Mike Plesha
Professor,
Department of Engineering Physics , Engineering Mechanics Program, Geological Engineering Program,
University of Wisconsin, Madison
147 Engineering Research Building (ERB), 1500 Engineering Drive, Madison, WI 53706-1687
Office - 525 ERB, Phone (608) 262-5741, Fax (608) 263-7451, e-mail: plesha@engr.wisc.edu.
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Demonstrations

DEM for Modeling Solid and Particulate Media
We are employing the Discrete Element Method (DEM) to model solids, structures and particulate materials. Applications include:
* Impact and explosive loading of structures.
* Modeling of geological media including soil-structure interaction, and joints and fractures in rock.
* Nanotribology.

This brief animation shows a DEM simulation of particle motion in a shear flow. The upper surface is subjected to a uniform compressive stress, the vertical boundaries are periodic, and the bottom surface is given a constant shear velocity. Change of color indicates particles that undergo damage.



Here is a bigger video. Warning to modem users: it is 8 Mbyte. link


Here is a DEM simulation of projectile impact into a beam (about 1 Mbyte). link