Advances in the modelling of excavation and cutting tool wear with the particle finite element method

This work presents the new advances on the Particle Finite Element Method (PFEM) for the modeling of excavation processes and the wear of the cutting tools. In the PFEM [3, 9, 6], the continuum solid domains are defined by set of particles. These particles are used for the definition of the mesh that discretizes the domain. The most relevant phenomenon to model during a cutting process is the continuous change of the boundary definition of the geomaterial.The characterization of geomaterial boundary is performed by the particle kinematics and established when the particles set is reconnected with a new mesh. For the kinematics description the theory of the continuum mechanics is used. The problem is highly non-linear. Involving large displacements and defonnations, constitutive laws for geomaterials and contact mechanics. The contact characterization is crucial. The surface wear and the friction laws will determine the re m oval of the wom and excavated material