YADE as an Interactive Open-Source Software for Simulating the Coupled Mechanics of Particulate Systems

  • Duriez, Jérôme (INRAE, Aix Marseille Univ, RECOVER)
  • Angelidakis, Vasileios (Queen's University Belfast)
  • Boschi, Katia (Politecnico di Milano)
  • Brzezinski, Karol (Warsaw University of Technology)
  • Caulk, Robert (Univ. Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, Grenoble INP, 3SR)
  • Chareyre, Bruno (Univ. Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, Grenoble INP, 3SR)
  • del Valle, Carlos (Yale University)
  • Gladky, Anton (Independent researcher)
  • van der Haven, Dingeman (Shanghai Jiao Tong University)
  • Kozicki, Janek (Gdańsk University of Technology)
  • Scholtès, Luc (Université Clermont Auvergne, CNRS, IRD, OPGC)
  • Thoeni, Klaus (The University of Newcastle)

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For the purpose of simulating the time-evolving behavior of discrete systems made of particles, YADE [1,2] proposes a C++ implementation of, mainly, the Discrete Element Method (DEM) that comes to users as a Python interface with an embedded Graphical Interface and an extensive documentation, on-line or in-line. While the DEM core is primarily intended to simulate the mechanics of collections of particles showing various shapes and interaction models, the software proposes a number of available couplings with other numerical methods in order to extend its capabilities to, e.g., hydro-mechanics; as well as a convenient framework for adding new couplings after source code modification. The source code is hosted on GitLab where it is freely available for download and where a continuous integration pipeline with, e.g., regression tests, ensures stability, after each source modification, across various operating systems. Binary packages are also directly proposed for installation on Debian-based operating systems. The GitLab pages additionally serve as an on-line forum for active, free, user support. Thanks to the above features, YADE capabilities have been applied in different fields, including soil and rock mechanics, chemical engineering, physics, bulk material handling, and mineral processing, and on systems counting up to millions of particles thanks to parallel computing options, using either shared or distributed memory approaches. [1] V. Smilauer, et al., Yade Documentation 3rd ed., The Yade Project, http://yade-dem.org/doc/, 2021. [2] V. Angelidakis, K. Boschi, K. Brzeziński, R. A. Caulk, B. Chareyre, C. A. del Valle, J. Duriez, A. Gladky, D. L. van der Haven, J. Kozicki, G. Pekmezi, L. Scholtès, K. Thoeni, YADE - An extensible framework for the interactive simulation of multiscale, multiphase, and multiphysics particulate systems, Computer Physics Communications, 304, 109293, 2024.