In this segment by renowned bulk material engineering firm Jenike & Johanson, project engineer Andres Orlando Ph.D walks viewers through the basics of Discrete Element Modelling (DEM). The modelling method is a way of looking at how particles contact one another and the way each particle moves.

“So, each particle will interact with its neighbors, be it another particle or a boundary. And the forces applied to it will be modeled usually by a set of springs and dashpots,” Orlando explains, adding, “Ultimately what we’re doing is measuring the forces that are applied to particle one by particle two.”

Newton’s second law of motion is used to model the new position of the particles and new acceleration. Orlando provides advice on to help operations make these calculations and explains the significance of this modelling approach.

Interest in DEM is rising in industry as a design tool for bulk solids handling equipment, the host said.