Energy Use in Comminution

Lecture 7
MINE 292
COMMINUTION

MECHANICAL CHEMICAL


External Special Chemical
forces forces forces

- smashing - thermal shock - digestion
- blasting (chemical) - microwaves - dissolution
- breaking - pressure changes - combustion
- attrition - photon bombardment - bioleaching
- abrasion
- splitting or cutting
- crushing
- grinding
Comminution
Although considered a size-reduction process,
since minerals in an ore break preferentially,
some upgrading is achieved by size separation
with screens and/or classifiers
Comminution and Sizes
Effective Range of 80% passing sizes by Process

Process F
80
P
80
1) Explosive shattering: infinite 1 m
2) Primary crushing: 1 m 100 mm
3) Secondary crushing: 100 mm 10 mm
4) Coarse grinding: 10 mm 1 mm
5) Fine grinding: 1 mm 100 m
6) Very fine grinding: 100 m 10 m
7) Superfine grinding: 10 m 1 m

The 80% passing size is used because it can be measured.
Comminution - Blasting
Blasting practices aim to minimize explosives use
Pattern widened/explosive type limited to needs
Requirements maximum size to be loaded
However, "Mine-to-Mill" studies show that
Increased breakage by blasting reduces grinding costs
Blasting energy efficiency ranges from 10-20%
Crushing and grinding energy efficiencies are 1-2%
Limitations in blasting relate to
Flyrock control
Vibration control
Improvements comes from reduced top-size & W
i
Primary Crushing
Jaw crusher < 1,000 tph
Underground applications
Gyratory crusher > 1,000 tph
Open-pit and In-pit
Primary Crushing
Product size = 10 4 inches (250 100 mm)
Open Side Setting (OSS) is used to operate
Mantle and bowl are
lined with steel plates
Spider holds spindle
around which the
mantle is wrapped



Secondary Crushing
Symons Cone Crushers
Standard and Shorthead

Secondaries Tertiaries
CSS (mm) 25-60 5-20

Can process up to 1,000 tph
Mech. Availability = 70-75%
Secondary Crushing Plants
Fully-configured Plant
Secondary Crushing Plants
No Internal Surge Bins
Secondary Crushing Plants
No Screen Bin
Secondary Crushing Plants
Open Circuit gravity-flow
Impact Crushers
Used in small-scale operations
Coarse liberation sizes
Hammer velocities (50mps)
Screen hole size controls
product size
High wear rates of
hammers and screen




Impact Crushers
Barmac Crusher
Invented in New Zealand
Impact velocity = 60 -90 mps
High production of
fines by attrition
Used in quarries &
cement industry

Impact Crushers
Barmac Crusher
Invented in New Zealand
Impact velocity = 60-90 mps
High production of
fines by attrition
Used in quarries &
cement industry

Secondary Crushing - Rolls Crusher

Secondary Crushing - Rolls Crusher
Angle of Nip
Standard rolls
HPGR forces
Packed-bed

2a = bed thickness

Now applied to fine
crushing
Competitive with
SAG (or complementary)

Energy in Comminution
Crushing and Grinding

Very inefficient at creating new surface area (~1-2%)
Surface area is equivalent to surface energy
Comminution energy is 60-85 % of all energy used
A number of energy "laws" have been developed
Assumption - energy is a power function of D



dE = differential energy required,
dD = change in a particle dimension,
D = magnitude of a length dimension,
K = energy use/weight of material, and
n = exponent
n
D K
dD
dE
=
Energy in Comminution
Von Rittinger's Law (1867)
Energy is proportional to new surface area produced
Specific Surface Area (cm
2
/g) inverse particle size

So change in comminution energy is given by:



which on integration becomes:



where K
r
= Rittinger's Constant and
f
c
= crushing strength of the material
2
c r
D f K
dD
dE

