Workshop 01 - Transfer Chute

Part A: Project Setup and Processing

R4.3

rocky-dem.com
OBJECTIVES

The purpose of this workshop is to introduce the Rocky user interface, go over
the various parameters, and outline the basic steps for setting up a Rocky
project.

You will learn how to: And you will use these features:
Import geometries Archive Project
Create Motion Frames and define Translation motion type
geometry movements
Configure Material properties and
interactions
Create Particle sets and define
Mass Flow Rates
Process (run) the simulation

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GEOMETRY INTRODUCTION

The geometry in this tutorial is

composed of:
1 Feed Conveyor
2 Skirt
3 Pulley
4 Chute
5 Receiving Conveyors

The complete geometry is

subdivided into several parts in
order to apply different movements
to each one. In the workshop
directory each *.stl file can be
found.

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PROJECT CREATION

Ensure that you have downloaded and extracted the workshop_01_input_files

folder that was provided along with this PDF.
Open Rocky 4. (Look for Rocky 4 in the Program Menu or use the desktop
shortcut.)
From the Rocky program, click the New Project button, or from the File menu,
click New Project (Ctrl+N).

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ROCKY INTERFACE (UI)

Menu and Toolbar

Data Panel

Workspace

Data Editors
Panel

Progress Status Simulation Log

Panel Panel Panel
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ROCKY INTERFACE (UI)

The Rocky user interface (UI) is completely customizable. You can

add/remove/reposition any window or panel available.
To change back to the default layout, select View from the main Toolbar, and
then click Reset layout.
The default layout contains the following components:
Menu and Toolbar: Contains the main program menus, shortcuts, camera options,
Timestep controls, and display tools.
Data Panel: Displays the project tree through which the setup parameters are defined.
Data Editors Panel: Displays the details of the item that is selected in the Data panel.
Workspace: Displays the available windows that have been opened for the project (3D
Views, Motion & Particle Previews, and Plots & Histograms).
Simulation Log Panel: Lists any Solver warnings or errors that occur during simulation
processing.
Progress Panel: Shows the processing tasks currently being performed by the software.
Status Panel: Shows any warnings or errors regarding the current project.
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PROJECT SETUP DATA PANEL ITEMS
To set up any Rocky simulation, from the Data panel under Study 01, follow the
items listed top-down and one-by-one:
Study 01: Set project details (Name, Customer and Description).
Physics: Set physical conditions (Gravity, Momentum, Coarse Grain, and Thermal models).
Modules: Enable additional models and data collection options (Collision Statistics, Liquid
Bridge, etc.).
Geometries: Import, add, and edit geometry components and inlets.
Motion Frames: Add and preview Motion and Cone Crusher Frames.
Materials: Define materials and set densities and other properties.
Materials Interactions: Define adhesion and other properties for materials interactions.
Particles: Create and preview particle shapes and size distributions.
Inputs: Define particle feed rates and release locations.
Contacts: Enable the collection of contact data.
CFD Coupling: Set up LBM air flow, or define one- or two-way coupling with fluid dynamic
solvers.
Domain Settings: Define the domain behavior and periodic boundaries.
Solver: Define how the DEM solver processes the simulation and collects data.
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POST-PROCESSING DATA PANEL ITEMS

The remaining items at the bottom of the Data panel are for post-processing:

Particles Calculations: Displays user-defined particle properties, such as

particle tagging.
User Processes: Displays user-defined processes, such as analysis
cubes and planes.
Color Scales: Shows display details of all plotted variables.

These will be covered in more detail in later workshops.

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PROJECT DETAILS

The first Study 01 step of the simulation setup is to define

any useful information for the project, such as its name,
mass flow rate, velocity, and/or duration.
From the Data panel, click Study 01.
From the Data Editors panel, enter the project information
provided.

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PHYSICS DEFINITION

In the Physics step, the Gravity, Momentum,

Thermal, and Coarse-Graining tabs are used to
enable/disable the various models used in the
DEM solver.
For this workshop, we will keep all default
Physics values and models. (No changes.)

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GEOMETRY IMPORT
The Geometries step enables you to add default
geometries, such as conveyors or inlets, or import your own
custom geometries.
For this case we will import geometry files in *.stl format.
From the Data panel, right-click Geometries, and then click
Import Custom Geometry.

