Abstract
A method for simulating ball motion in tumbling ball milling under wet condition has been proposed. The simulation method used in this work was the three-dimensional Discrete Element Method (DEM) and it was taken into account the effect of the presence of suspension, i.e., drag force and buoyancy. The impact energy on balls' collision, which provides useful information for predicting the grinding rate, was calculated from the simulation work. The actual ball motion in the suspension during milling was observed through a transparent mill lid made of acrylic acid resin under different solid concentrations of slurry. The grinding test of the gibbsite sample using laboratory-scale tumbling ball mill made of stainless steel was conducted, and the grinding rate was determined by measuring 50% particle size of the ground product. The specific impact energy of ball per unit time calculated from the simulation work correlates well with the grinding rate of the sample, irrespective of the grinding conditions, so that the impact energy is a key factor for controlling the grinding phenomena in wet tumbling ball milling.