=
)
D
1
D
1
( f K E
f p
c r
=
Energy in Comminution
Kick's Law (1883)
Energy is proportional to percent reduction in size
So change in comminution energy is given by:



which on integration becomes:




where K
k
= Kick's Constant and
f
c
= crushing strength of the material


1
c k
D f K
dD
dE

=
(
(

=
p
f
e c k
D
D
log f K E
Energy in Comminution
Bond's Law
Energy required is based on geometry of a crack
expansion as it opens up
His analysis resulting in a value for n of 1.5:



which on integration becomes:



where K
b
= Bond's Constant and
f
c
= crushing strength of the material

5 . 1
c b
D f K
dD
dE

=
)
D
1
D
1
( f K E
f p
c b
=
Energy in Comminution
Where do these Laws apply?

Hukki put together the diagram below (modified on right)
Kick applies to coarse sizes (> 10 mm)
Bond applies down to 100 m
Rittinger applies to sizes < 100 m
Size Reduction

Different fracture modes

Leads to different size
distributions

Bimodal distribution not
often seen in a crushed
or ground product


Breakage in Tension

All rocks (or brittle material) break in tension

Compression strength is 10x tensile strength

Key issue is how a compression or torsion
force is translated into a tensile force

As well, the density and orientation of internal
flaws is a key issue (i.e., microcracks, grain
boundaries, dislocations)

Griffiths Crack Theory
Griffiths Crack Theory
Three ways to cause a crack to propagate:





Mode I Opening (tensile stress normal to the crack plane)

Mode II Sliding (shearing in the crack plane normal to tip)

Mode III Tearing (shearing in the crack plane parallel to tip)
Griffiths Crack Theory
Based on force (or stress) needed to propagate
an elliptical plate-shaped or penny-shaped crack


where
A = area of the elliptical plate
E' = effective Youngs Modulus
c = strain

s
= specific surface energy
a = half-length of the ellipse
s
2 2 2
a 4
2
A
' E
a
' E 2
A
U
oc to o
+ =
Young's Modulus
Also called Tensile Modulus or Elastic Modulus

A measure of the stiffness of an elastic material

Ratio of uniaxial stress to uniaxial strain

Over the range where Hooke's law holds

E' is the slope of a stress-strain curve of a tensile
test conducted on a sample of the material
Young's Modulus
Low-carbon steel

Hooke's law is valid from the
origin to the yield point (2).

1. Ultimate strength
2. Yield strength
3. Rupture
4. Strain hardening region
5. Necking region

A: Engineering stress (F/A
0
)
B: True stress (F/A)
Griffiths Theory
Differentiating with respect to 'a' gives:


Rearranging derives the fracture stress to initiate a
crack as well as the strain energy release rate, G:


where
G = energy/unit area to extend the crack
0
' E
a 2
a 4
2
s
=
to

' E
a
G
2
to
=
Compression Loading
Fracture under point-contact loading
D. Tromans and J.A. Meech, 2004. "Fracture Toughness and Surface Energies of Covalent Materials:
Theoretical Estimates and Application to Comminution", Minerals Engineering 17(1), 115.
Induced stresses-compressive load P
P
P
P
a
2
a
1
2a
3
2a
4
a
5
o
1

o
2

o
3

o
4

o
5

K
I
=Yo
i
(a
i
)
1/2

At fracture:
K
IC
=Yo
ic
(a
i
)
1/2

where
K
IC
=(EG
IC
)
1/2

G
IC
= Fracture Toughness

K
I
= Stress intensity (at fracture K
I
= K
IC
, o
i
= o
ic
)
o
i
= Tensile stress, a
i
= crack length Y = Geometric factor (2
-
)
E = Young's modulus, G
IC
= critical energy release rate/m
2

P
P
D
(a)
u
o
P
k o
P
k o
P
o
P
k o
P
k o
P
2 a
(b)
2 a
P
P
D
o
P
k o
P
k o
P
o
P
k o
P
k
o
P
Schematic of particle containing a crack (flaw) of
radius 'a' subjected to compressive force 'P'


o
i
= o
P
( kcosu - sinu )