The following geometry formats can be imported into Rocky:

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GEOMETRY IMPORT

From the Select file to import dialog, navigate to the

workshop_01_input_files folder that you previously downloaded, find the
geometry folder, and then while pressing either the Ctrl or Shift key,
multi-select Fall of the following files:

Click Open.
If you haven’t saved your project yet, a Save File dialog will appear.
Select a folder location, enter a File name, and then click Save.

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PROJECT SAVING

Rocky always saves your project in 2 parts:

(Project_name).rocky: This is the Project file, which
includes the simulation setup values.
(Project_name).rocky.files: This is the Project folder,
which contains all the generated configurations, logs and
calculated timesteps.
To share your project, it is very important to always send
both parts. Rocky provides an easy way to do this:
From the File menu, select Archive project. Rocky will
create a file called (Project_name).rocky_archive,
which is a compressed file, containing both parts.
To open it, just click the File menu, and then select
Restore archived project.

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PROJECT SAVING

Three other options for saving the project are displayed when you select Save
project as. . . , from the File menu, as follows:
Save as a new file and keep the results
Save as a new file and discard the results
Save as a new file for restart

These additional saving options will be covered in later workshops.

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GEOMETRY IMPORT
After saving the project, a Rocky dialog is displayed, where geometry limits (in
X, Y and Z directions) are shown.
“Import Unit” defines the unit with which the geometry is imported. For this
Workshop, all geometries are in “mm” so make this change to the Import Unit,
as shown.
Review the Geometry Limits to ensure the unit you selected is correct.
Click OK to add the new parts into the simulation project.

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GEOMETRY IMPORT
To visualize the freshly imported geometries, click and drag Geometries from the
Data panel, releasing it over the Workspace. The workspace will then be filled
with a 3D View window of the geometries.

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3D VIEW CONTROL

In the 3D View window, you can use the following controls and shortcuts to
modify the view:

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INLET DEFINITION

After the geometries are imported, an inlet must be defined in order to release
particles into the domain.
From the Data panel, right-click Geometries, and then click Create Inlet.

A new entry will be added under Geometries called Inlet <01>.

Select Inlet <01> and then from the Data Editors panel, select the main Inlet
tab.
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INLET DEFINITION

Define the inlet Name: inlet (as shown)

From the Geometry sub-tab, define: Type, Center Coordinates, Incline Angle
(Local Z-axis), Length, and Width (as shown).
In the Simulation Configuration tab, define: Stop Time (as shown). This is the
time range during which the inlet will actively be releasing particles.

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INLET DEFINITION

The inlet will be automatically shown in the 3D View after its creation.
You can then check the Inlet’s position, dimension, and orientation within the 3D
View.
Note that the yellow arrow on the inlet axis illustrates the direction in which the
particles will be released.

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GRAPHIC DISPLAY

A 3D View window can be changed by right-clicking anywhere in the

background (outside the geometries parts). Some configuration options include:
Grids: Change faces and edges colors of all geometries at
once, as well as the display method.
Background & Font color: Change the color of the 3D View
background and the text displayed in the window.
Auto Update: Enable/disable update of the graphical 3D
View regarding any modification in the Data panel.
Bounding Box: Enable/disable visualization of the geometry
limit coordinates on each axis.
Synchronized Time: When disabled, allows you to display
multiple 3D Views at different times or lock them to the same
time step when enabled.
Copy & Save Image: Copy the window and/or save it as a
*.png, *.bmp or *.jpg file.
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GRAPHIC DISPLAY

The color, transparency, and visibility of each part of the geometry can be
changed by selecting from the Data panel the part name under Geometries,
and then from the Data Editors panel, selecting the Coloring tab (shown
below).

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MOTION FRAMES
After importing/creating all the necessary geometries, movements can be added
using the Motion Frames tool, which is located in the Data panel.
In order to set up a new motion, use the following steps:
1 Create a new Frame: The position and orientation can be defined using the
instantaneous orientation of the selected Frame (Local Reference) or a previously
created Frame (Parent Reference).
2 Define the Frame’s motion: Every Frame can have multiple motions defined,
which can include:
Translation & Rotation (with or without displacement)
Vibration & Pendulum
Free Body Translation & Free Body Rotation
Prescribed Force and Moment (only for Free Body Motions)
3 Associate the geometry with a Motion Frame: For every moving boundary,
select one Motion Frame to be associated with that boundary. To apply a nested
set of Motion Frames, assign only the lowest level child Frame.
4 Preview the motion: Use the Motion Preview tool to ensure that the movement for
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MOTION FRAMES
For this workshop, two separate Translation (Keep in Place) movements will
be created, which means the particles in contact with the geometry will have the
prescribed velocity but the geometry itself will not move.
To set a Translation motion, you must either align the Frame with the movement
direction, or provide the velocity components.
Both methods are covered in this workshop:
Feed Conveyor: Translation without displacement
Velocity = 2.5 m/s
Method: Aligned Frame
Receiving Conveyor 1: Translation without
displacement
Velocity = 2 m/s
Method: Velocity Components
Note: Because these Translations are marked Keep in
Place, the Motion Preview window will show no
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MOTION FRAMES

To add a new Motion Frame, right-click Motion

Frames, and then select Create Motion Frame.

