Granular mechanics teaching resources

This website contains teaching resources developed at SciGEM at The University of Sydney for teaching granular mechanics to undergraduate and postgraduate students.

There are a number of independent numerical tools, and where they exist already there are corresponding reference materials, worksheets and assessment tasks. If you use these materials in one of your classes, please let us know so that we can provide support

If you would like to see examples of these resources in operation, please check out the Gallery.

Flexible DEM code in the browser

• Live coder

2D DEM Simulations

• Simple shear

• Lees-Edwards shear

• Hopper discharge

• Intro to coarse graining

• Rotating bidisperse drum

• Anisotropy and friction

• Dam break

3D DEM Simulations

• Oedometric compression | Reference material | Lesson plan

• Inclined plane flow  | Reference material | Worksheet

• Triaxial compression | Reference material | Lesson plan

• Isotropic cyclic compression | VR version

• Rotating bidisperse sphere

• Lees-Edwards shear

• Dam break

4D DEM Simulations

• Rotating hypersphere

Pre-computed data

• Inclined plane flow | 2D | 4D | 5D | 6D

• In-browser coarse graining

Guided tours

• Intro to NDDEM | Journal article | Github

• NDDEM in VR

Model experiments and demonstrations

• Handheld shear box: Github repository with models for 3D printing and question sheet examples.

Soil mechanics

• Soil compaction

• Mohr's circle and failure criteria

• Void ratio explainer

Geospatial Resources

• ammo.js rockfall simulator

• MercuryDPM rockfall simulator | Example assignment (4th year bachelor level) 

• Slope stability module  | Example assignment (3rd year bachelor level) 

Games

• NDDEM 4D Pool

Recorded presentations

• 2022 TC105 Seminar Series - Teaching granular mechanics with Discrete Element Method

• 2022 TC105 Seminar Series - Virtual laboratory testing using DEM to understand soil behaviour