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Abstract
The practice of storing granular materials in stockpiles occurs throughout the world and in many industrial situations. Cohesive particles behave significantly differently than noncohesive particles due to the presence of interparticle cohesion. Despite advances over the years in the study of granular mechanics, an understanding of the behaviour and characteristics of cohesive particulate materials still remains poor. The work carried out uses Discrete Element Method (DEM) to simulate the formation of a cohesive granular stockpile. We then use this to generate useful particulate scale information that will allow the comprehensive analysis on their properties and behaviour. Stockpile characteristics like angle of repose, porosity, coordination number, force distribution and pressure distributions were analysed for any changes that may occur due to the effects of different particle and process variables. These variables include such things like sliding and rolling friction, cohesion from van der Waals force, particle size distribution, as well as construction history and boundary affects.