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A Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics Approach to Deformable Granular Materials
The phenomenology of granular materials results from a complex interplay between various properties of their constituent elements. Shape, friction, size distribution and softness can all significantly affect the rheology of granular materials, and disentangling the individual contributions of these properties is often challenging. For this reason, the impact of particle deformability is not well understood.
To address this issue, we use a novel numerical approach that combines Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) and Discrete Element Method (DEM) to explicitly simulate deformations at the grain level. The focus of this talk will be on the influence of particle deformability on a 2D silo discharge setup, illustrating a dual effect on both the spatial organization and the velocity distribution of the particles. Finally, we investigate the influence of deformability on the flow rate, which is well described by the Hagen-Beverloo equation independent of softness. Most interestingly, we elucidate the evolution of a heuristic parameter in the Hagen-Beverloo equation as a function of the ratio of pressure to bulk modulus. As a result, we propose an extended form of this equation that predicts flow rate while accounting for particle deformation.