Many industrial processes, e.g. catalyst production, tablet coating, powder conveying or mining, deal with particulate phases with different particle sizes, shapes and properties. Many of these processes are dominated by the particles and therefore an adequate knowledge of the process and the underlying operating units is crucial for being cost efficient and competitive. Although particle processes are widely applied and of fundamental importance, their design and prediction are often based on empirical knowledge. Discrete Element Method (DEM) and Computational Fluid Dynamics coupled to DEM (CFD-DEM) helped to solve some of the challenges and bear potential to do so in the future. This session focuses on all aspects enabling industry to face future challenges: specific contact models (e.g. for pastes), new calibration routines (e.g. for cohesion) or new coupling approaches (e.g. with magnetic fields) as well as examples of successful process predictions at industrial scale.

The simplicity of a spherical representation of particles, whenever applicable, is highly advantageous, as it considerably facilitates contact detection, contact enforcement, and the simulation of particulate media. However, many applications require a more sophisticated geometric description of particle shapes in particle-based methods. In such cases, both contact detection and the enforcement of contact constraints become significantly more complex. Particle shape descriptions using clumps of spheres, polyhedra, superquadrics, non-uniform rational B-splines (NURBS), among others can be useful when needing to represent complex interactions with multiple contact points. This strategy is commonly employed to introduce rolling resistance between particles without the need for an explicit rolling-friction law. Such an approach is particularly useful, and often necessary, for accurately capturing the packing density, realistic void ratios, compressibility, critical-state friction angle, and strength characteristics of granular media across different scales. There are numerous ways to handle complex shapes of particles with pros/cons each. This session has the objective of providing a forum to discussion on these techniques, motivated by realistic applications, when there is a need for an enhanced description of particle shapes, including challenging cases of non-convex geometries. In such cases, it is generally necessary to employ more advanced contact detection techniques. This session focuses on techniques for contact detection and enforcement as well as solution algorithms in such contexts. Topics of interest include soft-contact approaches, such as penalty-based formulations, barrier methods and their variants, level-set descriptions of particles, and the use of flexible particles based on, e.g., Finite Element or Virtual Element Method formulations, among other approaches. We are also interested in discussions on practical applications involving enhanced particle shapes. Relevant topics include railway ballast simulations, geotechnical problems with particle-scale descriptions of soils, and multibody applications with complex geometries, where contact detection and enforcement are particularly challenging. Contributions on related applications are likewise welcome.

As a continuum-based particle method of solving governing deferential equations, the material point method (MPM) takes advantage of both Eulerian and Lagrangian discretization schemes. The method has been applied to many areas of Simulation-based Engineering Science. MPM has been shown to have unique advantage in simulating large deformations of history-dependent materials, especially in cases with complex geometry and nonlinear failure evolutions. To facilitate further development, application, and understanding of the method, this invited session is to provide a forum to discuss advanced applications, numerical properties, recent developments, and newly discovered difficulties and/or solutions of MPM and related methods. We particularly welcome the contributions discussing multiphysics and multiscale problems. Example areas include, but not limited to, scale bridging methods, energy transport, fluid-structure interactions, multi-body interactions, and coupling with other discretization methods. Discussions of the limitations of the MPM and related methods are also welcome.

The objective of this invited session is to present and discuss the last advances in the Particle Finite Element Method (PFEM) and its derived methodologies. This session covers not only the last theoretical developments of the methods but also their recent applications to challenging industrial and engineering case studies. We encourage the submission of works applied to coupled problems involving fluid-structure interaction (FSI), multi-phase flows, thermal-coupled analysis, large deformations, or phase-change phenomena, among others. Works showing co-simulation of the PFEM, or its derived approaches, and other numerical methods are also welcome. Some examples of these coupled strategies are the use of the PFEM in the context of multi-scale simulations and the combination of the PFEM and the Discrete Element Method (DEM) for the solution of particle-laden flows.

