Simulation of dense random packings of ellipsoidal bodies by mechanical analogy

Abstract

The statistical properties of dense random packings of ellipsoidal bodies in cylindrical vessels created under the effect of the gravity force are investigated by the numerical method developed from the equations of mechanics of a rigid body. The body-to-body and body-to-wall interaction is described by elastic forces. It has been found that the influence of the gravity force in the presence of walls specifies the statistically meaningful anisotropy of the orientation of ellipsoids. According to the method of the formation of a packing and the spatial separation of bodies by size can be found; this causes a local narrowing of the size spectrum. The method is naturally generalized by including friction forces, arbitrary force fields, and walls of an arbitrary shape.