The overall aim of this project is to develop methods that enable efficient and accurate particle-scale simulations to be performed of the mechanics of granular media comprised of deformable particles. Such methods would be of great value in a number of scientific and technological disciplines, including chemical engineering, pharmaceutical sciences and powder metallurgy. The hitherto used Discrete Element Method (DEM) generally assumes independent contacts, which limits its applicability to low to moderate relative densities. The overall strategy of the project is to combine the local contact description provided by the DEM with a non-local estimate of the average strain experienced by each particle, similar to the density estimate utilized in Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH). In this manner, an interesting model for solids can be formulated, and work is currently focused on extending this formulation to granular media.