Discrete element modelling (DEM) is one of the most efficient computational approaches to the fracture processes of heterogeneous materials on mesoscopic scales. Since it is based on a physical discretization, DEM can account for most of the relevant mesoscopic details of materials making the approach indispensable when experiments provide only a limited insight into the failure process. From the dynamics of single crack propagation through the statistics of crack ensembles to the rapid fragmentation of materials, DEM had a substantial contribution to our understanding over the past decades. Recently, the combination of DEM with other simulation techniques like Finite Element Modelling further extended the field of applicability. Due to its flexibility, DEM has gained widespread applications in materials physics, engineering, and geology playing a crucial role in materials design, in the study of natural catastrophes like landslides, snow and stone avalanches, and also in the modelling of industrial processes. This session serves as a stage to discuss recent developments of discrete element models and their applications to the fracture and fragmentation of materials with focus on dynamical, collaborative processes resulting in failure. Topics include but are not limited to: development of novel computational tools in the DEM framework; stability, fracture, and fragmentation of materials in industrial applications and geological processes; granular breakage, continuous and dynamic fragmentation, catastrophic failure, and data driven approaches to these problems.

Discrete element modeling (DEM) is one of the most efficient computational approaches for modeling fracture processes in heterogeneous materials at the mesoscopic scale. Since it is based on a physical discretization, DEM can account for most of the relevant mesoscopic details of materials, making the approach indispensable when experiments provide only a limited insight into the failure process. From the dynamics of single-crack propagation to the statistics of crack ensembles, and from the rapid fragmentation of materials, DEM has made a substantial contribution to our understanding over the past decades. Recently, the combination of DEM with other simulation techniques, such as Finite Element Modeling, has further expanded the field of applicability. Due to its flexibility, DEM has gained widespread applications in materials physics, engineering, and geology, playing a crucial role in materials design, the study of natural catastrophes such as landslides and snow and stone avalanches, and the modeling of industrial processes. This session serves as a platform to discuss recent developments in discrete element models and their applications to the fracture and fragmentation of materials, with a focus on dynamical, collaborative processes that lead to failure. Topics include but are not limited to: development of novel computational tools in the DEM framework; stability, fracture, and fragmentation of materials in industrial applications and geological processes; granular breakage, continuous and dynamic fragmentation, catastrophic failure, and data-driven approaches to these problems.

This Invited Organized Session aims to provide a forum for researchers and scientists to present and discuss recent advances in the computational modeling of manufacturing and material processing using particle-based and meshless methods. The session will focus on state-of-the-art mathematical formulations, numerical methodologies, computational strategies, and industrial applications involving large deformations, complex multiphysics couplings, and evolving material interfaces. The objective of the session is to foster interdisciplinary exchanges and promote the development of robust and predictive computational approaches capable of addressing both fundamental and industrial challenges encountered in modern manufacturing and material processing technologies. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to: • Particle-based, meshless, and hybrid computational methods, including PFEM, SPH, DEM, MPM, PIC, LBM, FCM, EFG, and coupled FEM–particle approaches. • Computational modeling of manufacturing and material processing operations such as additive manufacturing, casting, solidification, forging, rolling, extrusion, stamping, deep drawing, leveling, superplastic forming, thixoforming, welding, friction stir welding, friction melt bonding, high-speed forming, metal deposition, and automated fiber placement. • Advanced mathematical formulations and numerical discretization techniques. • Nonlinear and multiphysics solution strategies and implementation aspects. • Stabilization techniques and multiscale computational approaches. • Constitutive modeling at the macro-, meso-, micro-, and multiscale levels, including high strain-rate and high-temperature behavior. • Contact mechanics, friction, and lubrication modeling. • Damage, fracture, failure, and crack propagation simulations. • Coupled thermomechanical, metallurgical, and multiphysics models. • Simulation and optimization of manufacturing process chains. • Large-scale computing, parallel algorithms, and high-performance computing for manufacturing simulations. The session welcomes contributions addressing theoretical developments, algorithmic innovations, verification and validation procedures, as well as industrial applications and benchmark studies demonstrating the capabilities of advanced computational methods for manufacturing and material processing problems.

