Modeling on the Effect of Coal Loads on Kinetic Energy of Balls for Ball Mills

This paper presents a solution for the detection and control of coal loads that is more accurate and convenient than those currently used. To date, no research has addressed the use of a grinding medium as the controlled parameter. To improve the accuracy of the coal load detection based on the kinetic energy of balls in a tubular ball mill, a Discrete Element Method (DEM) model for ball kinematics based on coal loads is proposed. The operating process for a ball mill and the ball motion, as influenced by the coal quality and the coal load, was analyzed carefully. The relationship between the operating efficiency of a coal pulverizing system, coal loads, and the balls’ kinetic energy was obtained. Origin and Matlab were utilized to draw the variation of parameters with increasing coal loads in the projectile and cascading motion states. The parameters include the balls’ real-time kinetic energy, the friction energy consumption, and the mill’s total work. Meanwhile, a method of balanced adjacent degree and a physical experiment were proposed to verify the considerable effect of the balls’ kinetic energy on coal loads. The model and experiment results indicate that a coal load control method based on the balls’ kinetic energy is therefore feasible for the optimized operation of a coal pulverizing system.