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exaDEM

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exaDEM's own site

What exaDEM is

exaDEM is free, Apache-2.0 software for discrete element method simulations. It runs on Linux or self-hosted systems as desktop software and is intended for researchers and engineers. The code is built on the exaNBody framework and forms part of the PLEIADES platform developed with CEA, EDF, and Framatome for fuel-element simulation. Models can contain spherical particles and spheropolyhedra. Documented contact laws include Hooke, cohesive, and DMT models, with gravity, quadratic drag, and drivers for cylinders, walls or surfaces, spheres, and R-Shape meshes. MPI and OpenMP support parallel execution, while MPI can use CUDA GPUs through Onika. Users define simulations in YAML and run them with the exaDEM executable. Documentation covers MPIIO/dump, XYZ, driver, and Rockable formats, plus RSA_MPI and Rockable packages. Installation uses CMake or Spack for stable versions; Spack does not provide GPU support.

Who it suits

exaDEM suits researchers and engineers building DEM simulations, including work related to fuel-element modeling. It fits Linux or self-hosted environments where YAML configuration and parallel execution are appropriate.

What it does well

  • Free software with Apache-2.0 license
  • Supports spherical particles and spheropolyhedra
  • MPI, OpenMP, and CUDA GPU support
  • YAML simulation configuration
  • CMake and Spack installation options

What to know first

  • GPU support unavailable through Spack
  • Several GPU file capabilities are unsupported
  • No lesson, authoring, or assessment tools

Verdict

exaDEM provides a focused DEM simulation code with documented particle, contact, driver, and parallel-computing options. Check its GPU capability limits and build prerequisites before deployment.

Facts from exaDEM's own pages

Application context
The project says exaDEM is part of the PLEIADES platform, developed with CEA, EDF, and Framatome for simulation of fuel elements. · github.com, 9 Oct 2026
Assessment tools
No · collab4exanbody.github.io, 23 Sept 2026
Authoring tools
No · collab4exanbody.github.io, 23 Sept 2026
Build and installation
The docs describe installation from source with CMake or installation of stable versions with Spack; GPU support is unavailable with Spack. · collab4exanbody.github.io, 9 Oct 2026
Configuration
Users define simulations in YAML format and run them with the exaDEM executable. · collab4exanbody.github.io, 9 Oct 2026
Contact and forces
Documented capabilities include contact laws, gravity, quadratic drag, and drivers such as cylinders, walls, spheres, and R-shapes. · collab4exanbody.github.io, 9 Oct 2026
Contact models
Documented contact laws include Hooke, cohesive, and DMT laws. · collab4exanbody.github.io, 9 Oct 2026
Delivery mode
desktop · collab4exanbody.github.io, 23 Sept 2026
Free plan
Yes · collab4exanbody.github.io, 23 Sept 2026
GPU capability limit
The capabilities table marks GPU I/O files, ParaView files, particle migration, load balancing, and particle generation as unsupported. · collab4exanbody.github.io, 9 Oct 2026
GPU limitation
The capabilities table marks I/O files, Paraview files, particle migration, load balancing, particle generation, and contact network files as unavailable on GPU. · collab4exanbody.github.io, 9 Oct 2026
Input and output
Users create simulation input files in YAML format, and the documentation includes MPIIO/dump, XYZ, driver, and Rockable file formats. · collab4exanbody.github.io, 9 Oct 2026
Installation
The documentation provides CMake installation and Spack installation for stable versions; it says GPU support is unavailable through Spack. · collab4exanbody.github.io, 9 Oct 2026
Integrations
Optional packages documented for use with exaDEM include RSA_MPI and Rockable. · collab4exanbody.github.io, 9 Oct 2026
Intended users
The documentation describes exaDEM as a tool for researchers and engineers working on DEM simulations. · collab4exanbody.github.io, 9 Oct 2026
Lesson library
No · collab4exanbody.github.io, 23 Sept 2026
License
The project repository identifies Apache-2.0 as the exaDEM license. · github.com, 9 Oct 2026
Offline access
Yes · collab4exanbody.github.io, 23 Sept 2026
Parallel computing
It combines MPI and OpenMP threading and supports MPI with GPUs using CUDA through the Onika layer. · collab4exanbody.github.io, 9 Oct 2026
Particle types
The software supports simulations of spherical particles and spheropolyhedra. · collab4exanbody.github.io, 9 Oct 2026
Polyhedron feature
Fragmentation is listed for polyhedra on CPU and GPU, but not for spheres. · collab4exanbody.github.io, 9 Oct 2026
Purpose
ExaDEM is a Discrete Element Method code for computational simulations, developed within the exaNBody framework. · collab4exanbody.github.io, 9 Oct 2026
Requirements
The documented CMake prerequisites include MPI, Onika, ExaNBody, and yaml-cpp. · collab4exanbody.github.io, 9 Oct 2026
Simulation drivers
Drivers include cylinders, walls or surfaces, balls or spheres, and RShape meshes, with several supported motion types. · collab4exanbody.github.io, 9 Oct 2026

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