Particulate and granular materials are encountered in natural phenomena and industrial processes, including pharmaceutical powder processing/handling, granulation, tableting, additive manufacturing, food processing, energy systems, civil-engineering, and geomechanics. Due to their intrinsically disordered nature and diverse particle properties, these systems exhibit complex multi-scale behavior involving solid-like, fluid-like, and transitional states. Understanding and predicting these phenomena remains a major challenge for science and engineering. Particle-resolved computational methods, in particular the Discrete Element Method (DEM), have greatly improved our understanding of such systems at the microscopic scale. DEM and coupled multi-physics approaches enable detailed investigation of particle interactions, rheology, segregation, compaction, agglomeration, powder spreading, and state transitions. However, since many industrial applications involve very large particle numbers, complex geometries, and multi-physics interactions, the direct particle-scale simulation is computationally challenging. Micro–macro transition techniques, coarse-graining approaches, continuum descriptions, and hybrid multi-scale frameworks are therefore essential to bridge from the particle-scale mechanics and physics to the engineering application scale. This invited mini-symposium aims to bring together researchers from academia and industry working on DEM, micro–macro methods, continuum modeling, and industrial applications of particulate systems. It will provide a platform for exchange between the granular physics, computational mechanics, powder technology, pharmaceutical engineering, and process engineering communities. Particular emphasis will be placed on connecting fundamental developments in particle mechanics with practical industrial applications. Topics include, but are not limited to: • Discrete Element Method (DEM) and other particle-resolved simulations • Micro–macro transition methods, coarse-graining, and homogenisation • Continuum modelling and constitutive descriptions • Granular rheology and solid–fluid state transitions • Coupled multi-physics and multi-scale modelling • Calibration and validation of particle-based models • Reduced-order, hybrid, and data-driven models for particulate processes • Particle technology (e.g. granulation, tableting, powder handling, … ) • Pharmaceutical, food, energy, geotechnical, and additive-manufacturing

Granular matter exhibits fascinating yet complex mechanical and physical behaviors across length and time scales, with relevance to geophysical, biological, and industrial processes. These behaviors emerge from the collective dynamics of many interacting particles and are governed typically by contact mechanics, friction, shape, as well as by other types of interparticle interactions, including cohesion, adhesion, capillarity, and fluid- or temperature-mediated interactions. Open questions involve: How do these small-scale details transfer across the scales to meso-structures, correlations, or transfer probabilities between states? or even up to the macro- or continuum-scale for large scale modeling and applications? What determines the macroscopic state (solid-like, fluid-like, or gas-like) of a given granular material, and how to model these states and the transitions between them with meso- or macro-models? Understanding, predicting, and ultimately controlling the behavior of granular matter requires a multidisciplinary approach that brings together mechanics, tribology, physics, applied mathematics, materials science, and computational science. This minisymposium invites contributions that advance the study of granular systems across scales, from particle-contact level interactions via mesoscale structures to continuum descriptions and macroscopic response, and in particular contributions that connect observations, models, and data across these scales. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to: - discrete and particle-based methods; - novel multiscale mechanics and physics methods; - continuum and micro-physics-informed continuum models; - coarse-graining and homogenization approaches; - experimental characterization and imaging across scales; - granular matter by design at the intersection of metamaterials, architected materials, and complex fluids; - data-driven or machine-learning-augmented modeling, discovery, and control of many-particle systems.

Particle imaging – an umbrella term incorporating techniques from microscopy and SEM to PIV, PTV, MRI, X-ray CT and other nuclear imaging techniques – is a highly valuable tool, providing a wealth of information from the micro-scale to macro-scale. Its applications can provide guidance for a large variety of experimental practices, including their design specialisation and analysis, and offers insight into a diverse range of scientific and industrial processes. Whilst particle visualization can enable researchers to harness the power of particle technology in both computational and experimental settings, it is equally known for its numerous difficulties and inconsistencies due to the vast array of imaging as well as analysis techniques available to the researcher. Employing imaging methods efficiently facilitates a shift from heuristic, trial-and-error based methods, to adaptive refinement – thereby reducing research & development workflows. In parallel, there has been a large focus in use of simulations as a predictive tool for process design and optimisation. In this context, particle imaging provides a crucial and powerful ground truth for theoretical, numerical, and AI models. As industry focuses on ‘digital-first’ approaches, it becomes increasingly important to create reliable and robust calibration of models and systems that are based in the fundamentals and understanding of the particle behaviours. In an age where data means power, integration of additional information sources is an attractive means for effective parametric optimisation across process scales. This comes in a variety of forms, ranging from lab-in-the-loop to Industry 4.0 workflows. In this light, this session will centre topics in relation to particle imaging and visualisation techniques which enable the collection of more efficient, reliable, and repeatable data, as well as its use across experimental and computational environments.