A new Frame <01> entry appears in the Data panel.

To visualize the newly created Frame, select Motion
Frames, and then from the Data Editors panel, click
Preview.
A new window appears showing the geometries and
the axis for the newly created Frame.
Adjust the axis size for the frame by changing the
Default axis size parameter.
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MOTION FRAMES – FEED CONVEYOR

From the Data panel, select Frame 01 and

then from the Data Editors panel, define (as
shown):
Name: Feed Conveyor Motion
Relative Position (Frame origin coordinate)
Relative Rotation Vector
Rotation Angle (the vector indicating the
direction of rotation and the angle of rotation)
To create a new motion using this Frame, click
the green plus button (Add Motion). A
Translation motion is added by default.
Define (as shown):
Geometry and Velocity

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MOTION FRAMES – RECEIVING CONVEYOR

From the Motion Frames entity, create

another new Frame and then define (as
shown):
Name: Receiving Conveyor Motion
This Frame will be defined using the velocity
components under the Global Coordinate
System so the Relative Position, Relative
Rotation Vector, and Rotation Angle must
not be changed.
Add a new motion by clicking the green plus
button (Add Motion).
Define (as shown):
Geometry and Velocity

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MOTION FRAMES

Once all the Motion Frames have been created, they can be assigned to a
geometry.
For this case, select feed conveyor <01> under Geometries, and in the
Custom Geometry tab, select Feed Conveyor Motion from the Motion Frame
drop-down list.
Repeat the same for the receiving conveyor 1 <01>, using the Receiving
Conveyor Motion Frame.

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WINDOWS MENU
Once the motion setup is done, to change back
to the regular 3D View, show the Windows
panel to see a list of windows you’ve already
created.
From the View menu, click Windows.
From the newly displayed Windows panel,
select the 3D View <01> window.

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MATERIAL DEFINITION

The Materials step allows you to define the density, Young’s Modulus, and other
values you want assigned to your particles, belts, and geometries.
For this workshop, default values for the three default Materials will be used.

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MATERIAL DEFINITION
Once all the Materials have been defined, they must be assigned to the geometries
and particles.
By default, Rocky always assigns the material Default Boundary to any imported
geometry.
For this case, all three conveyors need to have the material changed to Default Belt:
In the Data panel under Geometries, select feed conveyor <01>.
In the Data Editors panel from the Custom Geometry tab, select Default Belt from the
Material drop-down list (as shown).
Repeat the same steps for the receiving conveyor 1 <01> and receiving conveyor
2 <01>.

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INTERACTIONS BETWEEN MATERIALS

In this simulation we have 3 materials: one for particles, one for belts, and
another for boundaries.
For every pair of materials in contact, a set of material interaction properties
must be defined.
Since only particles will interact with each material, we need to define 3 pairs of
interactions:
Particle x Particle
Particle x Belt
Particle x Boundary

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INTERACTIONS BETWEEN MATERIALS

To set the interaction properties, click Materials

Interactions in the Data panel. The Data Editors
panel then displays the editable parameters.

From the left drop-down list, select Default

Particles, and from the right drop-down list, select
(in order): Default Particles, Default Boundary,
and Default Belt.
Adjust the parameters for each combination
according to the values shown on the next slide.
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INTERACTIONS BETWEEN MATERIALS

Default Particles – Default Particles Default Particles – Default Belt

Static Friction: 0.55 Static Friction: 0.5
Dynamic Friction: 0.55 Dynamic Friction: 0.5
Tangential Stiffness Ratio: 1 Tangential Stiffness Ratio: 1
Restitution Coefficient: 0.2 Restitution Coefficient: 0.2

Default Particles – Default Boundary

Static Friction: 0.3
Dynamic Friction: 0.3
Tangential Stiffness Ratio: 1
Restitution Coefficient: 0.2

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PARTICLE GROUP DEFINITION

The Particles step is where you create define

particle shapes, sizes, and other attributes.
To create a new particle set, right-click Particles in
the Data panel and then select Create Particle.

