DEM breakage calibration for single particle fracture of maize kernels under a particle replacement approach

Abstract

The Discrete Element Method (DEM) has become increasingly popular for simulatingbreakage operations and grinding equipment performance. Two main breakage approachescan be found in literature: bonded particle models and particle replacementmodels. This work is focused on fitting the parameters of a DEM particle replacementbreakage model for maize, implemented in software Rocky DEM. Once all required experimentaland calibration procedures were developed for maize specific DEM propertiesand parameters, single particle compression tests were carried out to fit the parameters ofthe breakage model, which was extensively analyzed for validating its capability of representingthe material. Maize properties showed to be in agreement with literaturesources. Compression tests simulated in DEM led to the same results as their experimentalcounterparts, validating the model’s capability of representing maize breakage.These results are the basis for further simulation of a full milling process in a hammermill.