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Abstract
The PFC3D (particle flow code) that models the movement and interaction of particles by the DEM techniques was employed to
simulate the particle movement and to calculate the velocity and energy distribution of collision in two types of impact crusher: the
Canica vertical shaft crusher and the BJD horizontal shaft swing hammer mill. The distribution of collision energies was then
converted into a product size distribution for a particular ore type using JKMRC impact breakage test data. Experimental data of
the Canica VSI crusher treating quarry and the BJD hammer mill treating coal were used to verify the DEM simulation results.
Upon the DEM procedures being validated, a detailed simulation study was conducted to investigate the effects of the machine
design and operational conditions on velocity and energy distributions of collision inside the milling chamber and on the particle
breakage behaviour.
Ó 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
to have an elongated shape. This was in agreement with crusher was employed to treat quartzite. The rotational
experimental results. Thornton et al. (1996) reported speeds of the crusher varied from 650 to 950 rpm in the
about 2D DEM of agglomerates impacting the rigid experiment at an average throughput of 102 tph.
walls. Depending on the impact velocity and adhesive The BJD swing hammer mill is a pilot-scale hori-
strength between particles, three regimes were observed: zontal shaft impact crusher. The hammer tip diameter is
shattering, semi-brittle fracture and elastic rebound. 0.38 m, mill width 0.20 m, with a nominal capacity of 3
Mishra and Thornton (2001) have studied the impact tph when driven by a 5.6 kW motor. The rotor, rotating
breakage of particle agglomerates. They found a dis- at a fixed speed of 3000 rpm, carries four rows of rect-
tinct fracture pattern for dense agglomerates above angular hammers with a width 0.03 m, two rows of three
a threshold impact velocity. The produced fragment hammers and two rows of two hammers. The BJD
size distributions showed a clear bi-modal distribu- hammer mill was employed to treat coal.
tion. However, application of the DEM to the impact The Canica vertical shaft impact crusher is repre-
crushers was rare in the literature. sented by a cylindrical chamber and five rotating im-
Over years the Julius Kruttschnitt Mineral Research pellers in the DEM simulations (Fig. 1). Feed comes
Centre (JKMRC) has successfully modelled two types of from 1 m above in the form of free falling particles. The
impact crushers: the vertical shaft impact crusher (Na- code is designed to perform modelling in 3D. Similarly,
pier-Munn et al., 1996) and the horizontal shaft swing the model for the BJD horizontal shaft hammer mill is
hammer mill (Shi, 2002; Shi et al., 2003). In the present given in Fig. 2. For simplicity in the DEM calculation
work the PFC3D (particle flow code) that models the code, the double-shaft swing hammers were simplified as
movement and interaction of particles by DEM tech- single-shaft rigid hammers.
niques was employed to model the two types of impact For the Canica vertical impact crusher, test data at
crusher. Modelling of fragmentation has also been at- 950 rpm was used. The feed ()75 mm +2.36 mm) was
tempted using a strain rate concept. The data collected converted to the distribution of number of particles in
from a Canica crusher treating quartzite and a BJD each size fraction. A total of 341 particles were simu-
swing hammer mill treating coal were used to verify the lated. The fine end of the feed ()2.36 mm) was truncated
DEM simulation results of specific energy and fragment as there were more than 8000 particles in this size frac-
size distribution. tion, which takes a very long computing time. The
Upon the DEM procedures being validated, a detailed truncated )2.36 mm material (4% by weight of the total
simulation study was conducted to investigate the effects feed) was added into the DEM simulation product for
of the machine design and operational conditions on comparison with the measured data. For the BJD hori-
velocity and energy distributions of collision inside the zontal shaft crusher, on the other hand, the data from the
milling chamber and on the particle breakage behaviour. test of single lithotype coal (the dull coal) of narrowly
100.0
80.0
BJD product BJD feed
Cum. % passing
60.0
40.0
Canica product
Canica feed
20.0
0.0
0.1 1 10 100
Size (mm)
sized feed (8–16 mm) was used. 340 particles of same size coarser size fractions (>2 mm), but over-predicts fines.
