about: Surface Miner Simulation and Analysis with Altair EDEM and Altair OptiStruct

Hamid_Reza0056
Hamid_Reza0056 Altair Community Member

Hello everyone,

I hope this message finds you well. I am currently working on a FEM-DEM coupled model using EDEM and SIMLAB, specifically following the procedures outlined in provided examples, such as the surface miner simulation. However, I have encountered a few questions that I am struggling to find answers to, and I would greatly appreciate any assistance.

Firstly, can anyone confirm whether the volume packing type of factory can be utilized in the SIMLAB-EDEM coupling process? When I implement volume packing, it seems that the entire defined displacement control load is applied at the beginning of the simulation. Consequently, this gives the impression that the analysis in SIMLAB functions as a static analysis rather than an explicit dynamic one. I also reviewed the example deck file for the surface miner simulation, but I noticed that the factory is missing from the EDEM deck file.

Could someone please clarify the limitations or issues related to using volume packing in coupled analyses? I am aware that it works with MotionView-EDEM simulations. For reference, I am using the 2024 version installed on our university server.

Thank you in advance for your support!

Answers

  • Stephen Cole
    Stephen Cole
    Altair Employee

    Hi, there should be no limitations on using factories with the EDEM-OS coupled solutions via SimLab. The factory just generates the material and doesn't influence the coupling, the subsequent forces from the material-equipment interaction is what is transferred to the OS solver.


    Regards

    Stephen

  • Hamid_Reza0056
    Hamid_Reza0056 Altair Community Member

    Hi,

    Thanks for the answer.

    It appears that the EDEM-OS coupled solutions via SimLab are only compatible with certain types of elements. For instance, shell elements are not supported. When attempting to couple a shell structure with discrete media, all defined displacements (displacement-controlled loads) are applied during the first time step. To resolve this issue, switching the element type from shell to a supported solid element can solve the problem.