K
I
=Y o
P
(kcosu - sinu ) a
1/2


At fracture K
I
=K
IC
. In theory there is a limiting average fine particle size:
D
limit
~ (K
IC
/ko
P
)
2
(where u = 0)


Impact Efficiency
Impact Efficiency
K
IC
, P, and flaw orientation () determine impact efficiency

Impact without fracture elastically deforms the particle with the
elastic strain energy released as thermal energy (heat)

Impact inefficiency leads directly to high-energy consumption

In ball and rod mills with the random nature of particle/steel
interactions, a wide distribution of "P" occurs leading to very
inefficient particle fracture. A way to narrow this distribution
is to use HPGR

Such mills consume less energy and exhibit improved inter-
particle separation in mineral aggregates (i.e., liberation via
inter-phase cracking), particularly with diamond ores

Diamond liberation without fracture damage is attributable
to the high K
IC
of diamond relative to that of the host rock
Comminution Testing
Single Particle Breakage Tests
Drop weight testing
Split Hopkinson Bar tests
Pendulum testing


Multiple Particle Breakage Tests
Bond Ball Mill test
Bond Rod Mill test
Comparison test
High-velocity Impact Testing


Drop Weight Test
2 to 3 inch pieces of rock are subjected to different
drop weight energy levels to establish W
i
(C)
Split Hopkinson Bar Test Apparatus
Split Hopkinson Bar Test Apparatus
- Method to obtain material properties in a dynamic regime

- Sample is positioned between two bars:
- incident bar
- transmission bar

- A projectile accelerated by compressed air strikes the
incident bar causing an elastic wave pulse.

- Pulse runs through first bar - part reflected at the bar end,
the other part runs through sample into transmission bar.

- Strain gauges installed on surfaces of incident and
transmission bars measure pulse strain to determine
amplitudes of applied, reflected, and transmitted pulses.
Pendulum Test twin pendulum
Rebound Pendulum
Impact Pendulum
Rock Particle
Bond Impact Crushing Test Wi(C)
Low-energy impact test pre-dates Bond Third Theory paper.

Published by Bond in 1946

Test involves 2 hammers
striking a 2"-3" specimen
simultaneously on 2 sides.

Progressively more energy
(height) added to hammers
until the specimen breaks

Doll et al (2006) have shown that drill core samples
can be used to establish range of energy requirements
Bond Impact Crushing Test Wi(C)
Values measured are:

1. E = Energy applied at breakage (J)
2. w = Width of specimen (mm)
3. = Specific gravity

Wi(C) = _59.0E_
w

where Wi(C) = Bond Impact Crushing Work Index (kWh/t)

F.C. Bond, 1947. "Crushing Tests by Pressure and Impact", Transactions of AIME, 169, 58-66.

A. Doll, R. Phillips, and D. Barratt, 2010. "Effect of Core Diameter on Bond Impact Crushing
Work Index", 5
th
International Conference on Autogenous and Semiautogenous
Grinding Technology, Paper No. 75, pp.19.
Bond Impact Crushing Test Wi(C)
Some example results:
A. Doll, R. Phillips, and D. Barratt, 2010. "Effect of Core Diameter on Bond Impact Crushing
Work Index", 5
th
International Conference on Autogenous and Semiautogenous
Grinding Technology, Paper No. 75, pp.19.
Bond Mill to determine Wi(RM)
For a Wi(RM) test, the standard Closing screen size should be
closing sieve size is 1180m. close to desired P80
Multiply desired P80 by 2
Stage crush 1250 ml of feed
to pass 12.7 mm (0.5 in)

Perform series of batch
grinds in standard Bond
rod mill - 1' D x 2' L
(0.305 m x 0.610 m)

Wave liners
Mill speed = 40 rpm
Charge = 8 rods (33.38 kg)
Bond Mill to determine Wi(RM)
Initial sample = 1250 ml stage-crushed to pass 12.7 cm (0.5 in)

Grind initial sample for 100 revolutions, applying "tilting" cycle

Run level for 8 revs, then tilt up 5 for one rev, then down
at 5 for one rev, then return to level and repeat the cycle

Screen on selected closing screen to remove undersize. Add
back an equal weight of fresh feed to return to original weight.

