DEM modelling of liner evolution and its influence on grinding rate in ball mills
AUTHOR(S)
J. Favier, M.S. Powell, N.S. Weerasekara, R.D. LaRoche, S. Cole
PUBLISHER
Elsevier
SOURCE
Minerals Engineering
YEAR
ABSTRACT
Wear of grinding mill liners and lifters plays a major role in the overall efficiency and economics of mineral processing. Change in the shape of lifters as they wear has a significant influence on grinding efficiency, and the annual cost of maintenance and mill down-time depends on the life of both liners and lifters. The Discrete Element Method (DEM) is a computational method for simulating the dynamics of particle processes. This paper presents an analysis of 3D simulation of a grinding mill carried out using the EDEM software package customised to predict the rate of wear of lifter geometry and to enable progressive updating of worn lifter geometry profiles. A simplified breakage rate model is developed as a tool to correlate liner profile to mill performance.The combination of the prediction of liner profile and grinding rate shows promise to provide a powerful tool for advanced mill liner design – providing a means to balance liner life and mill performance over the life of the liner at the liner design stage.
KEYWORDS
dem, Grinding mills, Liner wear modelling