Importance and Need to Understand and Control Behavior and Response of Granular Material
The ongoing and increasing importance of granular materials-based technologies and operations in the world today is encapsulated in the following statement made by Edward Merrow.

“The flow of granular materials is of fundamental interest because of the prevalence of these materials in the pharmaceutical, agricultural, food service, material handling, mining and power generation industries. It is estimated that related industries total one trillion dollars a year in gross sales in the US alone and they operate at only 63% of capacity. By comparison, industries that rely on fluid transport processes operate at 84% of design capacity."

Ref: Merrow, Edward W., "A Quantitative Assessment of R&D Requirements for Solids processing Technology", Rand Corporation Report R-3216-DOE/PSSP

The challenge lies before us, to increase operation levels to make optimum use of the entire system. Through the use of analysis and computer simulation such as DEM provided by Bulk Flow Analyst™, the challenge of finding and eliminating bottlenecks in our processes is not only possible, but very likely.

Industrial Applications of Bulk Flow Analyst™
The applications of Bulk Flow Analyst™ in industry are as diverse as the types of particles being moved, the machinery that moves them, and the purpose for which they are being moved. A few examples are listed below, but only begin to scratch the surface!

Mining and Power Generation
At the very core of mining is the act of making and moving particles from the earth to processing and power plants, loading and unloading rail cars and ships. A variety of machinery is involved including loaders, trucks, conveyors, transfer chutes, and crushers just to name a few. DEM can be used to size the particles exiting a crusher for a specific system, to redesign a transfer chute for better flow or to reduce dust, or to adjust belt speed to minimize wear.

Agriculture
Planting, fertilizing, harvesting, storage, and stockpiling involve the motion of grain, fruit, legumes, and nuts. These activities involve conveyors, augers, sweepers, feeders, grinders, dryers, and mixers. Conveyors are used to move eggs and even chicks through high-output hatcheries!

Food Processing
In many cases food processing starts similar to the agriculture examples from above, as grain, fruit, eggs, and nuts are moved from trucks through factories. Bulk sugar, salt, spices, and other ingredients are also conveyed, sifted, crushed, and dried. Some candies such as jelly beans undergo a polishing process in tumblers. Food products are often sticky by necessity, so the difficulty of working with sticky particles is something that cannot be minimized and must be dealt with. DEM has been used to simulate cohesive and adhesive behaviors and their effects on flow systems.

Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals
In many ways similar to food processing, chemical and pharmaceuticals involve many of the same processes and similar machinery. The products can be more sensitive to proper mixing and processing. DEM has been used to analyze kilns, used to dry or bake particles, to assure that particles get adequate exposure to air-flow regardless of size.

Other Industries
If particles are being moved in large quantities, if they are forced to collide with each other, if they slide in contact with machine components, or if they are often sticky, DEM was made for these situations.