We present a new finite-element scheme for direct numerical simulation of particle suspensions in simple shear flow of a viscoelastic fluid in 3D. The sliding tri-periodic representative cell concept has been combined with DEVSS/DG finite element scheme by introducing constraint equations along the domain boundary. Rigid body motion of the freely suspended particle is described by the rigid-shell description and implemented by Lagrangian multipliers on particle boundaries. We present the bulk rheology of suspensions through the numerical examples of single-, two- and many-particle problems, which represent a large number of such systems in simple shear flow. We report the steady bulk viscosity and the first normal stress coefficient, which show shear-thickening behavior for both properties.