(420b) Using Digital-Twins to Relate Microscopic Parameters of DEM Simulations and Macroscopic Measurables Characterizing Powder Behavior

DEM simulations are useful to predict the behavior of powders and granular materials inside industrial processes. For that, a digital-twin of the industrial process is designed giving access to information and measurables inaccessible in the real process. Moreover, the impact of powder characteristic modification and the impact of process parameter adaptation can be investigated. But these results are only valid if the simulation has been correctly calibrated.

Conceptually, two methods can be used for the calibration of DEM simulation parameters. The first method is a bottom-up approach based on the direct measurement of the microscopic parameters at the scale of the contacts between the grains. Even if this bottom-up method makes sense conceptually, it is often practically impossible to use this approach based on complex measurement. We propose an alternative top-bottom method based on a set of macroscopic measurements that can be used practically without difficulties to calibrate the simulation. The principle consists in measuring the powder properties in a laboratory and afterward to simulate the same process to tune the simulation parameters following an optimization process. In other words, this method is based on the use of laboratory instrument digital-twins.

From a fundamental point of view, the use of digital-twins in parallel to both laboratory characterization instruments and real processes allows to study the link between DEM simulation parameters (sliding and rolling frictions, cohesiveness, stiffness, ...) and the macroscopic behavior of the powder. In the presentation, we will illustrate this approach using the characterization instruments (GranuDrum, GranuPack, GranuHeap and GranuFlow) and typical industrial processes (recoating process in AM and capsule filling in pharma).