A client recently asked me to help create a simulation of Bulk Material flowing through a Transfer Chute, in this case it was coal being loaded onto a ship via a transfer chute.

The transfer chute was to be redesigned to improve flow through the system and the following simulation was created showing current and proposed transfer chute designs.

Modelling method used is called Discrete Element Method (DEM) – a simulation method that models each single particle as a distinct entity and is suited to simulating the bulk behaviour of particles.