Return to the mill and grind for a predetermined number of
revolutions calculated to produce a 100% circulating load.

Repeat at least 6 times until undersize produced per mill rev
reaches equilibrium. Average net mass per rev of last 3 cycles
to obtain rod mill grindability (Gbp) in g/rev.

Determine P80 of final product.
Bond Mill to determine Wi(BM)
For a Wi(BM) test, the standard Closing screen size should be
closing sieve size is 150m. close to desired P80
Multiply desired P80 by 2
Stage crush 700 ml of feed
to pass 3.35 mm (0.132 in)

Perform series of batch
grinds in standard Bond
ball mill - 1' D x 1' L
(0.305 m x 0.305 m)

Smooth liners / rounded corners
Mill speed = 70 rpm
Charge = 285 balls (20.125 kg)
Bond Mill to determine Wi(BM)
Initial sample = 700 ml stage-crushed to pass 3.35 cm

Grind initial sample for 100 revolutions, no "tilting" cycle used

Screen on selected closing screen to remove undersize. Add
back an equal weight of fresh feed to return to original weight.

Return to the mill and grind for a predetermined number of
revolutions calculated to produce a 250% circulating load.

Repeat at least 7 times until undersize produced per mill rev
reaches equilibrium. Average net mass per rev of last 3 cycles
to obtain ball mill grindability (Gbp) in g/rev.

Determine P80 of final product.
Effect of Circulating Load on Wi(BM)
From S. Morrell, 2008. "A method for predicting the specific energy requirement of
comminution circuits and assessing their energy utilization
efficiency", Minerals Engineering, 21(3), 224-233.
Bond Mill Wi(BM) or Wi(RM)
Procedure: use lab mill of set diameter with a set ball or
rod charge and run several cycles (5-7) of
grinding and screening to recycle coarse
material into next stage until steady state
(i.e., recycle weight becomes constant).
Formula:
where Wi = work index (kWh/t);
P = 80% passing size of the product;
F = 80% passing size of the feed;
Gbp = net grams of screen undersize per mill revolution;
P
1
= closing screen size (mm)
Size Ranges for Different
Comminution Tests
Property Soft Medium Hard Very Hard
Bond Wi (kWh/t) 7 - 9 9 -14 14 -20 > 20
Material Number Tested S.G.
Work Index
(kWh/t)
All Materials 1,211 - 15.90
Andesite 6 2.84 20.12
Barite 7 4.50 6.32
Basalt 3 2.91 18.85
Bauxite 4 2.20 9.68
Cement clinker 14 3.15 14.95
Cement (raw) 19 2.67 11.59
Coke 7 1.31 16.73
Copper ore 204 3.02 14.03
Diorite 4 2.82 23.04
Dolomite 5 2.74 12.42
Emery 4 3.48 62.50
Feldspar 8 2.59 11.90
Ferro-chrome 9 6.66 8.42
Ferro-manganese 5 6.32 9.15
Table of Materials Reported by Fred Bond
1

1
adjusted from short tons to metric tonnes
Material Number Tested S.G.
Work Index
(kWh/t)
Ferro-silicon 13 4.41 11.03
Flint 5 2.65 28.84
Fluorspar 5 3.01 9.82
Gabbro 4 2.83 20.34
Glass 4 2.58 13.57
Glass 4 2.58 13.57
Gneiss 3 2.71 22.19
Gold ore 197 2.81 16.46
Granite 36 2.66 16.59
Graphite 6 1.75 48.02
Gravel 15 2.66 17.70
Gypsum rock 4 2.69 7.42
Iron ore hematite 56 3.55 14.25
Hematite-specularite 3 3.28 15.26
Table of Materials Reported by Fred Bond
1

