PARTICLES 2025

A Particle Finite Element approach to model sediment transport and granular flows

  • Martini, Simone (Politecnico di Milano)
  • Cremonesi, Massimiliano (Politecnico di Milano)

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The challenge of land protection has been always important in addressing the environmental disaster prevention. Landslides, in particular, can lead to river overflows, endangering significantly the surrounding areas. To study these phenomena, computational mechanics approaches can be helpful in understanding the dynamics of landslides and particle-laden flows. In this work, to tackle this problem, the Navier-Stokes equations for the fluid motion are solved using the Particle Finite Element Method [1]. The PFEM method relies on a Lagrangian representation of the domain, where the mesh moves along with the particles, leading to a continuous update of node positions. However, major challenge of this approach is the degradation of the mesh due to particle movement. To address this issue, a remeshing process is implemented, adjusting the grid connectivity as necessary. To simulate landslides, the μ(I)-rheology has been employed, incorporating the regularization initially proposed in [2]. This approach is designed primarily to prevent abrupt transitions between rigid and visco-plastic behaviors and to limit the maximum viscosity at low shear rates. Tests have demonstrated that the model effectively captures the dynamics of free-surface granular flows. The movement of sediment within the fluid is described as a scalar concentration variable, introduced through the addition of a diffusion-transport equation. The proposed mixture model avoids the need to describe the motion and interactions of individual particles [3]. However, due to the assumptions in the selected mixture model, its application is restricted to flows with relatively low sediment concentrations. Numerical tests have confirmed the accuracy of the model, demonstrating its suitability for real engineering applications.