Vol. 34 No. 2 SCIENCE IN CHINA (Series A) February 1991 THEORETICAL CALCULATION OF MILL STEEL BALL SIZE* DUAN Xi-xianc (BF) (Ore-Dressing Section, Kunming Institute of Technology, Kunming 650093, PRC) Revived April 21, 19895 revised June 20, 1990, Apsrracr From the principle of crushing machanice, a theoretical formula for calculating ball sizes for ball mills has been derived. Empirical parameters are obtained from experimental and practical data, and a semi-theoretical formula for calculating precise ball diameters is established. Keywords: ball mill, ball size, crushing mechanics. Ball mills are much energy-consumming but low efficient in energy transforma tion, To raise the efficiency of energy transformation, it is essential to determine precise ball diameters. An improper size of balls will not only lower the efficiency in milling ores, but also affect the product, resulting in troubles in next working procedures. Thus, to obtain accurate ball diameters has long been an important topic in the field of crushing engineering. Not a few scientists proposed formulae for calculating ball diameters. Owing to various factors that influence the ore-milling, the theoretical computation does not seem to make a proper formulae available. ‘The experimental data have not been able to yield any accurate values either. Those formulae (semi-theoretical and empirical) introduced from abroad are not applicable to the situation in China, This paper presents a formula for calculating ball diameters on the basis of the crushing mechanics. 1. Matw Factors 1s Desioninc Baut Sizes Ore-milling isa dynamic process under various influence such as the mechanical characteristics of ores, the diameter and the revolution rate of the mill, the shape of the mill liner, the density and materials of the steel ball, and the pulp density and viscocity. It is difficult to find a theoretical formula that takes all the factors into account. Mathematically, a solution to an equation with so many variables seems scarcely possible. By the principle of crushing mechanics, the crushing process is essentially to break blocks by exerting force on ores to eliminate the cohesive force. Thus, the * Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China.No. 2 MILL STEEL BALL SIZE 221 factors can be classified into two groups: one in the object to be crushed, and the other in the motive power for crushing. The factors in the object to be crushed are the mechanical strength of blocks and the geometric size. The cohesive force of the blocks or particles depends on their binding way and the strength between particles. And the block strength is usually represented by its hardness, i.e. its resistance to crushing. In China the block coefficient is often denoted by the hardness coefficient (M. M. Protodyakonov). ‘The relation of f with 9, is ¢,= 100f, The crushing force and energy needed can be determined quantitatively if f,; op and d (block diameter) are given. ‘There are many factors in the crushing motive power. The crushing force is given by the kinetic energy in the normal-line direction, i.e. the energy steel balls possess before crushing. This energy is related with the quality and moving velocity of balls. The velocity is decided by the rotation rate @ and the diameter D of the mill, If the material is fixed, the density p is also fixed. However, as pulp densities are varying in different mills, , is a variable. When moving in a mill, balls are affected by the pulp buoyancy, and only their effective density plays a part in the process, pe p—fs- Clearly, pe also affects the kinetic energy. There- fore, besides Ds, the factors affecting Eq include @, D and pey that is, Ey is the function of all these factors: E, = f(Ds, pes D, ), When Ey is greater than the energy needed to crush blocks, the blocks will be crushed. It should be reasonable to determine the ball diameter according to the amount of energy needed for milling. These important factors mentioned above have to be included in the formula gantita~ tively, while the others such as the shape of the mill liner, the pulp viscocity