Learn how Dr. Marcelo Precoppe from the University of Greenwich designed an environmentally controlled, solar-powered sweet potato storage unit using simulation tools to reduce postharvest losses and improve food security in sub-Saharan Africa. The importance of sweet potato storage for food security Sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas Lam) roots are rich in carbohydrates and can produce more edible energy per hectare than wheat, rice, or cassava. In addition, sweet potatoes contain substantial amounts of proteins, vitamins, and minerals and can play a key role in famine relief. The roots can be sto ..read more

Our Simulation Insights for Engineers series shows the many ways Rocky helps engineers and product designers. This blog post highlights examples of Rocky DEM simulations of coating processes, used to develop insight needed to improve efficiency and product quality. Did you know the flavors on potato chips or colors on Skittles candies are produced with a layer of coating? Simulation of the coating process has historically used mechanistic models, and today, Discrete Element Method (DEM) complements experimental methods. In addition, Integrating Rocky DEM with other simulation software, includi ..read more

This content is part of the “ Breaking Barriers with Rocky DEM” blog series. No matter your industry or application, there are many ways to leverage the power of discrete element modeling tools. Read on to discover how Rocky solves industrial problems in engineering workflow. In this blog post, we highlight the simulation of powder mixing that contains millions of particles.   Thirty million particles. It used to take weeks, maybe months, to complete  a DEM simulation and find a solution for a project with that many particles. Now Rocky DEM is transforming complex problems involving ..read more

Equipment manufacturers in a wide variety of industries acknowledge the power of simulation and modeling in engineering to develop robust, energy-efficient, and cost-effective designs. One key tenet is to apply virtual engineering upfront in the design cycle — well before major manufacturing costs are incurred. Although the food processing industry has its own particular challenges that differ from other sectors, it too can benefit from early simulation intervention. In developing innovative food processing technologies, modeling is an important tool for designing and optimizing operational pa ..read more

Rocky DEM is a powerful tool for the chemical engineering research center to calibrate parameters of corn kernels The Chemical Engineering Pilot Plant (PLAPIQUI) is now using Rocky DEM in simulations and modeling of particulate systems. PLAPIQUI is a center for research, education, and technological development maintained by the National University of South (UNS) and the National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), both based in Argentina. Since 2018, Rocky DEM has performed simulations in PLAPIQUI’S Particle Technology area, mainly in the food and pharmaceutical industries. T ..read more

This content is based on a thesis presented at the University of Engineering and Technology – UTEC, Peru, by me, Luiguie Sagastegui in partnership with Helard Álvarez. This thesis fills a gap in research in this area due to the lack of fundamental studies using state of the art first principle computational techniques. The main purpose of the study is to develop a DEM-CFD coupled model to simulate a wheat cleaning aerodynamic machine. Background & Motivation There is a lack of fundamental studies due to the state of computational numerical studies and its applications in modern engineering ..read more

Why mixing? From the powder mixing of pharmaceutical ingredients to fuel particles inside a fluidized bed nuclear reactor; from the mixing of yeast into the dough in a bakery operation to gravel inside an asphalt plant; the search for ways to increase the homogeneity of a system is a common need in many industries. Mixing is a unit operation that involves the manipulation of a heterogeneous system in order to reduce its non-uniformity or gradients in composition, properties, or temperature. It can also be applied to enhance heat and mass transfer rates, and control reactions and structural cha ..read more