Journal article 1345 views 483 downloads
On Minkowski difference-based contact detection in discrete/discontinuous modelling of convex polygons/polyhedra
Y.T. Feng,
Yuanqiang Tan,
Yuntian Feng 
Engineering Computations, Volume: ahead-of-print, Issue: ahead-of-print
Swansea University Author:
Yuntian Feng
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DOI (Published version): 10.1108/EC-03-2019-0124
Abstract
PurposeContact detection for convex polygons/polyhedra has been a critical issue in discrete/discontinuous modelling, such as the discrete element method (DEM) and the discontinuous deformation analysis (DDA). The recently developed 3D contact theory for polyhedra in DDA depends on the so-called ent...
| Published in: | Engineering Computations |
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| ISSN: | 0264-4401 |
| Published: |
2019
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| Online Access: |
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| URI: | https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa50478 |
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| Abstract: |
PurposeContact detection for convex polygons/polyhedra has been a critical issue in discrete/discontinuous modelling, such as the discrete element method (DEM) and the discontinuous deformation analysis (DDA). The recently developed 3D contact theory for polyhedra in DDA depends on the so-called entrance block of two polyhedra and reduces the contact to evaluate the distance between the reference point to the corresponding entrance block, but effective implementation is still lacking.Design/methodology/approachIn this paper, the equivalence of the entrance block and the Minkowski difference of two polyhedra is emphasised and two well-known Minkowski difference-based contact detection and overlap computation algorithms, GJK and expanding polytope algorithm (EPA), are chosen as the possible numerical approaches to the 3D contact theory for DDA, and also as alternatives for computing polyhedral contact features in DEM. The key algorithmic issues are outlined and their important features are highlighted.FindingsNumerical examples indicate that the average number of updates required in GJK for polyhedral contact is around 6, and only 1 or 2 iterations are needed in EPA to find the overlap and all the relevant contact features when the overlap between polyhedra is small.Originality/valueThe equivalence of the entrance block in DDA and the Minkowski difference of two polyhedra is emphasised; GJK- and EPA-based contact algorithms are applied to convex polyhedra in DEM; energy conservation is guaranteed for the contact theory used; and numerical results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed methodologies. |
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| College: |
Faculty of Science and Engineering |
| Issue: |
ahead-of-print |