Vertical baggers play an important role in the packaging of food granulates such as bite-sized snacks, candy and nuts. Increasing demands regarding productivity and throughput pressure manufacturers to employ increasingly sophisticated engineering tools over conventional design through trial and error and experience. The Discrete Element Method (DEM) is a powerful tool for prediction of bulk behavior, however randomness in the packaging process impairs reproducibility of simulations, especially when working in the typical range of particle counts less than 1000. This study looks into statistic methods to determine under which conditions adequate reliability of simulation results can be achieved. Both the influence of the goal variables used to describe the process and the influence of the particle count are discussed. The examples given can be adapted to similar scenarios and lay the foundation for future simulation assisted design of vertical filling processes.

Vertical baggers play an important role in the packaging of food granulates such as bite-sized snacks, candy and nuts. Increasing demands regarding productivity and throughput pressure manufacturers to employ increasingly sophisticated engineering tools over conventional design through trial and error and experience. The Discrete Element Method (DEM) is a powerful tool for prediction of bulk behavior, however randomness in the packaging process impairs reproducibility of simulations, especially when working in the typical range of particle counts less than 1000. This study looks into statistic methods to determine under which conditions adequate reliability of simulation results can be achieved. Both the influence of the goal variables used to describe the process and the influence of the particle count are discussed. The examples given can be adapted to similar scenarios and lay the foundation for future simulation assisted design of vertical filling processes.