Systems composed of numerous particles, as granular materials, can be simulated by the discrete element method (DEM). There are numerous versions of DEM considering particle shapes as spheres, superellipsoids, polyhedra and others. Classically, particles are considered rigid and the only flexibility present in the model is local, embedded in the contact interface model. Such treatment seems not to be adequate when one is interested in simulating phenomena dependent on the general flexibility of particles and investigating their effects in granular media. The present work proposes a method to introduce flexible particles of polyhedral shape within the DEM context. We employ the Virtual Element Method (VEM) for the spatial discretization of particles, taking advantage of its geometrical versatility, modeling each particle with a single-element. The dynamical behavior of the resulting particle system is predicted using an implicit time-integration. Contact between polyhedral particles (possibly non-convex) is addressed by the master–master contact technique and its degenerations, employing a barrier-based interface law. Examples include studies and discussions on the VEM’s stiffness and mass stabilization parameters, such as simulations of systems composed of flexible polyhedral particles as a sand-material pack under compression and a hopper discharging process.

由大量粒子组成的系统，作为粒状材料，可以通过离散元法 (DEM) 进行模拟。有许多版本的 DEM 将粒子形状考虑为球体、超椭球体、多面体等。传统上，粒子被认为是刚性的，模型中存在的唯一灵活性是局部的，嵌入在接触界面模型中。当人们对模拟依赖于颗粒的一般柔性的现象和研究它们在颗粒介质中的影响感兴趣时，这种处理似乎是不够的。目前的工作提出了一种在 DEM 环境中引入多面体形状的柔性粒子的方法。我们采用虚拟元素方法 (VEM) 进行空间离散化粒子，利用其几何多功能性，用单个元素对每个粒子进行建模。使用隐式时间积分来预测所得粒子系统的动力学行为。多面体粒子（可能是非凸面）之间的接触由主-主接触技术及其退化解决，采用基于势垒的界面定律。示例包括对 VEM 的刚度和质量稳定参数的研究和讨论，例如模拟由柔性多面体颗粒组成的系统，作为受压和料斗卸料过程的砂材料包。