Field Data Manager

Import and manage field data for use in a Custom Model (typically a Particle Body Force).

With the Field Data Import Module, you can import and manage field data. There are two types of field data: vector and scalar.

A vector field is a construction in vector calculus used to represent a field (such as the velocity profile of a fluid or a magnetic force field) as points in Euclidian space. Each point has an associated magnitude and direction. Vector field data is usually displayed in EDEM using arrow representation. The arrow’s color indicates the magnitude of the vector.

A scalar field associates a scalar value to points in space. This can be used to measure temperature distribution throughout space or air pressure, for example. Scalar field data is displayed in EDEM using point representation. The point’s color indicates the scalar value.

Combined with a CFD application such as ANSYS Fluent, EDEM’s vector field import option can greatly reduce simulation time by providing one-way coupling. For example, in a particle-fluid problem where fluid drag is significant but the particle effect on fluid flow is not:

Run a FLUENT-only simulation.
Export the flow field from FLUENT.
Import the vector field data into EDEM.
Run a model with fluid drag on the particles.

This one-way coupling is much faster than two-way coupling, but still returns useful simulation data.

Custom plugins can query field data and configure the interpolation algorithm using EDEM’s API. Refer to the EDEM Programming Guide for details.