Many fields of advanced research and technical applications deal with the analysis of complex turbulent flows involving fluid-structure interactions (FSI), multiphase dynamics, heat and mass transfer. Among Lagrangian meshfree particle methods, Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) has gained increasing diffusion thanks to its versatility and ability to handle fast and large deformations, tracking interfaces and free-surfaces, and couple with dynamic solvers for FSI. However, accuracy and efficiency are still crucial aspects for reliable predictions and advanced applications involving complex geometrical domains, high resolution, and multifaceted physical phenomena. This thematic session is focused on the advances and applications of the SPH method to the analysis of flows and FSI in research and technical application fields, including advanced industrial problems. The session aims to bridge experts in the SPH field and showcase the latest research and advanced applications. Also, the intrinsic limitations of numerical schemes (e.g., stability, consistency and convergence) will be discussed, pointing out possible strategies to improve model reliability and result accuracy.

This session focuses on problems involving extreme deformation—impact, penetration, high-rate forming, and other scenarios where materials undergo large strain, localization, and eventual breakup. These problems challenge both numerical methods and experimental testing. On the numerical side, mesh-based methods often struggle with element distortion and the handling of evolving discontinuities. Particle methods such as MPM [1-2] and SPH offer alternatives, though they come with their own accuracy and efficiency issues. On the experimental side, high-speed imaging and Hopkinson bar tests provide critical data for validation. The session welcomes contributions on any numerical method, any material model, and any experimental technique addressing this class of problems. The aim is to bring together researchers working on numerical methods, constitutive models, and experimental techniques for extreme deformation problems.

Mining and mineral processing involve a wide range of processes spanning multiple length and time scales and involving complex interactions between particles, fluids, and structures. Examples include fragmentation, particle breakage, crushing and grinding, drilling and excavation, flotation and material transport and handling. These processes are often governed by coupled multi-physics phenomena and exhibit strongly heterogeneous behaviour, making their analysis and optimization particularly challenging. Particle-based computational methods have emerged as powerful tools for understanding, designing, and optimizing mining and mineral processing systems. Advances in computational power, coupled with the growing availability of high-performance computing resources, have enabled increasingly realistic simulations of particulate processes, providing insights into equipment design, process performance, and energy efficiency. However, there remain significant challenges in areas such as particle breakage modelling, multiphase flow, multiscale simulations, model calibration and validation. This session aims to highlight recent developments and future challenges in computational particle-based methods for mining and mineral processing. Topics include, but are not limited to, particle breakage and fragmentation modelling, multi-physics and multiscale simulations, particle-fluid and particle-structure interactions, as well as applications in comminution, crushing and grinding, flotation, drilling and excavation, transport and handling of granular materials, and related processes. We invite both pure methodological developments and novel process simulations, demonstrating the capabilities of discrete and continuum approaches.

Classical meshfree and particle approaches face several challenges in the simulation of multi-physics solids undergoing large deformations at high-rate dynamic loading, including contact-impact, spalling fracture, and FSI problems in extreme environments. Key difficulties arise in the accurate treatment of evolving interfaces, multi-material interactions, phase changes, and shock and discontinuity propagation. In addition, numerical issues such as pressure checkerboarding, locking, tensile instability, and inadequate stress and strain resolution can substantially compromise predictive accuracy. Recent advances have introduced a range of robust and implementable formulations that address many of these limitations without relying on ad hoc numerical treatments that may undermine physical consistency. Despite these developments, there remains a strong need to develop stable and scalable particle-based methods for extreme deformation and strongly coupled problems, including efficient GPU implementations for large-scale simulations. This invited session aims to bring together researchers to discuss emerging solutions to these challenges. The objective is to advance numerically robust approaches with high predictive fidelity for systems undergoing inertia-dominated dynamics. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, impact mechanics, fracture and fragmentation, FSI, multi-material and multi-phase systems, multi-physics coupling, geodynamics across a wide range of spatial and temporal scales, and HPC implementations. Contributions from industry and open-source software developers are strongly encouraged, as they provide valuable insights into practical challenges, validation, and deployment of advanced meshfree technologies.

