Primary Crusher

Related terms:

Crushers, Cone Crusher, Gyratory Crusher, Jaw Crusher

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Handbook of Conveying and Handling

of Particulate Solids
G. Lodewijks, ... A. Newman, in Handbook of Powder Technology, 2001

2.1 The primary crusher

The primary crusher is located in the quarry and consists of a McLanahan 48 x72
Shale King Crusher rated at 1,000 TPH (Tons Per Hour). The driving flywheel has a
diameter of 2.5 meters and is motor driven through six v-belts. The capacity of the
primary crusher had to be increased to 1,250 TPH to produce enough material to
serve the wet and both dry lines in the plant. To enable the crusher to operate at
the higher capacity, the manufacturer recommended grooving the flywheel for two
additional v-belts. To avoid the costs of disassembling, shipping and reassembling,
Nesher performed the machining in-place. The operation was performed using
portable tools and an auxiliary motor that turned the flywheel for machining the
new grooves.

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Gyratory and Cone Crusher

In Mineral Processing Design and Operations (Second Edition), 2016

5.2.1 Primary crusher

Primary crushers are solidly built to receive large lumps of rock directly from the
mines and designed for large tonnage throughputs. Basically, gyratory crushers
consist of a fixed solid conical shell or bowl (also called concaves) and a solid cone
within the bowl called a breaking head (Figure 5.1). The breaking head is fixed to a
central spindle, which is hydraulically suspended or mechanically held from a spider.
The bottom end of the spindle usually rests on a hydraulically supported piston.
The bottom end of the spindle is connected to a bevel and pinion arrangement
with straight or spiral teeth which on rotating by a journal moves the bottom of the
shaft eccentrically. In some models, the spindle is fixed at the top and bottom and
is made to move side-ways to impart the crushing action. The entire assembly can
be visualised as a circular jaw crusher.

Figure 5.1. Sketch of a Gyratory Crusher (Crusher Size Is Designated by the Gape
and Mantle Diameter).

Figure 5.1 is a typical sketch of a large gyratory crusher used as a primary crusher to

reduce the size of large pieces of rocks produced during blasting in mines. Variations
in the design of the breaking head and the mantle have been adopted by different
manufacturers. Such variations are adopted from studies on stress distributions of
component parts endured during the crushing operation. Effort is also made to
improve the efficiency of the mechanical movements of the eccentric shaft. Such
details are best described in manufacturer’s literature.

The rule of thumb for describing the dimensions of primary gyratory crushers may
be summarised as
1. for sizes < 66 cm, the circumference along the opening = 8–10 × gape (mea-
sured along the outer perimeter),
2. for sizes > 66 cm, the circumference along the opening = 6.5–7.5 × gape (mea-
sured along the outer perimeter),
3. the ratio of mantle diameter to grape = 1.3–1.7:10,

4. the feed size = 0.9 × gape (up to 2 m in diameter),

5. the reduction ratio ranges from 3:1 to 10:1.

The angle of nip for large crushers varies between 21° and 24° (average about 22°)
but for curved surfaces it is about 27–30° [2]. The distances of openings between the
concave and the breaking head at the top and the bottom ends are usually used to
describe the size of the gyratory crusher. The other modes frequently adopted are

1. bowl diameter at the discharge end × gape,

2. bowl diameter at the feed end × gape,

3. bowl circumference at the feed end × gape,

4. maximum diameter at the head × gape.

The designs of the breaking faces differ with different manufacturers. In doing so,
the crusher products have different size distributions. The movement of the mantle
or conical head that performs the crushing action can be visualised in Figure 5.2,
where it can be seen that as the feed drops down, the mantle squeezes it against the
concave and fractures the rock.

Figure 5.2. Section of Gyratory Crusher.

When the mantle moves away during its cycle of gyration, the crushed rock slips
down to be caught again between the mantle and the concave on the next cycle,
resulting in further size reduction. The process is repeated until the sizes of the
broken rock are less than the open set at the bottom of the crusher.

The sizes of commercially available gyratory crushers vary considerably. The sizes
are usually designated as gape × diameter of mantle (breaking head) or referred to
by gape only. For a particular requirement it is advisable to consult manufacturer’s
literature. As a rough guide, Tables 5.1-5.2 summarise the designs and other general
characteristics of gyratory crushers manufactured by different manufacturers and
distinguished by the lengths of their shafts. The fixed spindle gyratory crusher
characteristics are included in Table 5.3.

Table 5.1. Design characteristics of long shaft primary gyratory crushers [3].

