Investigating the effects of feeding properties on rock breakage by jaw crusher using response surface method and gene expression programming

Abstract

The present study investigates the effects of feeding properties on rock comminution by a laboratory-scale jaw crusher. For this purpose, detailed crushability tests were carried out on four different rock types to assess their degree of rock crushability (DRC). Various feeding sizes (9.5 – 19 mm) and quantities (500 – 1500 g) were adopted to reveal the choke feeding intensity during crushing actions. The efficiency of feeding properties was investigated through the response surface methodology (RSM). The RSM results demonstrated that the characterized feeding size (F80, mm) dominates the general size reduction, whereas the feeding quantity (mf, g) is associated with the crushing energy consumption and product flakiness. Therefore, the choke feeding intensity has a direct relation to the mf and F80. In addition, novel gene expression programming (GEP) models were employed to generate empirical formulations to predict the DRC parameters. The established GEP models have a satisfactory estimation capability. Therefore, the DRC of the investigated rocks can be optimized through the proposed GEP models based on the coupling variables of mf and F80.