Particle-laden flows refer to a kind of two-phase fluid flow in which one of the phases is continuously connected and the other phase is made up of small immiscible particles. Particle-laden flows modeling has a wide variety of scientific and engineering applications: dispersion of contamination in the atmosphere, fluidization in combustion processes, deposition of aerosols in aerosol drugs, spread of virus in the air, rain formation in clouds, sand and dust storms, protoplanetary disks, volcanic eruptions, geological sedimentation processes, pharmaceutical sprays, liquid-fueled combustion, solid rocket motors, coal furnaces, and particle-based solar receivers are examples of engineering processes that involve particle-laden flows among many others. The multiscale and nonlinear interactions between the carrier and the dispersed phases lead to complex flow physics and pose unique modeling challenges. Also, many of these flows involve turbulence. The simultaneous presence of two of the most challenging topics in fluid mechanics, namely multiphase flows and turbulence, is still an unsolved problem. The study of particle laden flows is also the basis for the simulation of active fluids, in which the particles themselves move with their own energy. This Invited Session hopes to bring together different researchers in the modeling of fluids with particles, from the simplest cases where the particles simply convect, to the most complicated cases where the particles move at different velocities of those of a turbulent fluid.

The Material Point Method (MPM) has emerged as a powerful computational framework for addressing challenging geotechnical problems involving large deformations, extreme loading conditions, and complex multi-physics interactions. Its ability to naturally capture coupled processes, soil-fluid-structure interaction, contact mechanics, and highly non-linear constitutive behaviour has led to rapid adoption across geomechanics and hazard engineering applications. Recent advances in MPM formulations, stabilization techniques, constitutive modelling, and high-performance computing are significantly expanding the range and fidelity of problems that can be simulated. The purpose of this Invited Session is to highlight recent advances and emerging directions in the application and development of MPM for geotechnical and geoenvironmental engineering problems involving soil-water-structure interaction. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, multi-phase and multi-body formulations; coupled hydro-mechanical and thermo-hydro-mechanical processes; soil-structure and fluid-structure interactions; constitutive modelling for geomaterials; and scalable computational strategies for large-scale simulations. Applications may include slope failures, landslides, erosion and internal instability, offshore and coastal geotechnics, installation problems, tunnelling, penetration and impact, underground explosions, tailings dam failures, liquefaction, and other natural or engineered hazards. Contributions addressing the accuracy, stability, robustness, and efficiency of MPM formulations are particularly encouraged, including benchmark studies, verification and validation efforts, and comparisons with experimental observations or field-scale events. The session also welcomes interdisciplinary contributions that demonstrate how MPM can advance predictive capabilities for resilient infrastructure, hazard mitigation, and performance-based geotechnical engineering.

Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) has long promised to revolutionise the simulation of fluid mechanics with natural application to free-surface hydrodynamics and fluid-structure interaction (FSI). Particular successes have been achieved for applications such as wave energy converters, ocean and coastal engineering, biomedical engineering, automotive applications, etc. However, key challenges remain. The SPH community is successfully addressing some of the underlying fundamental issues [1, 2] but more effort is essential. This session will cover the range of topics currently under intense development covering boundary conditions, key physical processes such as hydroelasticity, multi-phase formulations, variable resolution, mixed formulations and wicked applications from industry. Considered to be at a "tipping point" by industry for its application, the objectives of this session are as follows: ● Identify current state-of-the-art for simulating FSI with SPH ● Demonstrate the major areas of success ● Identify the major underlying issues preventing greater uptake and what SPH is currently doing to address them ● Understand the challenges involved in developing and using multi-scale approaches either through variable resolution or coupling codes operating on different scales ● Identify current challenges of formulations and computing resources including multi-phase physics and high-performance computing (e.g. multi-GPU) ● Identify the forthcoming challenges ● Identify how the SPH community can address current issues ● Identifying key steps to encourage uptake by industry. We plan to attract approximately 6-12 contributions.

