DEM Perth
Partical simulation in Perth
Element Mechanical Design runs discrete element modelling for clients across the WA mining, resources and bulk handling industries. We simulate how ore, grain, aggregate and other bulk materials flow through your equipment before you build it. We find blockages, wear zones and throughput problems in a simulation rather than on site.
Most bulk handling problems are designed in, not worn in
Blocked transfer chutes. Excessive liner wear. Segregation issues that contaminate your product stream. Conveyors that throw material or load inconsistently. Often these problems exist in the original design, but they were never tested before the equipment was built.
DEM simulation tests the geometry before manufacture. We model your particles, your flow rates and you’re equipment geometry together, and we show you exactly where the problems are. You fix them in the model. Then your fabricated equipment just works.
Often when plant malfunctions, it didn’t suddenly develop that problem. The geometry was always going to do that. DEM shows you the geometry is wrong before manufacture.
Daniel Berti, Mechanical Engineering Team Leader
What We Simulate in Discrete Element Modelling
Transfer chutes and impact zones
We model particle trajectories from the discharge point through the transfer chute to the receiving conveyor. We optimise hood and spoon geometry to control material trajectory, reduce dust generation, minimise impact wear and centralise the load on the receiving belt.
Hoppers, bins and silos
We simulate mass flow and funnel flow patterns, identify ratholing and arching tendencies. This optimises hopper geometry and outlet dimensions to achieve reliable, consistent discharge. We can test the angle of repose for various materials and model both gravity discharge and assisted discharge systems.
Crushers and breakage analysis
We have experience simulating crushers for the mining industry. Calculating breakage and particulant movement for various aggregates reduces crusher blockage and costly downtime.
Screens and vibrating feeders
We simulate particle separation across screening decks, model throughput efficiency as a function of screen aperture and vibration parameters, and identify blinding and pegging tendencies for the specific particle size distribution and shape you are processing.
Wear prediction
We apply wear models to the simulation geometry to predict where liner wear will concentrate, how wear rates compare across different zones and which liner materials and profiles will extend service life. This replaces the trial-and-error approach that wears out your equipment and your maintenance budget simultaneously.
Particle size distribution and segregation
We model mixed particle size distributions and predict where segregation will occur in stockpiles, bins and transfer systems. This is particularly relevant for quality-sensitive applications where particle size consistency affects downstream processing.
What a DEM engagement produces
We deliver results that drive design decisions, not animations for boardroom presentations. Every DEM engagement produces:
Design recommendations — specific geometry changes to resolve identified problems, with before-and-after simulation results to confirm the fix works
Flow visualisation — particle velocity, trajectory and mass flow rate at every point in the system, rendered as clear plots your design team can act on
Impact force maps — peak and average particle impact forces on all wetted surfaces, feeding directly into liner selection and structural design
Wear rate predictions — quantitative wear rate estimates across the chute and equipment surfaces, with liner life estimates for your material type and throughput
Blockage and arching analysis — identification of geometry configurations that risk blockage at your specified particle size distribution and moisture content
Throughput analysis — actual simulated throughput versus design throughput, including the effect of particle size variation on system capacity
Why choose Element Mechanical Design for DEM in Perth
Local engineers working WA problems
We understand WA mining operations, the materials being processed and the operating conditions that drive wear and blockage. You work with engineers who have run DEM on WA bulk handling equipment, not generalists learning on your project.
Connected to CAD and structural analysis
The geometry is right because we built it. The structural loads are right because DEM produced them. FEA runs on the same model. The chain from simulation to certified design stays inside one team.
Results you can build from
We deliver geometry-specific design recommendations and confirm the fix works with a second simulation run before you close the engagement.
No interstate delays
Perth-based DEM consulting is rare. We are local. Your project does not sit in a queue behind eastern-states work.
Why Perth and WA mining operations need DEM
Western Australia processes more bulk material than almost anywhere else in the world. Iron ore, gold, lithium, nickel, grain — every tonne passes through transfer chutes, conveyor systems, hoppers and screens. The downtime cost when that equipment fails or blocks is not a maintenance line item. It is a production shutdown.
DEM simulation directly addresses the economics of WA bulk handling. We give you equipment that handles material reliably from commissioning, with liner life you can predict rather than discover. The simulation pays for itself the first time you avoid an unplanned stoppage.
