Finite element simulation of the rolling and extrusion of multi-phase materials Application to the rolling of prepared sugar cane Original Research Article

This paper descrbes a general framework for the finite element simulation of the rolling and extrusion of multi-phase materials. Emphasis is placed on the following aspects: The characterization of the coupling between the liquid and solid phases of the material; The modelling of the (highly nonlinear) behaviour of the solid skeleton; The adaptive mesh refinement strategy, required in view of the magnitude of the strains and complex deformations involved in the processes; The use of an efficient contact algorithm and; The inverse identification of material parameters for the solid phase by means of ‘numerical experiments’. Practical application of the developed framework is made to the numerical simulation of the process by which juice is extracted from prepared sugar can by rolling.