Physical AI is a computational pipeline for predicting how a physical system will evolve under an action, with quantities of interest that are physically viable, uncertainty-aware, optimized and actionable. For granular mechanics, the system is a slope, a soil bed, a powder, or a flowing aggregate; the action is loading, excavation, traversal, or deposition; the prediction must support decisions about safety, capital, or autonomy. Numerical methods, such as discrete element and material point methods can produce such predictions, but at a cost that rules out full sensitivity analysis, real-time control, or closed-loop autonomy, often perused by engineering practice. The opportunity is to assemble learned components into a pipeline that answers the same questions end to end. The pipeline has five stages. Sensing recovers the granular state from imagery, in-situ instruments, and sparse measurement. Constitutive learning captures material response across solid-like, fluid-like, and gas-like regimes. Learned surrogates or reduced order models that predict evolution under intervention. Conformal prediction and formal verification carry calibrated guarantees on those predictions. Planning and shielded control turn predictions into action. What unifies the stages is not a single architecture but a standard, applicable across settings as different as levee stability, silo flow, autonomous excavation, planetary rover traversal, and additive manufacturing with powders. The session welcomes contributions to any stage of this pipeline and to work that integrates across stages. Topics of interest include: 1. Constitutive learning for granular media transitioning across solid-like, fluid-like, and gas-like regimes, distilled from heterogeneous DEM, continuum, and experimental data; 2. Operator learning, graph-based simulators, and foundation or world models to query granular dynamics evolution under intervention, with attention to extrapolation across scales and boundary conditions; 3. Sensing and state estimation that recover physical representations of granular systems from images, sensors, and sparse measurement; 4. Trustworthy machine learning for high-stakes granular tasks, including conformal uncertainty, formal verification, and shielded control under physical constraints; 5. Open benchmarks, datasets, and evaluation protocols that test physical viability rather than visual or statistical fidelity, and that connect simulation packages with experimental facilities

The aim of this invited session is the presentation of numerical methodologies combining wellknown particle methods (DEM, SPH, MPM, PFEM, etc...) with classical continuum approaches such as the FEM, XFEM, Phase field, among others. This invited session aims to cover the state of the art, mathematical models, numerical methods and computational techniques of coupled continuum-particle methods applied to solid mechanics, fluid dynamics, fracture mechanics and fluid-structure interaction. Works involving the industrial application and limitations of the current state-of-the art available coupled numerical technologies are also welcome to participate in this session.

Particle and meshfree methods have emerged as powerful computational frameworks for simulating complex physical phenomena involving large deformations, moving interfaces, and evolving topologies. Despite their success, achieving high-order accuracy, numerical consistency, and long-term stability remains a significant challenge. This session provides a multidisciplinary forum for presenting recent advances in theoretical foundations, numerical formulations, and algorithmic developments, including hybrid data-driven computational frameworks, for particle and meshfree methods. Particular emphasis will be placed on high-order spatial discretization, advanced time-integration techniques, and efficient algorithms for incompressible, multiphase, and multiphysics systems. Topics of interest include consistent boundary treatments, particle regularization and shifting techniques, adaptive and multi-resolution approaches, error estimation, and coupled problems such as fluid–structure interaction. Contributions addressing both fundamental methodological developments and challenging engineering applications are highly encouraged.