and aperatian conditions can anly he quantitatively analysed althangh they should be considered in adjusting empirical coefficients. IL. Depvetion or tHe Tusoxsricat Formusa First, we make some hypotheses. (i) Using the methods for calculating the movement of balls provided hy Davis and Levenson, the mill hall is considered as being thrown downward. (ii) For conyenience, ore blocks are taken as spherical ones with diameter @ expressing their size. (iii) Rocks and minerals are all brittle in a certain degree. Under a rapid impact, blocks break with brittleness. In this case, the strain is directly proportional to the stress. (iv) Under an impact or pressure, blocks are in a state of single-axis stress, i.e. the broken surface is parallel with the direction of the impact or the pressure, and goes through the centre of the ball. (v) As rocks are of mechanical homogeneity, the crushing force needed can be calculated by the strength limit and the area of receiving force. (vi) The crushing load is 2 dynamic one. Blocks have a lower resistance to a dynamic load than to a dead load. The dead load oy is easy to determin at the presence of such data obtain- ed from various sites. But data on dynamic load about 9; are scarcely available. Practical data reveal that gp is usually about 10 times oj that con be taken as a= $%, In addition, in the same way as that of treating the other traditional theories of grinding, a single steel ball is taken from a ball load as an example.ae SCIENCE IN CHINA (Series A) Vol. 34 Because balls are falling at a similar velocity, the interaction between them can be neglected. Whether the theoretical formula to be calculated agrees with the pratical data will manifest the validity of these hypotheses. Energy of Blocks for Resisting Break E, Let ap denote the limit of the strength to resist a pressure and d the block diameter; then the area of the broken block is S= 4 nd*, and the resisting force is Fp, = S+0,/10= 4 xo,d*, Thus, the energy of resisting to breaking is =F 1 2 =1,, 1 Opa, ay 2. Normal Impact Energy on Liner by a Falling Ball Take a ball with diameter D, (cm) and volume V (cm), If G, is the effective weight, the effective mass m, is 1 xDiee .- Sa lyeg= : 2) m e @) where g stands for the acceleration of gravity. When a ball is dropped on the liner (Fig. 1), its velocity in the normel direc- tion vy is 0, = 8y sin’ acosa Gg) and v= VRigcose, a where R, is the inner radius. So a= 8 Rygeosa + sintacose, v% (the normal velocity) is the impact velocity of a ball on blocks. v is the velocity along the tangent line of the ball rubbing block. In this paper, only the effect of impact is concerned, and therefore L 2 L , 2Diee o 3 32 o 2 Ey muy = 1. APR! 64k g sin’ acosta = 2 aDyp.Ri sin’ a cos’ a, 2 2° 6g 6 ee But D = 2R,, and so E,= 18 E,, break occurs, that is, 16 ps in acos? 1 P, = aD} Di 2a 20,0, § *DheeDs sin‘acos'a > 7 x09344 ‘SCIENCE IN CHINA (Series A) Vol. 34 Rearranging this formula yields ys >. __ gs, 640 peDgsin® a cos’ a ‘Therefore, Ds 6. 21 a, 640" p.Dasin' a cov @ Dy >i — Fe od (om (8) » = Tint acosa \ Tpid, * And because cosa = $%, sinta= 1 — costa = 1—d" and sin*acosa= d — #, 0. me : D> ——"— +d (om 9 Sat. | te a Com. oO) Eq. (9) has been found by investigating the movement of a dropping ball. The mechanics on a ball rolling down remains unsolved. In order to make Eq. (9) also suitable for balls rolling down and to ensure the occurence of crushing, the diameter of the ball in Eq. (9) should be increased appropriately. When the diameter increases by 15%, Bq. (9) becomes Eq. (10) is a theoretical formula for calculating the diameter required for crushing. This formula is derived from Davis and Liewensong’s theories on the basis of crushing mechanics. It reflects the relationship of Dy with @, pes Ds op and d, Eq. (10) involves more factors than any other existing formulae, From this, it can be seen that big-diameter balls should be used in the following cases: (i) big o, and d, (ii) a small mill, and (iii) dense pulp (due to its buffer effect on balls). Eq. (10) describes the real process of crushing. The complicated rotation rate can be revealed only after calculation. When = 100%, Dy is infinite. This indicates that the ball diameter is meaningless since the ball is centrifugal and has not any breaking ability. 