A contact detection algorithm for superellipsoids based on the common‐normal concept

Abstract

PurposeThe paper aims to introduce an efficient contact detection algorithm for smooth convex particles.Design/methodology/approachThe contact points of adjacent particles are defined according to the common‐normal concept. The problem of contact detection is formulated as 2D unconstrained optimization problem that is solved by a combination of Newton's method and a Levenberg‐Marquardt method.FindingsThe contact detection algorithm is efficient in terms of the number of iterations required to reach a high accuracy. In the case of non‐penetrating particles, a penetration can be ruled out in the course of the iterative solution before convergence is reached.Research limitations/implicationsThe algorithm is only applicable to smooth convex particles, where a bijective relation between the surface points and the surface normals exists.Originality/valueBy a new kind of formulation, the problem of contact detection between 3D particles can be reduced to a 2D unconstrained optimization problem. This formulation enables fast contact exclusions in the case of non‐penetrating particles.