Many applications require a multiphysics approach involving different physical phenomena such as solid and fluid mechanics, thermal, electrical or magnetic fields. Different physical fields may be defined in one domain or in connected subdomains. The solution of a multiphysics problem needs consideration of the interdependence between individual physical phenomena and demands a specific coupled solution strategy. Particle methods, such as the discrete element method (DEM), the smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) and the material point method (MPM), have been successfully applied to multiphysics analysis. Coupled multiphysics simulations with particle methods span fluid-solid interaction, thermal-stress coupling, fluid-solid-thermal coupling, thermo-electro-mechanical coupling, and others. Applications include damage of materials induced by thermal stresses, powder metallurgy processes, additive manufacturing, fluidised beds, and many others. Despite many achievements, multiphysics modelling in general, and multiphysics modelling with particle method in particular, is still a challenge and requires further research. The session aims to gather contributions presenting the development and use of particle-based methods, such as DEM, SPH, MPM and others, for modelling of multiphysics problems as well as simulations of engineering applications involving coupling of different physical phenomena, such as mechanical, thermal, electrical, magnetic, and others. Solution methods may be developed entirely within the framework of the discrete element method or may include coupling of the discrete element method with other numerical methods. The coupling of different techniques applied in different subdomains (i.e., multi-domain problems such as fluid-structure interaction) is also within the scope of the session. The development and applications of particle methods to non-mechanical problems are also welcome.

Vertex and particle-based computational models have become a valuable tool in mechanobiology for testing predictions, simulate responses, and infer non-measurable quantities. Nowadays, these computational methods help to answer open biological questions, and for this reason their accuracy and validation is of utmost importance. This Invited Session aims to gather scientist and engineers that develop cell-based computational methods to simulate the mechanics of cells and tissues. These methods take into account the discrete nature of living matter, and may include: • Particle cell-centred methods. • Vertex methods. • Hybrid particle-finite elements. • Agent based methods. Applications of different phenomena and at different scales are welcome. These may include for instance: • Embryogenesis and organoid formation • Cell and tissue mechanics and rheology. • Phase transitions, fluidisation and softening. • Cell migration, locomotion and spreading. • Cell proliferation and cytokinesis. • Pattern formation and cell sorting.

Particulate materials form a class of complex materials in the sense that some of their macroscopic properties are strongly influenced by self-organization processes. In the change of scale, microscale fluctuations are smoothed but, in the meantime, new properties emerge that are not present at the particle level. In particular, irreversibility and incrementally non-linear responses at the continuum level originates from both particle interaction physics and microstructural rearrangements. Particle scale simulations and imaging offers the possibility to discover emerging properties without postulating them. With the progress made in computation power and imaging techniques, richer and richer descriptions of the particle scale physics become accessible. This comes with a cost, as one of the biggest challenges now is to process and compress this large amount data to extract the micro-macro relationships and propose constitutive models with frugal approaches. Micromechanics, complex system analysis, data driven approaches and physics-based machine learning offer promising pathways to process the huge amount of data coming from particle scale simulations (such as discrete element or molecular dynamics simulations) and imaging (such as X-ray and neutron tomography or scanning electron microscopy). This session builds on the legacy of the six editions of the Granular Plasticity sessions (Barcelona 2015 and 2019, Hannover 2017, Hamburg 2021, Milano 2023, Barcelona 2025) deeply rooted in the understanding of the physics of particulate materials. In this session, we propose to explore how particle-based methods and particle scale imaging can be analysed to better understand and extract the physics of particulate materials responsible for their complex behaviour (e.g. what is the size of the underlying latent space of state variables?). A special (but not limited) focus will be dedicated to the origin of granular plasticity in the sense of irreversible strain in granular materials with various microscale physics (e.g. capillary effects, bonding/debonding chemical reactions or water freezing/melting processes) and geometries (e.g. varying grain shapes and sizes, fine grain erosion or infiltration). Analytical, numerical and experimental works are welcome. Cross-disciplinary approaches introducing new concepts or new tools will be appreciated.

This session covers both theoretical and practical aspects of discrete and particle-based methods (DEM, PFEM, SPH, MPM, MPS and others) that can be effectively used for solving a variety of problems in solid mechanics and structural mechanics. Also, contributions dealing with the interaction between particles, solids and structures, and/or fluids (e.g., through the combination with other established numerical methods such as FEM, FDM, FVM and others), as well as multiphysics problems involving particles, solids and structures, are welcome.