Characteristics Small Large

Size 63.5–711 mm 1829–2294 mm
Useful height* 0.48 m 10.5 m
Set range 25.4–44.5 mm 228–305 mm
Rev./min 700 175
Power (kW) 2.2 298

For details consult manufacturer’s tables and data

* Denotes distance travelled by particles down the crusher.

Table 5.2. Design characteristics of short shaft primary gyratory crushers [3].

Characteristics Small Large

Size 762–1524 mm 2133–2794 mm
Set range 50.8–152 mm 178–305 mm
Rev./min 425 275
Motor rating 149 750

For details consult manufacturer’s tables and data

Table 5.3. Design characteristics of fixed spindle gyratory crushers [3].

Characteristics Small Large

Size of receiver opening 203.2–813 mm 635–5538 mm
Set range 31.7 mm –
Rev./min 750 480
Motor rating (kW) 16.8 83.9

For details consult manufacturer’s tables and data

According to Weiss [4], long shaft crushers are presently not in use but are being
replaced by short shaft models.
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Roll Crushers
In Mineral Processing Design and Operations (Second Edition), 2016

6.2.3 Roll crusher circuit design

Roll crushers are generally not used as primary crushers for hard ores. Even for
softer ores, such as chalcocite and chalcopyrite, they have been used as secondary
crushers. Choke feeding is not advisable as it tends to produce particles of irregular
size. Both open and closed circuit crushing is employed. For close circuit the product
is screened with a mesh size much less than the set.

Figure 6.4 is a typical set-up where ores crushed in primary and secondary crushers
are further reduced in size by a rough roll crusher in an open circuit followed by
finer size reduction in a closed circuit by a roll crusher. Such circuits are chosen as
the feed size to standard roll crushers normally does not exceed 50 mm.

Figure 6.4. Roll Crusher Design Circuit.

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Main Equipment
Swapan Basu, Ajay Kumar Debnath, in Power Plant Instrumentation and Control
Handbook, 2015

9.3.1 Coal Crusher Classifications

In general, coal crushers are categorized into two types and three types of primary
crushers, as follows:

Primary coal crusher: Used for larger coal size. The primary coal crushers
may be of different types such as: (1) coal jaw, (2) coal hammer, and (3) ring
granulator.
Secondary coal crusher: Used when the coal coming from the supplier is large
enough to be handled by a single crusher. The primary crusher converts the
feed size to one that is acceptable to the secondary crusher.

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Construction Materials: Crushed

Stone, Sand, and Gravel
W.H. Langer, in Encyclopedia of Materials: Science and Technology, 2001

7.3 Aggregate Processing

Mined crushed stone is loaded into trucks or onto conveyors and transported to
the processing facility. The broken stone is dumped into a primary crusher where
the large rock fragments are broken into smaller sizes. Crushing to the proper size
usually occurs in stages because rapid size reduction, accomplished by applying
large forces, commonly results in the production of excessive fines (Rollings and
Rollings 1996). After primary crushing, the material is run through one or more
secondary crushers. These crushers use compression, impact, or shear to break the
rock into smaller pieces. The material is screened after each crushing cycle to sepa-
rate properly sized particles (“throughs”) from those needing additional crushing
(“overs”). Additional washing, screening, or other processing may be required to
remove undesirable material. The material is then stockpiled awaiting shipment.
After mining, sand and gravel may be used as is, which is called bank-run or pit-run
gravel, or it may be further processed. The procedures for processing sand and
gravel are similar to those for processing crushed stone. The amount of processing
depends on the characteristics of the sand and gravel deposit and the intended
use. If the gravel deposits contain very large cobbles or boulders, that material
may be run through a primary crusher. The material may be run through one or
more secondary crushers, then washed, screened, or further processed to remove
undesirable material. The material is then stockpiled awaiting shipment.

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Optimum Fragmentation
Zong-Xian Zhang, in Rock Fracture and Blasting, 2016

21.6.2 Industry Practices

Highland Valley copper mine experienced a decline in mill throughput after im-
plementing larger holes for blasting, which resulted in coarser fragmentation and
a coarser product from the primary crushers [24]. In the quarry at Vrsi, as drilling
geometry decreased from 3.0 m × 4.5 m to 2.9 m × 3.0 m while other parameters
such as borehole sizes were constant, a significant savings of 14% was achieved
for the quarry [25]. Due to a mine-to-mill implementation at the Red Dog Mine,
the mine achieved savings exceeding $30 million per year [26]. This indicates that,
at least in some ores, improved internal fragmentation carries through the crushing
and grinding circuits. The mine-to-mill project in the same mine identified fur-
ther benefit, specifically the marked reduction in SAG feed size and throughput
variability [5]. A second but important benefit was the reduced wear in the gyratory
crusher, resulting in a significantly longer period between relines. When electronic
detonators with very short delay time were applied in the Chuquicamata open pit
copper mine, the fragmentation was markedly improved [27]. In the Aitik copper
mine a raised specific charge from 0.9 to 1.3 kg/m3 gave rise to an increase in the
throughput by nearly 7% due to more fines produced and shorter grinding time
achieved [28].

