Kinematic analysis of particles in three-body contact

In many industrial fields granular raw material is stored in silos until it is transported to machines for processing. During transportation complex interactions between particles and surrounding structure occur. To be able to investigate the dependency of particle movement on different parameters a reduced problem is investigated on a tribometer test-rig. Therefore, a box is filled with particles and pressed on a rotating disc. Interactions between process parameters, like particle shape, roughness or velocity of disc, can be observed clearly. Beside, a discrete element simulation is built up and validated with these experiments. Beside the particle behavior is analyzed under additional conditions like varying load and material properties. These investigations are necessary to transfer results to more complex systems.