GrainGeo
models and generates granular and sintered structures
GrainGeo models sintered, porous, granular, and powder materials. These are widely used in filtration, hydraulic fracturing, ceramics, construction, sound and heat insulation, coating, filling, packaging, storage, waste treatment, metallurgy, textile, pharmaceuticals, hygiene, defense, aerospace, and other industries.
Starting from random distributions, stock piles, and packings of grains with varying shapes and shape distributions, various states of the sintering process can be modeled using morphological operations. The resulting structures range from powders and sintered materials with open and closed porosity to sintered composites without porosity. The grains can be spheres, ellipsoids, but also fibers and general polyhedra with randomly distributed parameters.
The random distributions, stock piles, and packings are available as 3-dimensional images and as analytical data (*.gad, GeoDict analytic data), which can be used to export surface triangulations (stl-files) for CAD programs. The sintered structures are only available as 3-dimensional images, like structures obtained from µCT or FIB/SEM after segmentation.
Material properties like pore-size distribution, flow resistivity (permeability, pressure drop), effective thermal and electrical conductivity, effective elasticity, effective diffusion, filter efficency, filter capacity, and many more, can be calculated directly on the geometry models using other GeoDictmodules, e.g. PoroDict, ConductoDict, FlowDict, ElastoDict, DiffuDict orFilterDict. For the special case of stock piles or dense packings of spherical particles, using the PackGeo module is preferable due to higher achievable packing densities and shorter run times.
Model of a catalyst layer created with GrainGeo
Al2O3 (aluminium oxide) modeled with GrainGeo
Proppant for Digital Hydraulic Fracturing modelled with GrainGeo
Model of PZT (lead zirconate titanate), a piezoelectric ceramic, created with GrainGeo