Similarly, a high specific charge from 2 to 3.0 kg/m3 resulted in an increase in the

mill throughput by 20–40% [29].

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Coal handling along the supply chain
E. Bach, in The Coal Handbook: Towards Cleaner Production: Coal Production, 2013

20.2.4 Apron feeders and belt feeders

Apron and belt feeders are widely used in the industry and can be found for a large
variety of applications, e.g.:

Feed to and discharge from primary crushers;

Loading and unloading trucks and railcars;
Removing frozen materials from storage;
Feeding belt conveyors for metering weighing;
High-abrasion applications frequently found in reclaim circuits; and
Discharge/extraction of material from silos and stockpiles.

The design of belt and apron feeders is fairly standardized, and most of the produc-
ing companies use pre-defined models and calculation methods to get short delivery
times with a low-cost approach. The main features of the apron and belt feeders are:

Use of standard components (e.g. caterpillar chains/conveyor belts, idlers,

pulleys);
Very robust construction providing long life;
Variable or constant speed drives;
Reverse operation possible;
Handle wet sticky feed material; and
Have virtually no limitation to length.

Although the conveying devices are reasonably well defined and standardized, there
is still room for improvement of the overall plant layout and construction, e.g.
crushing plant, silo discharge system, train unloading system, etc. One of the most
obvious ways to improve the overall design of such systems is to develop a better
understanding of the equipment itself. Today, most OEMs want to be involved in the
process of seeking the solution rather than only the supply of the equipment. This
will enable the market to make use of the expertise of the equipment supplier and,
at the same time, use their knowledge base for developing a wider scope, including
other aspects such as silo design, hopper design, electrical and hydraulic issues, etc.

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Next-Generation Nanoadsorbents: Op-

portunities and Challenges
Hajira Tahir, Muhammad Saad, in Composite Nanoadsorbents, 2019

3.2.2 Synthesis of Pyrite Nanoparticles

The synthesis of pyrite nanoparticles involved two steps. Initially, the microparticles
of pyrite ore were obtained by the given procedure.

a. Pyrite ore was crushed by the help of primary crushers involving jaw and cone
crushers up to a size of 0.5–2 cm.
b. The particles were further grinded by ball and rod milling to the size of
50–100 lm.
c. High- and low-intensity magnetic separators were used for collecting pyrite
particles from the matrix materials.

The next step involved the crushing of the pyrite particle by high-energy ball milling
at a rate of 320 rpm for various periods of time, that is, 2, 4, and 6 h which ultimately
resulted in the formation of pyrite nanoparticles.

The process of ball milling was employed under controlled parameters about 298 K
temperature and 760 torr pressure. Stainless steel made ball and bowl were utilized
for the process. In the process, ball:pyrite ratio of 10:1 was selected and at varying
time periods of 2 h, the samples were removed. The method was named as inter-
rupted milling. The synthesized nanoparticles were washed with ethyl alcohol thrice
to eradicate contamination. The nanoparticles were dried in an oven for 4 h at 50°C
[12,13]. Fig. 13 shows the SEM image of the nanoparticles.

Fig. 13. SEM micrograph of pyrite nanoparticles.

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Developments in iron ore comminu-

tion and classification technologies
A. Jankovic, in Iron Ore, 2015
8.2.1 Crushers
Crushers are machines that use a rigid surface to compress and break large rocks
into smaller rocks. They come in many varieties, and a summary of different crusher
types is provided in Table 8.1.

