Abstract
Motion of balls during planetary ball milling was simulated with a DEM (Discrete Element Method) in order to predict the power consumption during the milling. Grinding experiment of gibbsite powder was conducted to assess the validity of the prediction method of the power consumption by DEM simulation and to investigate the correlation between the power consumption and the grinding rate constant. The calculated power consumption agreed well with the experimental one for various grinding conditions, such as various ball diameters, ball densities and ball filling ratios. The grinding rate constant is found to be correlated with the calculated power consumption.
