Solution Showcase

Agitated-filter Drying

This simulation shows a wet-cake undergoing agitation and evaporation in a lab-scale agitated filter dryer where the filter chamber is heated. The powder's cohesivity changes dynamically with the residual solvent content, affecting the rheology of the wet-cake.

Tablet Press Feeding Segregation

Simulation of commercial scale tablet press feed system with a coupled CFD-DEM model.

Scrap Metal Melting in a Steel Converter

Aspherix® and CFDEM®coupling enable the precise simulation of scrap melting and thermal dynamics in steel converters. Featuring a comprehensive physics library, the software accurately reproduces phase-change kinetics, heat transfer, and the resulting fluid-particle interactions. Because the accuracy of these metallurgical insights depends on reliable input data, DCS Computing provides specialized tools for the calibration of complex material properties, ensuring simulations reflect real-world furnace conditions with high fidelity.

Coarse-graining of spray drying simulations

This video shows how CFD-DEM simulations of spray drying processes are insensitive to the coarse-graining level of the spray droplets. This allows to simulate industrial-scale problems by keeping the particle's count, and therefore the computational cost, at a manageable level without sacrificing accuracy.

Optimizing Durability: Wear Prediction for High-Performance Plowing

Aspherix ® allows the simulation of soil plowing and equipment wear. Aspherix(R) features a large model library that allows to reproduce the complex soil rheology, as well as the wearing. The selection of model parameters plays a paramount role as well, therefore DCS Computing developed Aspherix® Calibration, a module designed for the calibration of DEM model parameters.  

Mower Deck Optimization

The goal of this case study with Aspherix® and CFDEM®coupling was the optimization of a mower deck with respect to ths cut quality. Since the design contains blades with intersection trajectories it was not possible to use sliding meshes. An immersed boundary approach, especially designed for mower deck applications was used. The simulation results matched experimental data and it was possible to compare different geometry setups and boundary conditions and optimize them.

Modelling of Hot Melting Extrusion

Twin-screw extruders (TSEs) are widely used for processing polymers, chemicals and foodstuff. Development of a 1D-3D model for polymer extrusion in TSE (collaboration with Novartis*). The 3D part consists of DEM simulations of representative volume elements (RVEs). The 1D part is a low-order model bridging the solution between the RVEs *https://www.aiche.org/academy/conferences/aiche-annual-meeting/2022/proceeding/paper/45f-3d-1d-modelling-twin-screw-extruders

Nasal Airways

The animation shows the flow of 5 micron sized evaporating droplets flowing through the nasal airways during a respiration cycle using Aspherix® DEM software. The air flow information is pre-calculated using CFD and the transient flow field is imported to Aspherix®.

Simulation of Fluidized Bed Granulation

This video shows a full-coupled CFD-DEM simulation of a fluidized bed granulation process. A liquid-solid mixture is sprayed into the granulator (see droplets in magenta) from a nozzle. The liquid and solid species are deposited onto the carrier particles and, partially, onto the granulator walls. The product quality (between 0 to 1) measures the coating/granulation level of the carrier particles. Finally, the temperature field changes dynamically due to the heating from the fluidization air and the cooling due to the liquid evaporation.

Rotary Cooler

This video shows a model of a rotary cooler, realized with CFDEM®coupling. A hot particle stream enters through a transfer chute into the slightly inclined and rotating cooler. 

Blast Furnace Digital Twin

Aspherix® and CFDEM®coupling allow for the high-fidelity simulation of the complex internal dynamics of a blast furnace, from layer-by-layer material charging to the intense fluid-particle interactions at the tuyeres. By utilizing advanced non-sphericity treatments—including calibrated rolling friction models and laser-scan-derived multisphere particles—engineers can precisely predict the particle flow profile and permeability of the burden. This integrated workflow provides a predictive digital twin, enabling R&D managers to optimize the charging cycle and hot blast distribution, ultimately improving thermal efficiency and reducing fuel consumption in hot metal production.

Single Screw Extruder

An extruder is transporting and melting polypropylene granules (particles: white spheres, molten plastic: purple iso-surfaces). The interplay between solid, air and liquid is obtained by coupling Aspherix with cfdemSolverInterDyMPC. The melting is reproduced by a mass transfer from solid to liquid, which occurs when the particle temperature exceeds the melting point due to external heating.

