An efficient method for packing polygonal domains with disks for 2D discrete element simulation

The discrete element method (DEM) is frequently used in numerical simulation of the behaviour of discontinuum often encountered in granular flow, soil or rock mechanics or powder compaction. The DEM requires an assemblage of elements that need to fill the domain geometry. Generation of such arrangement of elements, such as disks in 2D DEM simulation is not a trivial task. The available methods to create the arrangements of disks can either take considerable time, have limited control over the final outcome of the disk generation or exhibit difficulty in generating a tight arrangement of disk with varying radii. This paper presents an algorithm employing principles of computational geometry to efficiently generate a tight packing of disks while addressing the common problems of disk generation. The algorithm’s performance is linear with respect to time and scales well. As a demonstration of the algorithm’s capabilities, a DEM model of an ore pass is presented.