Research Results

The CALIPER research program focuses on three major challenges in granular materials-related calibration and simulations: deformable grains, irregular grains and cohesive grains. In each of these subject areas we move beyond the “spherical cow” paradigm that has understandably dominated the granular field for a long time. In each of these subjects, our envisioned approach will consists of developing experimental imaging and mechanical testing methods suitable for resolving the physical mechanisms at play, while extracting calibration information from such methods to develop numerical methods for the granular mechanisms/systems involved.

Of key importance is to provide a deep fundamental understanding of the dominant physical mechanisms that contribute to the mechanics of deformable, irregular or cohesive grain packings. The developed calibration methods and appropriate computational schemes will, therefore, be applied on both industrially relevant materials and on appropriately simplified granular model systems. The outcomes are then a generic academic understanding of granular materials, but also application specific knowledge that can support the development of e.g. digital twins for “industrial plant simulators”.