1
adjusted from short tons to metric tonnes
Material Number Tested S.G.
Work Index
(kWh/t)
Hematite Oolitic 6 3.52 12.49
Magnetite 58 3.88 10.99
Taconite 55 3.54 16.09
Lead ore 8 3.45 12.93
Lead-zinc ore 12 3.54 11.65
Limestone 72 2.65 13.82
Manganese ore 12 3.53 13.45
Magnesite 9 3.06 12.27
Molybdenum ore 6 2.70 14.11
Nickel ore 8 3.28 15.05
Oilshale 9 1.84 17.46
Phosphate rock 17 2.74 10.93
Potash ore 8 2.40 8.87
Pyrite ore 6 4.06 9.84
Pyrrhotite ore 3 4.04 10.55
Table of Materials Reported by Fred Bond
1

1
adjusted from short tons to metric tonnes
Material Number Tested S.G.
Work Index
(kWh/t)
Quartzite 8 2.68 10.56
Quartz 13 2.65 14.96
Rutile ore 4 2.80 13.98
Shale 9 2.63 17.49
Silica sand 5 2.67 15.54
Silicon carbide 3 2.75 28.52
Slag 12 2.83 10.35
Slate 2 2.57 15.76
Sodium silicate 3 2.10 14.88
Spodumene ore 3 2.79 11.43
Syenite 3 2.73 14.47
Tin ore 8 3.95 12.02
Titanium ore 14 4.01 13.59
Trap rock 17 2.87 21.30
Zinc ore 12 3.64 12.74
Table of Materials Reported by Fred Bond
1

1
adjusted from short tons to metric tonnes
Histogram of W
i
Values Reported by Fred Bond
1

F.C. Bond, 1953. "Work Indexes Tabulated", Trans. AIME, March, 194, 315-316.
F.C. Bond, 1952. "The Third Theory of Comminution", Trans. AIME, May, 193, 484-494.
Average for 1055 tests = 14.85 kWh/t
W
i
versus S.G.
F.C. Bond, 1953. "Work Indexes Tabulated", Trans. AIME, March, 194, 315-316.
F.C. Bond, 1952. "The Third Theory of Comminution", Trans. AIME, May, 193, 484-494.
Average Wi for 1055 tests = 14.85 kWh/t and 3.10 for S.G.
Basic Assumption for Bond Equation: Mill Size = 2.44m C.L. = 250%

1. Dry Grinding

EF1 = 1.3 for dry grinding in closed circuit ball mill


2. Wet Open Circuit

EF2 = 1.2 for wet open circuit factor for same product size


3. Large Diameter Mills

EF3 = (2.44/Dm)
0.2
for Dm 3.81 m
= 0.914 for Dm < 3.81 m
Correction Factors for Bond W
i
4. Oversize Feed

F
o
= Z ( 14.71/ [W
i
(RM)]
0.5


where F
o
= optimal feed size in mm
Z = 16 for rod mills and 4 for ball mills

If actual F
80
size (in mm) is coarser, then
(adjusted to metric tonnes)

EF4 = 1 + 1.1(W
i
(BM) 6.35)(F
80
- F
o
)/(Rr F
o
)

where Rr = F
80
/ P
80

5. Reduction Ratio (only apply when product size is less than 75 microns)

EF5 = (P
80
+ 10.3) / (1.145 P
80
) where P
80
is in microns
Correction Factors for Bond W
i
W
i
(RM) F
o
(mm)
for a BM
10 4.85
12 4.43
14 4.10
16 3.83
18 3.62
20 3.43
22 3.27
24 3.13
26 3.00
28 2.90
30 2.80
6. High or Low Reduction Ratio for Rod Mills
where Rr - Rro is not between -2 and +2

EF6 = 1 + (Rr Rro)
2
/ 159

where R
ro
= 8 + 5L/D
L = rod length (m)
D = inside mill diameter (m)



7. Low Reduction Ratio for Ball Mill

EF7 = 1 + 0.013/(Rr - 1.35) if Rr < 6.0
Correction Factors for Bond W
i
8. Rod Mills

