Simulation of particle flows and breakage in crushers using DEM: Part 1 – Compression crushers

Abstract Discrete Element Method (DEM) simulation using a breakage model is applied to study a broad range of existing compression based crushers to better understand machine level operation and to demonstrate that such modelling is now possible. Predictions for five types of crushers: jaw crusher, cone crusher, gyratory crusher, impact crusher and double roll crusher are presented. The breakage method used is based on facture of particles using geometric rules for progeny generation and estimates of the force applied to the particles as they flow through the crusher. From these simulations, estimates of power, product size, throughput rate and crusher wear are made.

[1]  G. C. Barker.  Computer Simulations of Granular Materials , 1994 .

[2]  Charles S. Campbell,et al.  RAPID GRANULAR FLOWS , 1990 .

[3]  Buddhima Indraratna,et al.  DEM analysis of angular ballast breakage under cyclic loading , 2007 .

[4]  Magnus Evertsson,et al.  The contribution of DEM to the science of comminution , 2013 .

[5]  Michael H. Moys,et al.  Study of the influence of liner wear on the load behaviour of an industrial dry tumbling mill using the Discrete Element Method (DEM) , 2008 .

[6]  L. Vallejo,et al.  Discrete Element Method Analysis of Railtrack Ballast Degradation during Cyclic Loading , 2006 .

[7]  Manoj Khanal,et al.  Impact crushing of particle–particle compounds—experiment and simulation , 2005 .

[8]  Hehua Zhu,et al.  Modeling shear behavior and strain localization in cemented sands by two-dimensional distinct element method analyses , 2011 .

[9]  Paul W. Cleary,et al.  The effect of particle shape on simple shear flows , 2008 .

[10]  Paul W. Cleary,et al.  Recent advances in dem modelling of tumbling mills , 2001 .

[11]  Johannes Quist,et al.  Application of discrete element method for simulating feeding conditions and size reduction in cone crushers , 2010 .

[12]  Paul W. Cleary,et al.  Large scale industrial DEM modelling , 2004 .

[13]  Colin Thornton,et al.  Numerical simulation of the impact fracture and fragmentation of agglomerates , 1996 .

[14]  Paul W. Cleary,et al.  DEM modelling of industrial granular flows: 3D case studies and the effect of particle shape on hopper discharge , 2002 .

[15]  Paul W. Cleary,et al.  Modelling comminution devices using DEM , 2001 .

[16]  Paul W. Cleary,et al.  Predicting charge motion, power draw, segregation and wear in ball mills using discrete element methods , 1998 .

[17]  Torsten Gröger,et al.  Impact crushing of concrete for liberation and recycling , 1999 .

[18]  Glenn R. McDowell,et al.  Discrete element modelling of railway ballast under monotonic and cyclic triaxial loading , 2010 .

[19]  Runyu Yang,et al.  DEM simulation of the flow of grinding media in IsaMill , 2006 .

[20]  Colin Thornton,et al.  Numerical simulations of impact breakage of a spherical crystalline agglomerate , 2000 .

[21]  Bertil Pålsson,et al.  A novel method for modelling of interactions between pulp, charge and mill structure in tumbling mills , 2014 .

[22]  Paul W. Cleary,et al.  Is media shape important for grinding performance in stirred mills , 2011 .

[23]  Paul W. Cleary,et al.  Charge behaviour and power consumption in ball mills: sensitivity to mill operating conditions, liner geometry and charge composition , 2001 .

[24]  Paul W. Cleary,et al.  Predicting breakage and the evolution of rock size and shape distributions in Ag and SAG mills using DEM , 2013 .

[25]  Runyu Yang,et al.  Effect of the size of media on grinding performance in stirred mills , 2012 .

[26]  Paul W. Cleary,et al.  DEM prediction of particle flows in grinding processes , 2008 .

[27]  Colin Thornton,et al.  Numerical simulations of agglomerate impact breakage , 1999 .

[28]  Jan Eliáš,et al.  Simulation of railway ballast using crushable polyhedral particles , 2014 .

[29]  Runyu Yang,et al.  Discrete particle simulation of particle flow in IsaMill-Effect of grinding medium properties , 2008 .

