Nima Gharib, PhDMechanical engineering · Computational & experimental researchContact ↗

Research archive · Collaborative projects

Other projects

A broader collection of computational studies, engineering mechanisms, and experimental models.

Coupled fields and particle systems

These projects extend the same computational ideas across different engineering problems: calculate the forces, resolve the particle response, and connect the result to a mechanism or experiment. The collection also includes collaborative and student projects, with the original credits retained.

Electrostatic particle handling

A three-phase electrode system generates a time-dependent electric field. The original workflow calculated that field in Infolytica and supplied it to EDEM through field-data coupling, allowing the particle response to be studied in a one-way FEM–DEM model.

Electrode and field model for electrostatic particle handling.
Electrode and field model for electrostatic particle handling.
Particle transport under the applied electric field.
Particle transport under the applied electric field.

Falcon gravity concentrator

This study explored centrifugal separation of gold from lower-density material in a 1,700 rpm concentrator. CFX supplied the fluid solution and EDEM resolved particle motion, providing a way to inspect separation behaviour beyond the bulk flow field.

Falcon gravity-concentrator simulation.
Falcon gravity-concentrator simulation.
Fluid–particle study of the centrifugal separation process.
Fluid–particle study of the centrifugal separation process.

Microwave-assisted rock breakage

COMSOL and EDEM were used to connect microwave heating with the development of damage in basalt. The engineering question was whether pre-treatment could help reduce the mechanical effort required for subsequent breakage.

Microwave–rock computational model.
Microwave–rock computational model.
Discrete element model for rock microcracking.
Discrete element model for rock microcracking.

Read the space-mining research and published results →

Contact, wear, and granular mechanics

Steel Wheel Abrasion Test (SWAT)

A rotating steel wheel drives abrasive particles between the wheel and a test specimen. Modelling the test helps investigate how the abrasive bed and contact conditions affect wear.

Steel Wheel Abrasion Test: model geometry.
Steel Wheel Abrasion Test: model geometry.
Abrasive-particle contact in the SWAT simulation.
Abrasive-particle contact in the SWAT simulation.

Electrical charge, gravity, and angle of repose

A calibrated silica-sand model was used to investigate how charge and gravitational acceleration affect heap formation. This connects familiar granular behaviour on Earth with questions relevant to low-gravity and electrically charged environments.

Angle-of-repose study: granular heap formation.
Angle-of-repose study: granular heap formation.
Particle simulation examining charge and gravity effects.
Particle simulation examining charge and gravity effects.

Original model calibration credited to N. K. Moghaddam and Robin Briend (2010).

iRings: a wheel concept for lunar mobility

A discrete element model explored the interaction of a wheel prototype with its environment. The iRings concept, developed by P. Radziszewski and collaborators, investigated impact absorption and mobility in low-gravity applications.

iRings wheel-prototype model.
iRings wheel-prototype model.
Simulation of the iRings wheel concept.
Simulation of the iRings wheel concept.

Wheel concept: P. Radziszewski and collaborators; see the co-authored publications.

Drill-bit wear

A particle-based study of drill-bit contact and wear, linking the motion of abrasive material to the surfaces exposed during drilling.

Discrete element model investigating drill-bit wear.
Discrete element model investigating drill-bit wear.

Tailings-pipe wear

A DEM study of abrasive-particle transport and wall contact in a tailings pipe. This work connects wear patterns with the flow path and local particle interactions.

Tailings-pipe particle-contact and wear simulation.
Tailings-pipe particle-contact and wear simulation.

Additional models and collaborative projects

Wheel–soil interaction. Original project credit: Robin Briend.
Wheel–soil interaction. Original project credit: Robin Briend.
Subsurface-damage simulation from the research archive.
Subsurface-damage simulation from the research archive.
Particle shock absorber. Original project credit: Poorya Hosseini.
Particle shock absorber. Original project credit: Poorya Hosseini.
Particle shock absorber. Original project credit: McGill undergraduate Mechanical Engineering team.
Particle shock absorber. Original project credit: McGill undergraduate Mechanical Engineering team.
Lifter optimisation. Original project credit: Pengo Chu.
Lifter optimisation. Original project credit: Pengo Chu.
Maximum-throughput study. Original project credit: McGill undergraduate Mechanical Engineering team.
Maximum-throughput study. Original project credit: McGill undergraduate Mechanical Engineering team.

Simulation films

Tribocharging in EDEMOriginal file: “EDEM-Tribocharging.avi”.Watch on YouTube ↗ (opens in a new tab)
Particle shock absorberOriginal file: “particle_shock_closed_halffill.wmv”.Watch on YouTube ↗ (opens in a new tab)
Curved pulp lifterOriginal file: “CurvedPulpLifter2.wmv”.Watch on YouTube ↗ (opens in a new tab)
Deswik simulationOriginal file: “New - Deswik-1.wmv”.Watch on YouTube ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Microwave-cavity animations

Original animated figures from the COMSOL microwave-rock studies.

Single-mode microwave-cavity simulation.
Single-mode microwave-cavity simulation.
Multimode microwave-cavity simulation.
Multimode microwave-cavity simulation.

Figures and research media from the original research archive (opens in a new tab). Research affiliations and project descriptions refer to the periods in which the work was undertaken.