Rod Mill only circuit

EF8 = 1.4 if feed is from open-circuit crushing
= 1.2 if feed is from closed-circuit crushing

Rod Mill/Ball Mill circuit

EF9 = 1.2 if feed is from open-circuit crushing
= 1.0 if feed is from closed-circuit crushing

9. Rubber Liners (due to energy absorption properties of rubber)

EF9 = 1.07
Correction Factors for Bond W
i
MacPherson Autogeneous Mill Work Index Test

SMC Test

JK Rotary Breaker Test

JK Drop Weight Test
Other Energy Indices

Developed by Bond to predict wear rates of ball/rods and liners
Quantifies the abrasiveness of an ore

A 400g sample is stage-crushed & sized into the range -19+12.7 mm

A standard weighed test paddle and enclosure are used
Paddle is abraded by rotation with the sample for 15 min. at 632 rpm
Procedure is repeated 4 times and paddle is re-weighed
Loss in weight in grams is the Abrasion Index

Some representative Bond abrasion indices:
Limestone 0.026
Quartz 0.180
Magnetite 0.250
Quartzite 0.690
Taconite 0.700

Does not account for wear by corrosion in milling circuits
Bond Abrasion Index - A
i
Mines today perform Bond Work Index Tests on multiple samples

A map of the drill core data is produced to show contours of ore
with different Work Index Ranges

Ball Mill, Rod Mill and Low Energy Crushing tests are done

The mill will be designed based on Mine Production Schedule
to allow the mill to achieve desired liberation on the hardest ore

Some consideration is now being given to using these maps
to do mine planning, so hard and soft ores can be blended to
provide a more consistent mill feed
Comminution Energy Testing

N
c
=42.3(D
-0.5
)
Critical Speed Equation for Mills

where

N
c
= critical speed (revolutions per minute)
D = mill effective inside diameter (m)

Typically , a mill is designed to achieve 75-80% of critical
speed. SAG and AG mills operate with variable speed. Ball
and rod mills have not in the past , but this is changing.
Critical speed defines the velocity at which steel balls will
centrifuge in the mill rather than cascade
D Nc
2 30
3 24
4 21
8 15
12 12
Grinding Mills
Ball Mills

Rod Mills

Autogenous Mills

Pebble Mills

Semi-Autogenous Mills

- limited to 20' (6m) ft. by rod length (bending)
- cascade mills for iron ore
- pioneered in Scandinavia, South Africa
- pioneered in N.A.
variable speed drives
Grinding Mills
Ball Mills

Grinding Mills
Ball Mills grate-discharge

Grinding Mills
Ball Mills rubber-lined

Grinding Mills
Ball Mills conical mill (Hardinge mill)

Grinding Mills
Ball Mills

Grinding Mills
Ball Mills Mufulira Mine Grinding Aisle - 1969

Grinding Mills
Rod Mills

Grinding Mills
Semi-Autogenous Mills

Grinding Mills
Semi-Autogenous Mills









End-plate Liners in an overflow SAG Mill

Grinding Mills
Semi-Autogenous Mills









Elements in a Grate-Discharge SAG Mill

Grinding Mills
Semi-Autogenous Mills

Grinding Mills
SAG Mill Ball Mill Circuit (Lac des Iles)

Grinding Mills
Grinding Control Diagram

Secondary Crushing
Hydroset Control
Automatic change
in closed-side setting
(C.S.S.)
Motor load can be
used to adjust feed
tonnage and/or C.S.S.

Grinding Mills
Stirred Mills

Grinding Mills
Horizontal Stirred Mill with Pin Stirrers

Grinding Mills
Vertical Stirred Mill (ultra-fine grinding)

Grinding Mills
Micronizer Jet Mill (ultra-fine grinding)

Grinding Circuits
One Stage Ball Mill Circuit

Grinding Circuits
Two Stage Ball Mill Circuit

Grinding Circuits
Rod Mill / Ball Mill Circuit

Grinding Circuits
SAG/AG Crusher - Ball Mill Circuit (ABC)