Table 8.1. Comparison of different crusher types

Crusher type Typical process Maximum feed Typical maximum Typical capacities
stage size (mm) product size (mm) (t/h)
Gyratory crusher Primary 1500 200–300 1200-over 5000
Jaw crusher Primary 1400 200–300 Up to 1600
Horizontal impact Primary/sec- 1300 200–300 Up to 1800
crusher ondary
Cone crusher Secondary  450  60–80 Up to 1200
Cone crusher Tertiary  150     &lt; 30 Up to 1000

Jaw crushers are mainly used as primary crushers to produce material that can be
transported by belt conveyors to the next crushing stages. The crushing process takes
place between a fixed jaw and a moving jaw. The moving jaw dies are mounted on
a pitman that has a reciprocating motion. The jaw dies must be replaced regularly
due to wear. Figure 8.1 shows two basic types of jaw crushers: single toggle and
double toggle. In the single toggle jaw crusher, an eccentric shaft is installed on the
top of the crusher. Shaft rotation causes, along with the toggle plate, a compressive
action of the moving jaw. A double toggle crusher has, basically, two shafts and two
toggle plates. The first shaft is a pivoting shaft on the top of the crusher, while the
other is an eccentric shaft that drives both toggle plates. The moving jaw has a pure
reciprocating motion toward the fixed jaw. The crushing force is doubled compared
to single toggle crushers and it can crush very hard ores. The jaw crusher is reliable
and robust and therefore quite popular in primary crushing plants. The capacity of
jaw crushers is limited, so they are typically used for small or medium projects up to
approximately 1600 t/h. Vibrating screens are often placed ahead of the jaw crushers
to remove undersize material, or scalp the feed, and thereby increase the capacity of
the primary crushing operation.
Figure 8.1. Jaw crusher schematics

(Courtesy of Metso) (single toggle crusher and double toggle crusher).

Both cone and gyratory crushers, as shown in Figure 8.2, have an oscillating shaft.
The material is crushed in a crushing cavity, between an external fixed element (bowl
liner) and an internal moving element (mantle) mounted on the oscillating shaft
assembly. An eccentric shaft rotated by a gear and pinion produces the oscillating
movement of the main shaft. The eccentricity causes the cone head to oscillate
between the open side setting (o.s.s.) and closed side setting (c.s.s.). In addition to
c.s.s., eccentricity is one of the major factors that determine the capacity of gyratory
and cone crushers. The fragmentation of the material results from the continuous
compression that takes place between the mantle and bowl liners. An additional
crushing effect occurs between the compressed particles, resulting in less wear
of the liners. This is also called interparticle crushing. The gyratory crushers are
equipped with a hydraulic setting adjustment system, which adjusts c.s.s. and thus
affects product size distribution. Depending on cone type, the c.s.s. setting can be
adjusted in two ways. The first way is by rotating the bowl against the threads so
that the vertical position of the outer wear part (concave) is changed. One advantage
of this adjustment type is that the liners wear more evenly. Another principle of
setting adjustment is by lifting/lowering the main shaft. An advantage of this is that
adjustment can be done continuously under load. To optimize operating costs and
improve the product shape, as a rule of thumb, it is recommended that cones always
be choke-fed, meaning that the cavity should be as full of rock material as possible.
This can be easily achieved by using a stockpile or a silo to regulate the inevitable
fluctuation of feed material flow. Level monitoring devices that detect the maximum
and minimum levels of the material are used to start and stop the feed of material
to the crusher as needed.
Figure 8.2. Gyratory and cone crusher schematics

(Courtesy of Metso) (gyratory crusher and cone crusher).

Primary gyratory crushers are used in the primary crushing stage. Compared to the
cone type crusher, a gyratory crusher has a crushing chamber designed to accept
feed material of a relatively large size in relation to the mantle diameter. The primary
gyratory crusher offers high capacity thanks to its generously dimensioned circular
discharge opening (which provides a much larger area than that of the jaw crusher)
and the continuous operation principle (while the reciprocating motion of the jaw
crusher produces a batch crushing action). The gyratory crusher has capacities
starting from 1200 to above 5000 t/h. To have a feed opening corresponding to that
of a jaw crusher, the primary gyratory crusher must be much taller and heavier.
Therefore, primary gyratories require quite a massive foundation.

The cone crusher is a modified gyratory crusher. The essential difference is that
the shorter spindle of the cone crusher is not suspended, as in the gyratory, but
is supported in a curved, universal bearing below the gyratory head or cone (Figure
8.2). Power is transmitted from the source to the countershaft to a V-belt or direct
drive. The countershaft has a bevel pinion pressed and keyed to it and drives the
gear on the eccentric assembly. The eccentric assembly has a tapered, offset bore
and provides the means whereby the head and main shaft follow an eccentric path
during each cycle of rotation. Cone crushers are used for intermediate and fine
crushing after primary crushing. The key factor for the performance of a cone type
secondary crusher is the profile of the crushing chamber or cavity. Therefore, there
is normally a range of standard cavities available for each crusher, to allow selection
of the appropriate cavity for the feed material in question.
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