A new method for DEM simulation of dust-bearing granular flow – Modeling the effect of dust on the change in granule friction coefficient.

[Display omitted] • A novel DEM-based method to simulate granular flow with dust effectively. • A model of granule equivalent friction coefficient and dust effect is established. • Simulation and experiment results appear equal changes following dust contents. The simulation of dust-bearing granular accumulation flow in the theoretical and practical aspects of the engineering field poses a significant challenge due to the massive computational requirements associated with cross-scale simulations. In this study, a novel approach is proposed to address this issue by developing a model that accounts for the impact of dust on granular flow through changes in the granule friction coefficient. Initially, the theoretical analysis was conducted to examine the effects of dust on granular flow. Subsequently, a method was developed to measure the equivalent friction coefficient of granules by combining theoretical analysis and experimental work. The proposed method was then employed to simulate the stability of a spherical granule pile in a drum influenced by dust content and compared against experimental results. The simulation results demonstrate agreement with the experimental results, indicating the feasibility of modeling the effect of dust on dust-bearing granular flow through the granule equivalent friction coefficient. The dust effect can be considered equivalent to a change in the granule friction coefficient, which facilitates the reduction of the computational load generated by the Discrete Element Method (DEM) method and enables cross-scale simulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]