Measurement of particle interaction properties for incorporation in the discrete element method simulation

Preliminary numerical simulations using the standard viscous damping model are performed using the DEM and a comparison between experimental and numerical results presented. It is shown that the match is not good, indicating that the prediction of energy transfer at collisions will be incorrect. It is proposed that different contact models should be tested, to assess if the predictions improve. It is postulated that it may not be necessary to utilise the Hertzian theory of impact to derive the contact parameters, but rather be more accurate for DEM modelling to directly fit the parameters based on the controlled binary collision experiment.