(11.3 mm) were simulated using the PFC3D code. This may be attributed to the over-simplified one-shaft
The DEM modelling calculates the total cumulative configuration of hammers used in the DEM, while the
energy applied to each particle, including various forms BJD mill operates with double-shaft swing hammers.
of energy due to collisions between impellers and par- Nevertheless, the DEM predictions seem to follow
ticles, particles and anvils, and particles to particles. The the general trends of the experimental data very well.
total specific energy for the Canica test at 950 rpm, de- This verifies that the DEM simulations can provide
termined through PFC3D modelling, is 0.43 kW h/t, reasonable insight of the impact crusher performance. A
compared with 0.32 kW h/t kinetic energy determined number of simulations regarding the effects of machine
from the impeller tip velocity. For the BJD horizontal design and operational conditions on the impact crusher
hammer mill, the total specific energy determined by were then conducted.
DEM is 0.23 kW h/t. This is very close to the model
parameter Ecs ¼ 0:21 kW h/t fitted to the BJD hammer
mill experimental data (Shi et al., 2003). 3. Descriptions of particle kinematics by DEM simula-
The fragmented product size distributions were then tions
determined from the specific energy using a relationship
established from the single particle impact breakage test The impact crushers usually operate at very high ro-
(Napier-Munn et al., 1996). A crusher model imple- tational speed (1000 rpm for the vertical shaft crusher
mented in the JKSimMet software was employed to es- and 3000 rpm for the horizontal shaft hammer mill in
timate the product size distribution from the total energy this study). Dynamic motion of particles inside the
determined by the DEM. The crusher K-parameters crushing chamber and the interaction between the
were kept constant as determined from the previous crushing element and the particles exerts a dominant
model fitting. The predicted size distributions were influence on product size distribution. However, such
compared with the experimental data, given in Fig. 3. knowledge is rare in the literature. Although high-speed
For the Canica vertical shaft impact crusher, the cine camera study on the motion of coal particles inside
DEM prediction of product size is in good agreement the BJD hammer mill was attempted by researchers (e.g.
with the experimental data at a size range coarser than Callcott, 1960), it was difficult to determine the impact
10 mm, but over-predicts for fine product. This may be energy quantitatively. DEM simulations provide a
due to the fact that more than 8000 particles smaller suitable tool to establish the particle kinematics and the
than 2.36 mm were removed from the DEM simulation. energy distribution patterns.
Although this fraction of materials only account for 4%
by weight in the feed, the cushion effect of these particles 3.1. Specific energy in relation to particle size
on the collision energy may be significant. Thus the total
cumulative specific energy should be smaller than the Investigation was conducted of the effect of particle
one presented in this work. Similarly, the DEM pre- size on the intensity of the introduced energy and the
diction for the BJD horizontal shaft crusher is good at nature of the energy split for various rotational speeds
986 N. Djordjevic et al. / Minerals Engineering 16 (2003) 983–991
0.5 0.5
0.3 0.3
0.2 0.2
0.1 0.1
0 0
0 20 40 60 80 0 20 40 60 80
Particle diameter (mm) Particle diameter (mm)
650 rpm 850 rpm 950 rpm 650 rpm 850 rpm 950 rpm
(a) (b)
Fig. 4. Specific energy as a function of particle size and speed of the crusher. (a) kinetic energy, (b) strain energy.
3.2. Specific energy in relation to feed position DEM is a suitable tool for investigation of the par-
ticle motion after initial impact, particularly in gaining
The effect of particles feeding position to the vertical insight into the particle motion when interception of the
shaft impact crusher was investigated numerically for particle by the impeller occurs away from the impeller
the case of 40 mm-diameter particles in the crusher with tip. Simulations were performed in the vertical shaft
impellers rotating at a speed of 650 rpm. The energy impact crusher using a cube composed from a number
introduced to the particles is a function of the position of rigid balls bonded together to represent a rock sam-
along the impeller where contact with the particle oc- ple. The strength of the sample was kept constant, while
curs. Radial velocity of the specific point along the im- the impeller varied.
peller is determined by the angular velocity of the Fig. 6 shows that at low rotational speeds the rock
impeller and the distance from the rotation centre. In just bounces on the surface of the impeller, while at
order to minimise the rolling effect of the particles, the higher speeds some breakage occurs due to the initial
friction coefficient between particles and crusher sur- impact.
faces were increased to a high value. This may be re- Fig. 7 shows the breakage process for the samples
flected to the effect of irregular particle shape of natural built from 5 and 2.5 mm-radius balls respectively. As-
rock material, which often has a relatively high effective suming that bond strength between individual balls re-
coefficient of friction. Results show that both specific mains the same, a decrease in the ball size (grain size in
kinetic and strain energy increase as the impact point real life) would produce a particle of higher strength.
becomes closer to the tip of the impeller (Fig. 5). Fig. 7 demonstrates that the initial impact results in
N. Djordjevic et al. / Minerals Engineering 16 (2003) 983–991 987
Fig. 6. Collision of particles with impeller at various rotational speeds. (a) Sample remains intact after collision with impeller rotating at 100 rpm, (b)
sample remains intact after collision with impeller rotating at 500 rpm, (c) breakage occurs after collision with impeller rotating at 700 rpm.