We run DEM for WA operations including:
- Port and ship loading infrastructure
- Iron ore and base metals processing plants
- Lithium and battery materials handling systems
- Grain receival, storage and port export facilities
- Quarry and aggregate processing equipment
DEM capabilities and software
| Software | EDEM, Rocky DEM, LIGGGHTS |
| Material types | Ore, coal, grain, aggregate, pellets, powders, mixed particle sizes |
| Particle shapes | Spherical, polyhedral, non-spherical and custom particle shapes |
| Outputs | Flow visualisation, velocity maps, force maps, wear rate prediction, throughput analysis, blockage identification |
| Wear modelling | Archard wear model, energy-based wear models, liner life prediction |
| Coupled analysis | DEM-FEA coupling for structural loading from bulk material impact |
| Integrated with | CAD, FEA — particle loads from DEM feed directly into structural analysis |
DEM Connected to FEA
Bulk material impact forces are among the highest loads a transfer chute or hopper structure ever experiences. DEM calculates those forces with accuracy that no hand calculation can match — because it accounts for particle shape, size distribution, velocity and impact angle simultaneously.
Particle loads become structural loads
We use DEM impact force data as direct inputs into Finite Element Analysis (FEA) on the same structure. This means your structural design carries the right loads, and your FEA report carries evidence of where those loads came from.
The alternative — applying a blanket dynamic load factor to a static self-weight calculation — is conservative in some places, unconservative in others and correct almost nowhere.
What a DEM engagement produces
We deliver results that drive design decisions, not animations for boardroom presentations. Every DEM engagement produces:
Design recommendations — specific geometry changes to resolve identified problems, with before-and-after simulation results to confirm the fix works
Flow visualisation — particle velocity, trajectory and mass flow rate at every point in the system, rendered as clear plots your design team can act on
Impact force maps — peak and average particle impact forces on all wetted surfaces, feeding directly into liner selection and structural design
Wear rate predictions — quantitative wear rate estimates across the chute and equipment surfaces, with liner life estimates for your material type and throughput
Blockage and arching analysis — identification of geometry configurations that risk blockage at your specified particle size distribution and moisture content
Throughput analysis — actual simulated throughput versus design throughput, including the effect of particle size variation on system capacity
Why choose Element Mechanical Design for DEM in Perth
Local engineers working WA problems We understand WA mining operations, the materials being processed and the operating conditions that drive wear and blockage. You work with engineers who have run DEM on WA bulk handling equipment, not generalists learning on your project.
Connected to CAD and structural analysis The geometry is right because we built it. The structural loads are right because DEM produced them. FEA runs on the same model. The chain from simulation to certified design stays inside one team.
Results you can build from We deliver geometry-specific design recommendations and confirm the fix works with a second simulation run before you close the engagement.
No interstate delays Perth-based DEM consulting is rare. We are local. Your project does not sit in a queue behind eastern-states work.
Frequently asked questions — DEM Perth
About discrete element modelling
Discrete element modelling is a simulation method that models bulk materials as individual particles and calculates how those particles interact with each other and with equipment surfaces. Unlike continuum methods that treat bulk material as a fluid, DEM tracks every particle individually — which means it correctly captures the blockages, segregation and impact forces that continuum models miss. It is the standard simulation method for bulk material handling design in the mining and resources industry.
You need DEM when the bulk material behaviour is the critical design variable — when you are designing a transfer chute, hopper, screen or feeder and you need to know whether it will work, where it will wear and what throughput it will achieve. Hand calculations can size a hopper outlet or estimate belt loading but they cannot predict particle trajectories, blockage tendencies or wear distribution. DEM does all three.
We simulate any granular or particulate material — iron ore, coal, gold ore, lithium spodumene, nickel laterite, grain, sand, aggregate, pellets, powders and mixed particle size distributions. We set particle shape, density, friction and restitution properties from your material specification, published literature or physical bulk testing data.
Technical questions
Yes. Particle impact forces calculated in DEM feed directly into FEA on the same structure. This gives you a structural analysis with accurate load inputs rather than conservative load factors applied to simplified geometry. See Finite Element Analysis (FEA) for the structural analysis service.
DEM results that feed into FEA can support a structural certification submission — the particle impact forces become documented load cases in the FEA report, which in turn forms part of the certification evidence package. DEM results alone are not a certification deliverable, but they are the most defensible basis for the structural loads used in one. See Certification.
Working with us
Yes. Most of our communication and file exchange happens remotely and we work with clients across WA and interstate. For site-specific projects we can review site visit requirements during briefing if physical measurement or inspection is needed.
Need DEM in Perth?
Send us your geometry, your material specification and your throughput targets. We will come back with a scope and a quote. We will get back to you within a day, if not with a quote, then with a timeline for a quote.