the heat flux. Heat generated internally by friction between moving particles is determined by kinetic equations. For the proposed model, numerical results are obtained by a particle-flow-code-based program. Temperature profiles are determined at different locations and times. At a fixed location, the increase in temperature shows a logarithmic relationship with time. Investigation of three different systems indicates that the geometric distribution of the particulate material is one of the main influencing factors for the heat conduction process. Higher temperature is generated for denser packing, and vice versa. For smaller uniform particles, heat transfers more rapidly.