Optimal design in bionic wear-resistant structures by multiscale DEM simulation

To address the problems of long optimization times of bionic wear-resistant structures in discrete element simulation. We established two-dimensional homoscale discrete element simulation models for four biomimetic structures, along with their respective abrasive wear computational models. We then deliberated upon their wear behavior in relation to the structural morphology, contact constraints, contact force, and wear volume during the wear process. The study found that the shedding of brittle wear body surface abrasives had little effect on the substrate of the bionic structure. Based on the above findings, a multi-scale/cross-level study of the interaction between biological wear surface structure and abrasive was conducted. The findings evince that utilization of a multi-scale computational model ensures the precise examination of the mechanical response of a material to external forces, while also economizing computational time. Finally, the design of the conical bionic structure is optimized based on the multi-scale/cross-level computational model. The results show that the conical bionic structure has good wear resistance when the abrasive grain size is small and when the monomer spacing is not larger than the monomer width. The bionic structure/abrasive interaction multi-scale numerical simulation system established in this paper reduces the complexity of dynamic numerical simulation of wear behavior on the surface of wear- resistant organisms, improves the calculation efficiency, and provides an important research means and method for optimizing the design of bionic wear-resistant parts.