Discrete element method (DEM) is one of the most important particle-based simulation methods widely applied in various fields. However, further large-scale engineering applications by DEM are still limited due to the deficiency of computing capability of computers. In the simulations of engineering problems, uneven distribution of particles is a common phenomenon with high-concentration and empty particulate domains, which will occupy extra memory for mesh in no-particle domain by using the conventional cell-linked list method for contact detection. For better utilization of memory, the conventional method is modified to perform large-scale simulations with uneven distribution of particles by using dynamic mesh in this study, and the modified method is called the dynamic mesh cell-linked list (DMCL) method. To verify the applicability of the DMCL method, the simulations of particles transported by a screw conveyor and a belt conveyor are done. The simulation results indicate that using the DMCL method can extraordinarily reduce the memory usage and is comparably efficient compared with the conventional method. The DMCL method can be used in both spherical and non-spherical particulate systems, and is also applicable to other particle-based simulations (C) 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.