Scale-Up Problems With Large Ball Mills

Abstract

Analysis of ball and pulp flow in ball mills indicates that three factors may become critical with increasing mill diameters: ball size, fraction critical speed, and average pulp flow velocities. Ball diameters may need to be decreased and fraction critical speeds increased with ores which show decreased breakage rate coefficients above 1.2 mm (14 mesh). With 5.5-m (18-ft) and larger mills at higher circulating loads, pulp flow velocities may become capacity limiting and also may limit increases in ball mill diameters.