WBM

WBM: "Discrete Element Modelling
There are numerous engineering processes in the mining and minerals processing industries, such as the flow of coal through a chute or the comminution of material in a ball mill, that can not be solved using continuum based methods (i.e. the methods used in finite element modelling or computational fluid dynamics packages).
In contrast to continuum methods, the discrete element method (DEM) is a technique where the mechanics of thousands of interacting, individual elements are computed. Any geometry can be configured and the properties of the Particle-Particle and Particle-Boundary collisions can be adjusted to suit the materials. In a basic analysis, each particle or element would represented as a simple sphere, however these may be combined together to generate complex shapes observed in real world problems. Real world physics, such as friction, fracture, adhesion and cohesion, also can be incorporated into the simulation.
By explicitly modelling the dynamic motion and mechanical interactions of each body or particle in the physical problem, the simulation provides a detailed description of the velocities, positions, forces and collision events acting on each body or particle, at any given time during the simulation.
The information provided through DEM analysis can be used to investigate issues such as power requirements and wear rates for mechanical components, as well as material specific issues such as comminution rate, chute and hopper blockage and dust formation."