Investigation of dynamics simulation of granular particles using spherocylinder model

A dynamics simulation method for granular materials composed of cylindrical particles is investigated both experimentally and theoretically. A cylindrical particle is modeled as a cylinder with two hemispherical ends of the same diameter; this shape is also known as a spherocylinder. The motion of individual spherocylinders coming into contact with each other is solved by the discrete element method. There are four and two patterns in the cases of interparticle contact and particle–plane contact, respectively. The contact force acting on the particle is decomposed into normal and tangential components. The normal force is given by the sum of the damping force and the elastic force. To examine the validity of the simulation method, we conducted experiments for a vibratory conveyance and for an inclined chute flow. The behavior of spherocylinders was revealed by image processing. Through a comparison of the experimental and calculated results, it was found that the flow patterns obtained by this method appear realistic.