Battery technology is a cornerstone of Europe’s transition toward sustainable energy, electrified mobility, and energy security. By fostering interdisciplinary dialogue between particle simulation experts and battery specialists, this session aims to accelerate the development of next-generation batteries that are safer, more efficient, and sustainable. Particle-based simulations offer unique capabilities to model and understand the complex multiphysics and multiscale phenomena that dictate process and product performance relevant for the battery value chain. This invited session brings together leading researchers and practitioners, and has the prime objective to discuss (i) cutting-edge particle-based simulation methods (e.g., the Discrete Element Method), (ii) coupling strategies for co-current fluid-particle simulations (e.g., Computational Fluid Dynamics - DEM approaches), as well as (iii) strategies for sequential simulation that benefit from particle data and the use of AI/ML algorithms. Further objectives are to (I) showcase state-of-the-art particle simulation methodologies applied to battery applications, (II) identify key scientific challenges to enable next generation simulation approaches in the battery field, and (III) to bridge the gap between particle simulation experts and battery researchers as well as industry practitioners. Topics covered include simulations of (a) electrode and battery cell manufacturing processes (e.g., powder mixing, slurry preparation, and associated rheological phenomena, as well as coating and calendaring), (b) phenomena during aging and degradation of cells (e.g., particle swelling [1], cracking, plating, as well as gas formation), (c) thermal runaway events, and (d) dismantling and recycling processes (e.g., crushing, shredding, classification and handling [2], as well as black mass treatment and the recovery of critical raw materials). REFERENCES [1] Yin J. et al., Development of a P2D-based model for battery swelling prediction under mechanical constraints, Journal of Power Sources, Vol. 677, p. 240029, 2026. [2] Maier L. et al., The uncertainty inherent to DEM simulations of interlocking particles, Scientific Reports, Vol. 15, 7599, 2025.

Applications based on the Particle-Finite Element Method (PFEM) are increasingly gaining traction as problem-solving tools in applied geotechnical engineering. Recent years have seen significant research contributions in areas such as deep and intermediate foundation design, geotechnical site investigation, dam breach, internal erosion, slope stability and stabilization technologies. This symposium intends to bring together a variety of perspectives on the topic, emphasizing the challenges derived from the applied perspective (data scarcity, regulatory obstacles, dimensionality, computational robustness, …) and paving the way for a more streamlined research-to-practice transition.

The last decades have seen a significant increase in extreme and multi-hazard natural events. According to climate change prediction, this trend is likely to accelerate in the coming years. Large part of these hazards are driven by hydrological processes, such as floods, mudslides, landslides, snow avalanches and tsunamis. The huge costs associated with these natural disasters, in terms of casualties and damages, call for the enhancement of the current forecasting and hazard assessment technologies as well as resilient mitigation measures. Recent developments and improvements of numerical methods and the increase in computing power encourage the application of computational tools for the simulation of natural hazards. In particular, Particle-Based methods can contribute substantially to improve our knowledge of these natural events. Indeed, Particle-Based methods, such as the Smoothed-Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH), the Discrete Element Method (DEM), the Material Point Method (MPM), and the Particle Finite Element Method (PFEM), Reproducing Kernel Particle Method (RKPM) can naturally deal with the extreme changes of geometry associated to these natural events. Furthermore, the good CPU or GPU parallelization of some of these methods make them suitable for 3D large-scale simulations. The objective of this thematic session is to present and discuss the latest advances in the numerical simulation of the initiation and dynamics of natural hazards. From a wider perspective, the event aims to bring together experts in the field to feed the debate on this urgent topic. Although this thematic session is mainly focused on hydrological hazards, the application of Particle-Based methods to other type of natural events, such as geological and meteorological phenomena, will be also welcome. In particular, all those numerical methods analyzing multi-hazard events (e.g. landslides triggered by earthquakes or tsunami-wave generated by landslides) will be appreciated. To account also for the possible interaction with civil constructions, contributions in the framework of fluid-structure or fluid-soil-structure interactions will be also appreciated.