Simulation of the comminution process in a high-speed rotor mill based on the feed’s macroscopic material data

Abstract

In this paper, we present a method that allows for the quick and efficient simulation of the comminution process in high-speed rotor mills. The method requires only the feed’s macroscopic material data and the geometry of the machine. Consisting of two stages, the method couples Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) with the Discrete Element Method (DEM) to obtain the collisional velocities and angles of a representative group of particles passing through the machine. Due to this coupling, any mill which relies on fluid forces acting on the ore particles can be simulated. After obtaining these values, the second stage commences wherein a single ore particle consisting of DEM elements collides against a rigid surface. The data obtained from this stage is then used to determine the minimum required working parameters of the chosen machine to achieve proper ore comminution. The proposed methodology was applied to analyse the novel concept of using beater mills for the comminution of copper ore.