Grinding Course

Ball Charge Design

Methods
Ball Charge Design Methods
• Polysius for Finish Mills
 A formula that covers the entire mill as though it is a

single compartment mill.

• Slegten For Finish Mills

 Rules for 1st Compartment and “Transition Zone”

 Formula for Remainder of 2nd Compartment

Polysius Ball Charge for Finish Mills

D   96 e  . 13x 

D = Ball Diameter , mm

X = Distance From Feed End of Mill, m

 Polysius Ball Charge Design

110.00
100.00
90.00
80.00
Ball Diameter, mm

70.00
60.00
50.00
40.00
30.00
20.00
10.00
0.00
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
Distance From Feed End of Mill, m
Ball Sizes

Ball Dia.,mm Ball Dia, inch approx std size, inch

90 3.54 3.5
80 3.15 3
70 2.76 2.75
60 2.36 2.5
50 1.97 2
40 1.57 1.5
30 1.18 1.25
25 0.98 1
20 0.79 0.75
16 0.63 0.625
 Example of Polysius Ball Charge
Bulk Density,
Ball Dia, in Mill Length,m % by Vol kg/m3 % by wt.

3.5 1 25.00 4500 25.00

3 1 25.00 4500 25.00

2.75 1 25.00 4500 25.00

2.5 1 25.00 4500 25.00

Total C1 4 100.00   100.00

Partition 0.5      

2 2 21.05 4718 20.52

1.5 1.5 15.79 4788 15.62

1.25 3 31.58 4832 31.53

1 0 0.00 4886 0.00

0.75 3 31.58 4955 32.33

0.625 0 0.00 4999 0.00

Total C2 9.5 100.00   100.00

Slegten Ball Charge For Finish Mills
• Use 90 mm Balls for 20% (by • Fill Remainder of 2nd
wt.) of 1st Compartment Compartment According to:
Charge.

• Use Same number (“n”) of

80,70, and 60 mm Balls for D   33 e  .1x 
Remainder of 1st Compartment
Charge.
• D = Ball Dia., mm
• Use “n” number of 50 and 40
mm Balls in 2nd Compartment.
(Transition Zone) • X = Distance from Transition
Zone, m
 Slegten FM Ball Charge Design For Fine
Grinding Zone
y = 33e -0.1x
35
30
25
Ball Dia., mm

20
15
10
5
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Distance From End Of Transition Zone, m
 Compartment 1 - Polysius vs Slegten

Ball Charge Comparison,1st Compartment, 4m Dia by 4

m Length

40.0
Compartment
Charge Mass

30.0
% of 1st

Polysius
20.0
Slegten
10.0
0.0
3.5 3 2.75 2.5
Ball Sizes, inch
Compartment 2 - Polysius vs Slegten
Ball Charge Comparison, 2nd Compartment, 4m Dia. By
9.5 m Length

40.00
Compartment
Charge Mass

30.00
% of 2nd

Polysius
20.00
Slegten
10.00
0.00
2 1.5 1.25 1 .75 .625
Ball Size, inch
Slegten vs Polysius
Comparison of Slegton and Polysius Ball Charges

4
3.5
Ball diameter, Inch

3
2.5
Slegten
2
1.5 Polysius
1
0.5
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
Distance From Mill Feed End, m