DEM modelling of liner evolution and its influence on grinding rate in ball mills

作者：Powell M S^*; Weerasekara N S; Cole S; LaRoche R D; Favier J

来源：Minerals Engineering, 2011, 24(3-4): 341-351.

DOI：10.1016/j.mineng.2010.12.012

• DEM
• Grinding mills
• Liner wear modelling

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.

• 出版日期2011-3