Fig. 7. Breakage process of particles built from different grains at an impeller speed of 900 rpm. (a) Sample immediately after impeller impact (grain
radius ¼ 5 mm); (b) sample immediately after impeller impact (grain radius ¼ 2.5 mm); (c) sample immediately after impact to anvil (grain radius ¼ 5
mm); (d) sample immediately after impact to anvil (grain radius ¼ 2.5 mm).
breakage of particles close to the surface of the impeller. colliding with the impeller. This supports the assump-
The tensile strain causes the sample to split. The heavily tion that particles with smaller grain size have a higher
damaged sample slides along the surface of the impeller strength.
towards its tip. Comparing Fig. 7a with b, the particle It is interesting to observe that both large and small
with smaller grain size appear to be less damaged after fragments tend to migrate along the surface of the
988 N. Djordjevic et al. / Minerals Engineering 16 (2003) 983–991
impeller towards its tip. When they reach the tip, the from the centre of the crusher respectively. Rotational
fragments take-off with a maximum possible velocity rate of the impeller was kept constant (1000 rpm). Re-
towards the surrounding anvils of the crusher. The sultant (vector sum) velocity and total accumulative
dominant phase of fragmentation occurs when the par- specific energy of the cube are given in Figs. 8 and 9.
ticles hit the anvils. When particles are dropped close to the centre, the
impact velocity is not sufficient to cause fragmentation.
3.4. Energy distribution Particles are then translated and bounced along the
length of the impeller until they reach its tip. They are
In order to further investigate the effect of the inter- accelerated at the tip speed towards the crusher anvils.
cept position on the energy introduced into particles, a In such cases the initial fragmentation due to impact is
25 mm cube made from 125 balls was placed in the missed, but the secondary fragmentation due to impact
vertical shaft impact crusher at a distance of 5 and 45 cm on the surrounding anvils remains.
Fig. 8. Resultant velocities for the samples intercepted by the impeller at different positions. (a) Close to the centre of the crusher (5 cm away from
the centre), (b) close to the tip of the impeller (45 cm away from the centre).
Fig. 9. Accumulated specific energy for the samples intercepted by the impeller at different positions. (a) Close to the centre of the crusher (5 cm away
from the centre), (b) close to the tip of the impeller (45 cm away from the centre).
N. Djordjevic et al. / Minerals Engineering 16 (2003) 983–991 989
On the other hand, where the particle is intercepted the distance from the centre of rotation where impact
near the tip of impeller, the initial impact is sufficient occurs, described by the formula:
to fragment the sample. After the impact, the individ-
Vi ¼ Xd ð3Þ
ual grains are directed towards the crusher anvils
where further fragmentation occurs. However, the ini- where X is the angular velocity of the impeller (rad/s), d
tial fragmentation due to the impact of impeller is is the distance from the centre along the impeller where
dominant. Although the peak resultant velocity of the collision occurs (m).
ball intercepted near the impeller tip is slightly smaller Using this simple model, it can be shown that inten-
than that intercepted near the impeller centre (87.4 vs. sity of initial impact stress is determined by the rota-
89.8 m/s), the total accumulative specific energy intro- tional speed and distance from the centre of rotation
duced into the sample is about 23% higher (0.87 vs. 0.71 where collision occurs (Fig. 10).
kW h/t). Effect of the initial impact can be calculated based on
Fig. 9 also shows that the amount of energy intro- the theory of dynamic fragmentation developed by
duced into the particles rapidly increases when the Grady (1985). Based on energy considerations at high
sample hits the crusher anvils and becomes heavily strain rates, Grady developed a relationship for the
fragmented. Particularly there is a large increase in shear mean fragment size based on the induced strain rate and
energy. This occurs due to the large increase in the rock properties such as fracture toughness, density and
surface area of fragments that are sliding in contact with the propagation velocity of elastic waves, using the
the crusher anvils. The shear forces are a significant equation:
factor in producing fines. 2=3
4:472 Klc
D¼ ð4Þ
q V p Sr
4. Analytical modelling of rock fragmentation in impact where D is mean fragment size produced by the impact
crushers (m), Klc is fracture toughness (mode 1) of the rock
(Pa m0:5 ), q is rock density (kg/m3 ), Vp is propagation
An impact crusher fragments the rock by the dynamic velocity of the longitudinal elastic waves in the rock (m/
strain energy introduced into the feed by the impactor. s), Sr is the induced strain rate (1/s).
