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Updated: Jun 21, 2026

Analyzing Melts and Fluids from Ab Initio Molecular Dynamics Simulations with the UMD Package
Published on: September 17, 2021
Molecular dynamics simulation of complex particles in three dimensions and the study of friction due to nonconvexity
S A Galindo-Torres1, F Alonso-Marroquín, Y C Wang
1MoSCoS, School of Mathematics and Physics, The University of Queensland, Queensland, Brisbane 4068, Australia. s.galinotorres@uq.edu.au
Abstract:
We investigate the macroscopic properties of frictionless nonconvex particles using molecular dynamics. The calculations are based on a simple and efficient method to simulate complex-shaped interacting bodies. The particle shape is represented by Minkowski operators. A multicontact time-continuous interaction between bodies is derived using simple concepts of computational geometry. Three-dimensional simulations of hopper flow show that the nonconvexity of the particles strongly affects the jamming on granular flow. Also the model allows the representation of complex bodies with rough surfaces as in friction studies and the reproduction of a wide range of friction and dilatancy angles as in true triaxial tests.
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