SALTED - A High Performance Simulator for Granular Packings

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Thorsten Pöschel
• Subject Area: Mechanical Process Engineering ; Software Engineering and Programming Languages
• Term: since 2021
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 443187857

The aim of the proposed project is to improve the usability and outreach of a simulation software for the generation of packings of complicated shaped particles and, therewith, to exploit the full application potential of the software. The packings which can be generated by the software package are highly relevant for both, scientific investigations as well as practical applications. Previous application examples include the powder deposition in additive manufacturing, drying suspensions in the context of printable electronics, production, structuring and functionalization of nano particles and interfaces, and studies on the physics of granular packings. Already planed or initiated future applications comprise catalysis, and so called aggregate architecture where loose granulates are used as a quick and reversible building system. Initiated by the DFG funded research project "Structural and Mechanical Properties of Nanopowders“ the software package SALTED for the generation of packings of complicated shaped particles has been developed at the Institute for Multiscale Simulation of the Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg in the context of several doctoral thesis. SALTED simulates the dynamics of the particles by event-driven ballistic deposition. The arbitrary geometries of the particles to be deposited are represented by means of the multisphere method. The combination of this features makes SALTED unique regarding both, its concept as well as its performance. A poor usability currently opposes the algorithmic qualities and the wide-ranging application potential of the software. This issue shall be faced within the proposed project, to allow the interdisciplinary circle of potential users a convenient application of the software and to profit from its algorithmic advantages.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• Co-Investigator: Dr. Patric Müller