EDEM API - Contact Model Example: Colloidal Particles
Altair EmployeeOverview
Here you will find the UDL source code and documentation of an API model that simulates colloidal particles in EDEM-CFD coupling situations.
The model was developed by Florian Chaumeil (University of Edinburgh) and it was adapted by Altair EDEM.
Colloids or colloidal particles are the material stage before molecular scale matter, positioning themselves in between molecular and mechanistic forces. They are commonly seen in in applications such as paints, inks, cosmetics and even blood could be considered as such.
Particle aggregation under surface and hydraulic forces, together with attractive inter-particle forces such as Van der Waals, define the deposition and re-suspension behaviour of colloids.
Usage/Installation Instructions
Please note this API example is from a legacy version of EDEM. To use the model exctract the simulation file in Simulation_example_colloidal and also the .dlls and .txt files in Colloidal_physics_UDL.zip to the same locatoin.
Open the EDEM .dem file which gets automatically converted to the latest EDEM file format and the model will run.
It is recommended that the user updates the API to the latest version as the model was designed with the API 2.4 version.
This model presents the applicability of the EDEM-CFD 1-way coupling to simulate Colloidal physics. It is formed by 3 plugins:
1. Particle Body Force: Makes the particle sensible to the velocity of the fluid field and includes Cunningam correction factor together with Brownian and Buoyancy forces.
2. Particle-Geometry contact model: Follows the regular Hertz Mindlin theory including Drag forces, Retardation functions, Brownian and Van der Waals forces.
3. Particle-Particle contact model: Follows the usual Hertz Mindlin model including Van der Waals forces.
The example shows how micron-scale spherical latex particles immersed in water agglomerate and deposit when they pass through constraining geometries in a 1-way EDEM-Fluent coupled solution.