How to calibrate when simulating scaled particles using EDEM-Fluent coupling

Teshia HARDIE

Hi there

I'm simulating a case with very small particles, but it will cost too much computation source and time. I've learned that it can be solved by scaling up the particles. It seems like the scaled-up particles should be correctly calibrated so that they will behave the same as the smaller ones. But what should I do to calibrate them in EDEM and Fluent? For example, I'm simulating sand particles suspended in the air with a diameter of 0.1 mm. If I scale up the particle diameter to 10 mm， should I adjust the density in EDEM to make the two particles have the same mass？ Any other steps should be taken?

I appreciate your response.

Stephen Cole

Hi Teshia,

 

In the drag model there is a 'particle scale up factor', this scales the drag force.  If you scale up your particles x10 in EDEM you can also set at x10 scale up factor in the Fluent drag model to scale the drag accordingly.  This will ensure the larger scaled up particles behave the same as the original size ones.

This is best suited for relatively dilute systems, if it is densely packed you may want to calibrate the particle-particle interactions again to ensure that these don't change with the scale, as this method only scales the drag forces.

Regards
Stephen