Towards a simulation model for pneumatic conveying of cable-like deformable linear objects

Pneumatic conveying offers many advantages in the provision of goods. A new application for the pneumatic transport principle can be the transportation of flexible wires through thin tubes. However, there is a lack of knowledge surrounding the characteristics of the process, and experimental considerations are unable to provide sufficient evidence regarding the large number of possible combinations. For this reason, we present research and simulation approaches from both areas, pneumatic conveying and deformable linear objects (DLO). Methodically, most relevant possibilities for modeling and simulating DLO in gas flows are shown and one principal solution is derived and evaluated. The resulting multi-body model in the Euler lattice of the continuum phase is then presented and discussed, taking into account internal and external forces.