 In the case of solid-like granular behavior as in soil mechanics, the continuum approach usually treats the material as elastic or elasto-plastic and models it with the finite element method or a mesh free method.In the case of liquid-like or gas-like granular flow, the continuum approach may treat the material as a fluid and use computational fluid dynamics.Drawbacks to homogenization of the granular scale physics, however, are well-documented and should be considered carefully before attempting to use a continuum approach.