An efficient dense discs packing method in complex domains for DEM simulations

Abstract

Efficiently assembling densely packed discs in complex domains remains an unresolved challenge for discrete element simulations. This study develops an efficient dense disc packing method based on the advancing front method (AFM) with closed form version. The new method enables a unified and efficient generation of intricate packings incorporating not just interior boundaries with multiple cavities, but also convex or non-convex external boundaries with complex geometric shapes. Furthermore, the new method can eliminate potential discontinuity encountered in certain DEM assemblies, such as the one-sided lifting problem that arises during discs packing using AFM with open form version. Several examples with complex geometries are presented to showcase the versatility, capability and performance of the proposed method. The proposed approach not only offers an efficient means of generating DEM packings, but also empowers DEM for enhanced simulations with complex geometric boundaries. Specifically, it takes only 70.92 s to generate 675.3 million discs on a 2 GHz laptop.