Particles-bridging the Gap between Solids and Fluids

Meshless particle methods, a group of simulation approaches that gains attention in the recent years in engineering and physics, are in the focus of this article. By means of application examples from different engineering contexts, we demonstrate how such methods, especially smoothed particle hydrodynamics and the discrete element method can be used as valuable numerical simulation tools, e.g., in design processes. We provide a simulation example from rock mechanics that demonstrates how the breakage of granite material can be simulated using an enhanced discrete element method approach. The simulation of very soft granular matter based on deformable tetrahedral particle elements, as it might be useful for the simulation of e.g. silicon materials, is another example that emphasizes the flexibility of particle methods. Moreover, we show how cutting processes may be investigated using a smoothed particle hydrodynamic based simulation approach for elasto-plastic solids. Finally, we provide examples for the application of smoothed particle hydrodynamic fluid-multibody simulations to co-simulate sloshing processes.