[30]  Erik Hulthén.  Real-Time Optimization of Cone Crushers , 2010 .

[31]  Ian Lowndes,et al.  Discrete element modelling of a rock cone crusher , 2014 .

[32]  N. Djordjevic.  Influence of charge size distribution on net-power draw of tumbling mill based on DEM modelling , 2005 .

[33]  Brahmeshwar Mishra,et al.  The discrete element method for the simulation of ball mills , 1992 .

[34]  Paul W. Cleary,et al.  Effect of rock shapes on brittle fracture using Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics , 2010 .

[35]  Paul W. Cleary,et al.  Industrial particle flow modelling using discrete element method , 2009 .

[36]  Runyu Yang,et al.  DEM investigation of energy distribution and particle breakage in tumbling ball mills , 2012 .

[37]  Paul W. Cleary,et al.  Comparison of DEM and experiment for a scale model SAG mill , 2003 .

[38]  Jens Lichter,et al.  New developments in cone crusher performance optimization , 2009 .

[39]  Paul W. Cleary,et al.  Using DEM to model ore breakage within a pilot scale SAG mill , 2004 .

[40]  Paul W. Cleary,et al.  Analysis of stirred mill performance using DEM simulation: Part 1 -Media motion, energy consumption and collisional environment , 2006 .

[41]  Paul W. Cleary,et al.  Towards a virtual comminution machine , 2008 .

[42]  Paul W. Cleary,et al.  How well do discrete element granular flow models capture the essentials of mixing processes , 1998 .

[43]  Bahram Rezai,et al.  Use of rock mechanical properties to predict the Bond crushing index , 2007 .

[44]  Conrad Childs,et al.  The orientation and dilatancy of shear bands in a bonded particle model for rock , 2013 .

[45]  Paul W. Cleary,et al.  Prediction of 3D slurry flow within the grinding chamber and discharge from a pilot scale SAG mill , 2012 .

[46]  Manoj Khanal,et al.  Role of particle stiffness and inter-particle sliding friction in milling of particles , 2014 .

[47]  Paul W. Cleary,et al.  Novel application of DEM to modelling comminution processes , 2010 .

[48]  Daniel Legendre,et al.  Assessing the energy efficiency of a jaw crusher , 2014 .

[49]  Alexander V. Potapov,et al.  Making a Discrete Grain Breakage model practical for comminution equipment performance simulation , 2004 .

[50]  Malcolm Powell,et al.  DEM modelling of liner evolution and its influence on grinding rate in ball mills , 2011 .

[51]  Brahmeshwar Mishra,et al.  Simulation of charge motion in ball mills. Part 1: experimental verifications , 1994 .

[52]  N. Djordjevic.  Discrete element modelling of the influence of lifters on power draw of tumbling mills , 2003 .

[53]  P. Cundall,et al.  A bonded-particle model for rock , 2004 .

[54]  Buddhima Indraratna,et al.  Effect of particle breakage on cyclic densification of ballast: A DEM approach , 2010 .

[55]  Thomas Plochberger,et al.  Development of an Energy Optimized Stirred Media Grinding Mill , 2014, BHM Berg- und Hüttenmännische Monatshefte.

[56]  Alexander V. Potapov,et al.  a Three-Dimensional Simulation of Brittle Solid Fracture , 1996 .

[57]  Paul W. Cleary,et al.  An investigation of the comparative behaviour of alternative contact force models during elastic collisions , 2011 .

[58]  Bahram Rezai,et al.  Discrete element modeling for predicting breakage behavior and fracture energy of a single particle in a jaw crusher , 2010 .

[59]  D. N. Whittles,et al.  Laboratory and numerical investigation into the characteristics of rock fragmentation , 2006 .

[60]  B. Indraratna,et al.  Experimental and Numerical Study of Railway Ballast Behavior under Cyclic Loading , 2010 .

[61]  Alexander V. Potapov,et al.  Computer simulation of impact-induced particle breakage , 1994 .

[62]  P. P. Rosario,et al.  Liner wear and performance investigation of primary gyratory crushers , 2004 .