Simulation of irregularly shaped particles using coupling method of lattice Boltzmann and discrete element modelling

In this study, the lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) and the discrete element method (DEM) are coupled to simulate the interaction between the fluid phase and irregularly shaped solid particles. For this purpose, the geometry of real particle shapes is represented as clumps of overlapping spheres and then simulated through a multi-sphere model in DEM and coupled with LBM using two open-access codes, LIGGGHTS and Palabos. The accuracy of the coupling method with clumps is demonstrated by simulating several benchmark cases and comparing them with the results from the literature. The coupled LBM-DEM method is then used to simulate the collapse and transport of submerged granular particles with four different irregular particle shapes in addition to sphere particle shapes to highlight the influence of grain morphology in the solidfluid interaction. To the authors’ best knowledge, it is the first time that LIGGGHTS and Palabos were used to simulate the LBM-DEM coupling of irregular particles. This study demonstrates the potential and accuracy of LBM-DEM method in simulating particles with irregular shapes. The research also provides insight into the importance of considering real shape particles in simulating granular flows in geotechnical engineering.