SALTED - A High Performance Simulator for Granular Packings

该项目的目的是提高复杂形状颗粒堆积模拟软件的可用性和可扩充性，从而充分挖掘该软件的应用潜力。该软件包可以生成的包装对科学研究和实际应用都具有很高的相关性。以前的应用例子包括添加剂制造中的粉末沉积、可印刷电子设备中的干燥悬浮液、纳米粒子和界面的生产、结构和功能化，以及颗粒填充的物理研究。已经规划或启动的未来应用包括催化，以及所谓的聚合体系结构，其中松散的颗粒被用作快速和可逆的构建系统。由DFG资助的研究项目“纳米粉末的结构和机械性能”发起的用于生成复杂形状颗粒的填料的SALT软件包已经在弗里德里希-亚历山大-纽伦堡大学多尺度模拟研究所根据几篇博士论文开发出来。Salted通过事件驱动的弹道沉积来模拟粒子的动力学。用多球面方法表示待沉积颗粒的任意几何形状。这一特点的结合使Salted在概念和性能上都独一无二。目前，糟糕的可用性与该软件的算法质量和广泛的应用潜力背道而驰。这一问题应在拟议的项目中解决，以方便潜在用户的跨学科圈子使用该软件，并从其算法优势中获益。

The aim of the proposed project is to improve the usability and outreach of a simulation software for the generation of packings of complicated shaped particles and, therewith, to exploit the full application potential of the software. The packings which can be generated by the software package are highly relevant for both, scientific investigations as well as practical applications. Previous application examples include the powder deposition in additive manufacturing, drying suspensions in the context of printable electronics, production, structuring and functionalization of nano particles and interfaces, and studies on the physics of granular packings. Already planed or initiated future applications comprise catalysis, and so called aggregate architecture where loose granulates are used as a quick and reversible building system. Initiated by the DFG funded research project "Structural and Mechanical Properties of Nanopowders“ the software package SALTED for the generation of packings of complicated shaped particles has been developed at the Institute for Multiscale Simulation of the Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg in the context of several doctoral thesis. SALTED simulates the dynamics of the particles by event-driven ballistic deposition. The arbitrary geometries of the particles to be deposited are represented by means of the multisphere method. The combination of this features makes SALTED unique regarding both, its concept as well as its performance. A poor usability currently opposes the algorithmic qualities and the wide-ranging application potential of the software. This issue shall be faced within the proposed project, to allow the interdisciplinary circle of potential users a convenient application of the software and to profit from its algorithmic advantages.