Granular medium lattice gas model: the algorithm

Large scale simulations of granular media require a reasonable tradeoff bet ween modeling of the complicated dynamics and simulation efficiency. The Gr anular Media Lattice Gas (GMLG) model - a generalization of hydrodynamic ce llular automata - has proved to be a good compromise between the two. Compu tational efficiency is achieved through a fast and parallel algorithm, whil e the model includes much of the characteristic ingredients of the dissipat ive grain dynamics. We present the GMLG algorithm in detail, in particular, we show how to simulate the effects of friction, dissipation and gravity. Finally, we summarize some results obtained using this method. (C) 1999 Els evier Science B.V. All rights reserved.