Dam Failure

With rising water levels dams may fail. This conceptual study shows that the change of the water level impacts on the stability of the dam. While for the lower water level the dam remains stable, instabilities show when it is higher.

Modeling Wear in a Ball Mill

The simulation shows a ball mill's section where a mix of steel balls (grey spherical particles) and rocks (brown non-spherical particles) is processed. The wear of the internal surface (plates and lifters) is calculated based on the Finnie's model and the eroded volume is used to dynamically deform the geometry.

Paste Extrusion with a Single Screw Extruder

Simulation of paste extrusion where the Edinburgh model is used to model cohesion.

Calendaring of Li-ion Electrode

The active material is represented by the large dark particles, while the additive material as small bright ones. The presence of a binder material is modeled by the formation of bonds between active and additive materials. The height of the layer after calendaring is around 30% lower than the initial one due to bond formation.

Melting in Liquid Steel and Slag Crucible

Aspherix® and CFDEM®coupling allow for the high-fidelity simulation of melting processes in multi-phase environments, such as HBI ingots within a liquid steel and slag crucible. By leveraging advanced heat transfer models and density-driven buoyancy, the software accurately predicts how solid particles interact at the slag-liquid interface while subjected to magnetic field-induced stirring. This digital twin approach tracks the mass evolution of particles as they phase-change into the liquid melt, providing predictive insights into thermal efficiency. This enables R&D managers to optimize melting cycles, refine energy consumption, and ensure superior chemical homogeneity in metallurgical vessels.

Battery Heating

Design of future battery materials is a big challenge! Battery performance crucially depends on packing properties. We are modelling the paste as particles in an electric potential. The material experiences heating due to the electric current.

Dry Powder Mixing

The animation shows the mixing of one million, differently sized particles, in a helical mixer. The simulation was performed using Aspherix DEM software, run on a GPU.

Bucket Wheel Simulation

Simulation of a bucket wheel apparatus that is fed a continuous stream of a slightly cohesive polydisperse particle mixture. The bucket wheen deposits the particles onto a sloped conveyer belt via a funnel mechanism.

Dragline Excavator

Simulation of the dragline bucket of a Liebherr HS8100.2 crawler crane excavating gravel. The bucket and the spreader bar are modeled as 6-degrees-of-freedom (6-dof) geometries, while the chains and ropes are modeled as bonded spherical particles. The motion of the assembly is controlled by translating the hoist coupler and to the drag coupler. The drag rope can slide on the pulley of the hoist coupler and therefore control the tilting of the bucket.

CAD geometry of the bucket from “1/14 scale dragline bucket for liebherr hs 855 or 8100” by raoul00123 on cults3d.com - Licensed under CC BY.

Simulation of a Full-Scale Rotary Kiln

This video shows a DEM simulation of a rotary kiln processing a bulk material. The mixing efficiency and the residence time distribution are two important KPIs that can be predicted with accuracy using DEM.

Argon Injection in Continuous Casting

Aspherix® and CFDEM®coupling allow for the high-fidelity simulation of complex fluid-particle interactions within the continuous casting mold. By integrating advanced solvers for steel flow and argon bubble dynamics, engineers can accurately model the behavior of inclusions under the influence of electromagnetic fields and turbulent flow. This integrated workflow enables the precise prediction of bubble entrapment and non-metallic inclusion distribution, providing a predictive digital twin that allows R&D managers to optimize nozzle designs and significantly reduce surface defects in the final product.

The setup is inspired by Wang et all. 2024 (Entrapment behavior of argon bubbles and non-metallic inclusions under combined magnetic fields in slab continuous casting).

Blast Furnace Thermal & Mass Transfer Optimization

Aspherix® and CFDEM®coupling allow for the detailed simulation of heat and mass transfer within a blast furnace environment. The software's ability to handle convex-shaped particles ensures a realistic representation of ore and coke behavior as they descend through the furnace. As particles are exposed to high-temperature gas sources, Aspherix® captures the transition from solid to liquid, modeling the accumulation of molten mass in the hearth. This integrated approach provides critical insights into the internal state of the furnace, helping engineers optimize fuel consumption and improve the stability of the melting process.