CFD-DEM Simulation of Some Erosion Applications

Since its emergence by Cundall in 1971, the Discrete Element Method (DEM) proved its efficiency in simulation and explanation of particulate media micro behaviors. The erosion process is the result of micro-interaction between fluid and soil particles. By parallelizing the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) method with the DEM to simulate fluid action on the soil particles, erosion can be simulated at the particle scale. This paper presents a study of CFD-DEM applications in the simulation of erosion. The research focuses on the CFD-DEM technique to explore the fundamental erosion mechanisms in the Erosion Function Apparatus (EFA) test. One of the problems in soil erosion that needs to be investigated is the particles' incipient motion. A three-dimensional CFD-DEM model is utilized to simulate the EFA simulation to derive velocity-based and shear stress-based erosion functions. The results of the above-mentioned numerical simulations are in good agreement with the laboratory test measurements, which indicates the potential accuracy and reliability of the CFD-DEM technique in simulating erosion at the particle scale and applying the result to full-scale problems.