Dem Computational Simulation of the Polishing of the Tagua (Phytelephas Aequatorialis) Palm Nuts

Abstract

For tagua, the quality of the polishing process is analyzed according to the surface finish of the material, which is obtained manually or through empirically developed machinery that does not include the study of the behavior of the material during the process, which generates an inefficient work. The objective of the work is to determine the macro structural properties of tagua nuts to simulate polishing using the discrete element method. Virtual models were developed and the corresponding physical and mechanical properties were assigned. Among the main results, a tagua nut model was achieved, with m=30.22 g and ρ=1327.3±11.23 kg/m3, friction coefficient for wood of µ_e = 0.411±0.0006 and angle of repose of β=24.644º±0.201º. These properties are the variables used as input data for the DEM model. Finally, the suitability of the Hertz-Mindlin model to simulate the process of mechanized polishing of tagua nuts is demonstrated.

Numerical and Experimental Analysis of the Abrasive Wear Of Two Steels Used in Tillage Tools

“…It is generally quantified by measuring the loss of material, and currently experimental (Pérez et al, 2010;López, 2011;González, 2012;Jia y Zhou, 2012;Rojek, 2014;Singh et al, 2017;Obrad et al, 2018;Chen et al, 2018;Bedolla et al, 2018) and numerical methods have been used for its study. Among the numerical ones, the Distinct or Discrete Element Method (DEM) has the most application for the study of abrasive wear (Graff, 2010;Rojek, 2014;Perazzo et al, 2016;Hoormazdi et al, 2018;Chen et al, 2018;Ucgul et al, 2017, Graff, 2010, Bedolla et al, 2018Montes, Herrera, López, Pérez, & Torres, 2023;Zolotarevskiy, Gallo, Pereira, & Barnett, 2022;Zhang, Fu, Ren, Liu, Lin, Zhang & Zhang, 2024). The advantage of the latter over traditional methods is that it allows predicting the behaviour of a given phenomenon, and also decreases the time required for testing.…”