Particulate materials plays a critical role in many industrial processes. These range from crushing and grinding, mixing, separation), to rotary molding of plastics, hopper flows, bins and conveyor belts. Small reductions in energy consumption or increases in output represent significant financial benefits and operational benefits at industrial & manufacturing plants.

In the simulation of granular flows using the discrete element method (DEM) the trajectories, spins and orientations of all the particles are calculated, and their interaction with other particles and with their environment modelled. This method has been well established for simple flows for many years. DEM simulations have been successfully applied to a range of industrial problems.