Simulation and verification of discrete element parameter calibration of pulverized coal particles

ABSTRACT

To enhance the simulation efficiency of the EDEM discrete element numerical simulation software for coal powder mineral particles, experimental data on the rest angle of coal powder particles were collected as the response variable. Five parameters related to coal powder particles within the Hertz-Mindlin no-slip contact model were selected for investigation. Initially, the Plackett-Burman experiment identified three parameters: collision restitution coefficient, static friction coefficient, and rolling friction coefficient, significantly influencing the resting angle. Subsequently, the steepest ascent experiment determined the significant parameter ranges as follows: the collision restitution coefficient ranged from 0.20 to 0.40, the particle-particle static friction coefficient ranged from 0.30 to 0.50, and the particle-particle dynamic friction coefficient ranged from 0.06 to 0.10. Finally, the second-order regression model for the angle of repose and the saliency parameters was developed and optimized using the Box-Behnken experimental design. The following parameter combination was obtained: the collision recovery coefficient was 0.30, the particle-particle static friction coefficient was 0.49, and the particle-particle dynamic friction coefficient was 0.09. This study aimed to compare the angle of repose between the simulation experiment and the actual experiment. The relative error was only 1.02%, indicating that the simulation experiment achieved the optimal parameter combination.

KEYWORDS:

• Powder particles
• discrete element method
• angle of repose
• parameter calibration

Acknowledgements

Jin Xia Zhang and Qiu Yue Wang designed the experiments, Qiu Yue Wang performed the experiments, Zhen Jia Chang and Meng Fei Zhang analyzed the data, Jin Xia Zhang and Qiu Yue Wang wrote the paper, and Fu Sheng Niu, Xiao Dong Yu, and Fan Wu improved the paper. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This research was funded by the Technology Project of Hebei Education Department [ZD2022128], and Natural Science Foundation of Hebei Province [E2022209108], and Central Guiding Local Science and Technological Development Fund Projects [226Z4104G].