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A meshless method is used to simulate free-surface fluid flows containing solid particles, motivated by the need to simulate river ice dynamics problems. A smoothed particle hydrodynamics model (SPH), with an arbitrary Lagrangian–Eulerian formulation for the fluid phase, is two-way coupled with the discrete element method (DEM) for the solid phase. Validation test cases include a bouncing sphere on a level surface, a collapse of a granular column, wedge entry into still water and solids of different densities falling into still water. The computed results using the SPH-DEM model agree quantitatively with the expected behaviour in the test cases. Numerical convergence is demonstrated for the wedge entry validation case. The SPH-DEM model is then used to simulate the stability of floating ice blocks approaching a stationary cover and ice accumulation upstream of an obstruction. The results show promise to serve as a useful quantitative engineering tool. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]