4, Empirical Revision of the Theoretical Formula In establishing Eq. (10), only several main factors were considered, and for convenience, rocks and minerals were assumed to be mechanically homogeneous. The other factors that have not been included in Eq. (10) are essential for the design of ball diameter, but they are difficult to get involved in this theroetical formula. In the absence of these factors, Eq. (10) would unavoidably lead to big errors, and become even worthless in practice. Clearly. the revision is necessary. In fact, various formulae for calculating hall diameter proposed hy foreign scientists all contain modified empirical coefficients. a, isa measured value because it cannot be derived from the solid mechanics”, We try to modify Eq. (10) in the following three aspects.No. 2 MILL STEEL BALL SIZE 225 (1) Unkomogencity of mechanical properties of rocks Coarse blocks have low strength because of the rifts among them. With the reduction of blocks in size, rifts disappear, and their strength is increased. Scientists in the Soviet Union measured the Ky values as shown in Table 2"), But there have not been any data on particles less than Imm. R. T. Huki determined the work consumption for blocks in various sizes (Fig. 2). His results show that as_ particles become finer in size, their work consumptions are not increasing proportionally. In the light of Huki’s work, we supplemented Table 2 with values of breaking force for blocks less than 1 mm in size. Table 2 X, Value of Blocks in Various Sizes 2 10 15 Size 2 (mm) Breaking force (kg/cm) | 738-5 | 774.3 go1.s | 923.1 | 943.5 x, 0.83 | 0.87 1.00 | 1.08 | 1.06 Size d (mm) 5 3 06 | 0.3 | 0.15 Breaking force (kg/em’) 998.6 | 3085.3, 1417.8 | 1570.8 | 1785.0 159 | 1.76 | 2.00 Ky From the Band theory, scientists derived the lowest energy consumption of milling from the mill feed of 7 inch (12.7 mm) in size. The size of 12.7 mm of Fe in Europe and the United States is equivalent to that of 15mm of dx". the theoretical formula is derived under ideal conditions, the ball diameter obtained ince from this formula makes the lowest energy consumption available. Thus, 15 mm can be taken as a criterion, When the size is larger than 15mm, the strengh decreases; when it is smaller than 15 mm, the strength increases. K, denotes the revised coefficient of inhomogeneity, its values of blocks in various sizes are listed in Table 2 (2) Revision of effective control over grinding In coarse grinding, the operation is easy to control, and the impact appears more effective. In fine grinding, the process is not easy to control, and the impact turns weak. 15mm is still taken as the criterion and the revised coefficient is denoted by K,, When @> 15mm, K,<1; when d< 15mm, K,> 1, In this case, the revised value cannot be determined quantitatively, and thus the effect of Kz is assumed to be equal to that of K, for blocks in the same size. (3) Revision of effect of pulp viscosity and other factors « A suitable viscosity is favourable to the coarse grinding. But a greater viscosity will do harm tothe fine grinding and consume more energy. K, denotes the revision of the effect of viscosity, but actually it is difficult to determine quantitatively Therefore, as is in the case of K;, the effect of Ky is assumed to be equal to that of K, for blocks of the same size.26 SCIENCE IN CHINA (Series A) Vol. 34 If K is known as the comprehensively revised coefficient, we have . ap Whether the hypotheses of K; and Ks are reasonable or not will be justified by final calculated results. KK Kt Ks= So, following these revision, the theoretical formula (10) becomes 0.5224 vm o Eq. (12) is the semi-theoretical formula presented in this paper. The values of — Web, 4 o> Ke K can be selected from Table 3: @ = “® x 100%; a, — 100f, where f is the block ne hardness coefficient, pe = @ — a3 ps = /[Ra t+ a%* (1+ Rad), where