With this, a new Particle <01> entity will appear.

Select this new entity from the Data panel.

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PARTICLE GROUP DEFINITION

From the Data Editors panel, in the Size sub-tab, define Size (as shown).
From the Movement sub-tab, define the Rolling Resistance (as shown).
To visualize the newly created particle, click the View button.

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PARTICLE PREVIEW

A new Particles Details window appears showing the particle geometry.

You can close or minimize this window to get back to the 3D View <01> window.

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INPUT DEFINITION
The Inputs step allows you to define how particles enter
the simulation. In Rocky 4.3, there are two options:
Continuous Injection: Releases particles in a continuous
stream from the inlet (or Feed Conveyor) that you select.
(Used to be called Particle Input).
Volume Fill: Injects a sphere-like ball of closely packed
particles in a specific volume region right before the
simulation starts.
To create a new particle mass flow, right-click Inputs in the
Data panel and then select Create Continuous Injection.

With this, a new Continuous Injection <1> entity appears.

From the Data panel, select this new entity.
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INPUT DEFINITION

From the Data Editors panel, select inlet from the Entry Point drop-down list
(as shown).
To add a new particle mass flow, click the green plus button.
From the Particle drop-down list, select Particle <01>.
Define the Mass Flow Rate (as shown).

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SOLVER DEFINITION
The Solver step is where you define processing time and
stability details, and finally Start your simulation.
Specifically, the Solver | Time sub-tab is where you define:
Simulation Duration: The total amount of real time that you want
the simulation to run.
Output Frequency: Time intervals during which you want your
timestep files to be saved.
Solver Curves Frequency: Amount of time between solver curves
updates.
Wear/Energy Spectra/Breakage Start: Time delay before starting
to calculate simulation statistics, wear, energy spectra, or particle
breakage.
Wear/Energy Spectra/Breakage Delay after Release: Time delay
after a particle has been released before starting to calculate
particle attrition, particle energy spectra, or particle breakage.
Wear Geometry Update Frequency: Amount of time between wear
geometry updates.
Loading N-Steps: Value used to calculate timesteps.
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SOLVER DEFINITION
From the Data panel, click Solver, and then from the Data Editors panel, select
the Solver | Time tab. Define Simulation Duration (as shown).
From the General sub-tab, select what you want for Simulation Target, and
then the Number of Processors (or Target GPU(s)). For this workshop, CPU
will be fastest due to the low particle count.
Click the Start button to begin processing.

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SOLVER DEFINITION

Once you click Start, the Simulation Summary window will appear. It shows
the geometry bounds, enabled models (wear, breakage, non-round particles),
number of particles and triangles, and the calculated Timestep Duration.
This window will disappear on its own, then processing begins.

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SIMULATION

Through a 3D View window, particle states

can be viewed in real time.
The speed of the simulation depends upon
various factors such as:
Number of mesh elements used to define
the geometry
Number of contacts in the simulation
domain at any time
Smallest particle size and material
stiffness
The particle shape and the number of
vertices used to define the shape
Frequency of file output

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SIMULATION STATUS

While the simulation processes, the program’s title bar shows the number of
saved timesteps (Output), the simulated solved time, the real solver time
(Elapsed), and the estimated time to finish (ETA).

At the bottom of the screen, you can see the progress bar, the Stop button (to
stop the solver), the Refresh button (to visualize the results up to the last solved
output), and the Auto Refresh option (to automatically update the 3D View for
every new saved output).
Either click the Refresh button or select the Auto Refresh checkbox to view
the Particle states in real time.

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HELP – USER MANUAL

This completes Part A of this workshop.

For further information on any topic presented, we suggest searching the User
Manual, which provides in-depth descriptions of the tools and parameters.
To access it, from the main Toolbar click Help, point to Manuals, and then click
User Manual.

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HELP – USER MANUAL

In the User Manual, use the Search tab to quickly find the topic you are interested in:

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CONCLUSION

Rocky was used to set up and process a transfer chute simulation.

During this workshop, it was possible to:
Understand the basics of the Rocky user interface
Import sample geometries
Define basic parameters
Process the simulation
What’s Next?
Now that you understand the basics of setting up and running a Rocky project, you
are ready to move on to Part B and post-process this project.

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