Contact between rigid convex NURBS particles based on computer graphics concepts

authored by
Marina Vendl Craveiro, Alfredo Gay Neto, Peter Wriggers
Abstract

In the discrete element method (DEM), the geometric description of each particle is important for the overall system behavior. However, increasing complexity of particles also augments the cost for contact detection and its forthcoming evaluation, increasing the computational cost of the numerical simulation. In the context of master-to-master contact, the present work proposes a new formulation for solving the local contact problem between convex particles whose boundary is defined by non-uniform rational B-splines (NURBS). The proposed formulation is based on concepts employed in computer graphics: Minkowski sum, configuration space obstacle (CSO) and support mapping. With that, contact can be addressed through an optimization scheme. An objective function is based on a constrained distance between the particles. In case of contact, the maximum penetration between particles is related to the minimum of the objective function. Different examples underline the robustness of the formulation, which can handle contact between convex particles with general shapes.

Organisation(s)
Institute of Continuum Mechanics
External Organisation(s)
Universidade de Sao Paulo
Type
Article
Journal
Computer Methods in Applied Mechanics and Engineering
Volume
386
ISSN
0045-7825
Publication date
01.12.2021
Publication status
Published
Peer reviewed
Yes
ASJC Scopus subject areas
Computational Mechanics, Mechanics of Materials, Mechanical Engineering, Physics and Astronomy(all), Computer Science Applications
Electronic version(s)
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cma.2021.114097 (Access: Closed)
 

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