The process of dynamic fragmentation, by its nature, Grady’s model has been successfully applied in the
exploits the existence of flaws and micro-discontinuities. modelling of rock fragmentation induced by explosives.
Hence, product fragments tend to be of good quality The strain rate in the sample is defined as the difference
and shape. Specific fragmentation energy introduced in rock particle velocity at the point of impact and at the
into the rock is a function of the impacting velocity. The opposite, free end of the rock sample. The strain rate
initial impact velocity is a function of the rotational can be calculated from the rotational velocity of the
velocity of the crusher as well as the position along the impeller and the radial distance between the centre of
impeller, where falling feed becomes intercepted by the rotation and impact point:
rotating impellers.
For high velocity crushers, the initial collision is fre-
quently a significant cause of fragmentation. Any sub- 1800
sequent crushing only complements the crushing action d = 0.5 m
1600
of the impeller. The intensity of dynamic stress induced d = 0.1 m
by the impeller and by impact into the fixed surface can 1400
Induced stress (MPa)
Vpp1 Vpp2 25
Sr ¼ ð5Þ d = 0.3 m
L
20 d = 0.5 m
where Vpp1 and Vpp2 are particle peak velocities at the
100 100
1000 rpm
900 rpm
80 800 rpm 80
Cum. wt% passing
Cum. wt% passing
60 60
40 40
1000 rpm
20 20 900 rpm
800 rpm
0 0
0 10 20 30 40 0 10 20 30 40
(a) Fragment diameter (mm) (b) Fragment diameter (mm)
Fig. 12. Fragment size distributions created by different breakage mechanisms. (a) Impacted by the impellers, (b) impacted by the impellers and
crusher anvils.
N. Djordjevic et al. / Minerals Engineering 16 (2003) 983–991 991
The results show that DEM can be used to model the Inoue, T., Okaya, K., 1996. Grinding mechanism of centrifugal mills––
particle flow behaviour, energy utilisation and product a simulation study based on the discrete element method. Int. J.
Miner. Process. 44–45, 425–435.
size in the impact crushers, and thus assist in machine Mishra, B.K., 1991. Study of media mechanics in tumbling mills by the
and process design. discrete element method. PhD Thesis, The University of Utah.
Mishra, B.K., Murty, C.V.R., 2001. On the determination of contact
parameters for realistic DEM simulations of ball mills. Powder
Acknowledgements Technol. 115, 290–297.
Mishra, B.K., Rajamani, R.K., 1992. The discrete element method for
simulation of ball mills. Appl. Math. Modell. 16, 598–604.
The authors wish to acknowledge the assistance of Mishra, B.K., Rajamani, R.K., 1994. Simulation of charge motion in
Dr. Toni Kojovic in providing the breakage data that ball mills: Part 1. Experimental verifications. Int. J. Miner. Process.
were used for the Canica crusher modelling. The data of 40, 171–186.
the BJD hammer mill were from ACARP Project Mishra, B.K., Thornton, C., 2001. Impact breakage of particle
agglomerates. Int. J. Miner. Process. 61, 225–239.
C8057, for which the financial support from ACARP Morrison, R.D., Cleary, P.W., Valery, W., 2001. Comparing power
and BHP-Billiton Port Kembla steelworks is greatly and performance trends from DEM and JK modelling. SAG 2001,
appreciated. Useful discussions with Dr. Peter Cundall Department of Mining and Minerals Process Engineering, Univer-
of ITASCA are acknowledged. The work was funded by sity of British Columbia, Vancouver, pp. 284–300.
the JKMRC. Napier-Munn, T.J., Morrell, S., Morrison, R.D., Kojovic, T., 1996.
Mineral comminution circuits: their operation and optimisation.
ISBN 0 646 28861 x. Julius Kruttschnitt Mineral Research Centre,
Brisbane.
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