DEM simulations of vibrated sphere packings in slender prismatic containers

Discrete Element Method (DEM) simulations are carried out to investigate the packing structure of the vibrated mono-sized and polydisperse particle assemblies in slender prismatic containers. Quantities like void fraction distributions, coordination number distribution, Voronoi packing fraction distributions were analyzed. DEM simulations show excellent agreement with the experimental data. The transient response of the packing structure during the vibration of mono-sized spheres reveals that the crystallization starts at the walls. The packing structure's crystallinity enhances during vibration, increasing the packing density of the assembly. Vertical vibration is found to be more effective compared to lateral vibration. The packing structure is found to be independent of the container's orientation during the filling process. The influence of the ratio of the container dimensions to mean particle diameter (X/dm) and polydispersity (λ) on the packing structure is analyzed. The results showed that the increase of X/dm ratio or λ, increases the random arrangement of particles.