pis the ore density, and Rg is the pulp concentration (percentage of weight); Dp == 2Ry, where Ry can be determined from Eq. (6) and Table 1. So, according to practical condi- tions, using Eq. (12), the proper ball diameter of mills can be calculated. Table 3 Revised Coefficient K Tae é (omy) 5) “See 7 “Size d (mm) | 5 3 0.15 TIL, Veriricarton or THe Taoreticar Formura ano Drscusston on Ins Surrapruiry Now we make some calculations so as to verify Eq. (12). Take D= 3.2m, = 80%, p= 45%, p= 78, prem 3, and Re 75%, op is 800—1600 kg/em’, its average 4, = 1200 kg/cm, Ores are coarse in China (sometimes the size even larger than 50 mm). In fine grinding, the size is taken to be 0.15 mm, Computed results are listed in Table 4. Our results are compared with that obtained fram the Table Proper + for Various Sizes Using @ of Mill Feed (mam) ee Donte VF Gams ro |e | 7 | | Dy = 6g dy) Vd (mm) 1s | oe | | w [os 3 Dy =15.4Vd (mm) 150 | 134 | 116 [160 | 9s fw | 7 Dy= Ava (am) we | 72 | 4 | 136 | 122 | tos | 96 Dy from Eg. (12) (mm) ws | 160 | | 3 | am | ot 8 Dy of experiments (mm) aa | to~100% | <100~80- Dy in proces (oa) saci cioNo. 2" MILL STEEL BALL SIZE 227 following formulae: Dy ~ 25.40/@ (Band’s simple and convenient formula), Dy= 28d (Razumov’s formula), Dy = kV'd (Davis’s formula), Dy = 6(inds)/ d (Olevski’s formula). For comparison, there listed in Table 4 are also practical data in China, most of which are empirical values over years, Finally, the testing values are also listed, among which those with d smaller than 3 mm are given by the author! and those with d larger than 5 mm are experimental and practical values of some factories in late years. From comparisons of the diameters listed in Table 4, we can draw the following conclusions: (i) The values obtained from Eq. (12) agree well with the practical data on both coarse and fine blocks. In most cases, the results calculated from the other formulae are deviated from the pratical data because a constant revising coeffi- cient is involved in these formula. In fact, the factors such as mechanical properties of blocks, pulp viscosity, the impact on blocks exert different influence on blocks in different sizes. Eq. (12) takes different revising coefficients for blocks in different sizes. (ii) Eq. (12) can be widely applied not only to coarse or fine blocks, but also to blocks with different hardness because it considers the compressive strength oye It can be even ‘applied to nonmetallic ores whose op is less than 800 kg/cm’, For non-metallic ore, blocks in the same size as that of metallic have 15—20% smaller ball diameters. (iii) Eq. (12) was sct up on the basis of data collected in China, Parameters os fs» es @%» Re and so on in Eq. (12) were all calculated in plants. dss is extensively adopted in China. Mill diameters in China are smaller than that in other countries, and in the maximum are 3.6 m, most being less than 3.2m, To keep balls in a good moving state, @ tends to be higher, ranging from 75% to 90%. Thus ball diameters used in China are larger than that in other countries where mills are 4—5 m or more in diameter. To avoid the centrifugation, 4 Eq. (12) and Some Other Common Formulae 30~80 =70~60> 50> 40>228 SCIENCE IN CHINA (Series A) Vol. 34 hard-alloy balls are used and the mill rate @ tends to be lower by 60—75%. In the absence of data of work indices available in plants of China, it is difficult to use the following two formulae: [ps - (2) (2-%4)'] (Allis Charmes’ formula) a? Sea/D [ - (ee ee (Lixed formula). (iv) In many smaller or middle plants in China, the feed size dis as coarse as 40— 50mm. Table 4 indicates that diameters of coarse blocks calculated from the formulae other than Eq. (12) are too small to suit coarse blocks, But Eq. (12) will not cause such anerror. The results listed in Table 4 also indicate that Eq. (12) can satisfy practical requirements. and Reranences (1) BERRI, BE SMI, HS LUINATHL, 1980, 7, Ae, 131-150, (2) GN, GMMR. AARRER. SORT WMH, 1984, 2, eer 13] Paxarexui, B. H., Her, aer., 1980, 7:41~44, [4] Batt, Hee MRE HA), 1985, [5] ——. zittee, 1986, 5:16,