Ways of size reduction

Four commonly used methods for size reduction: 1). Compression; 2). Impact; 3).
Attrition; 4). Cutting.

Principle of size reduction

Criteria for size reduction
An ideal crusher would (1) have a large capacity; (2) require a small power input per
unit of product; and (3) yield a product of the single size distribution desired.

Size reduction equipment

Size reduction equipment is divided into crushers, grinders, ultrafine grinders, and cutting
machines. Crusher do the heavy work of breaking large pieces of solid material into small lumps.
A primary crusher operates on run-of -mine material accepting anything that comes from mine
face and breaking it into 150 to 250 mm lumps.
A secondary crusher reduces these lumps into particles perhaps 6mm in size.
Grinders reduce crushed feed to powder. The product from an intermediate grinder might pass a
40-mesh screen.
Most of the product from a fine grinder would pass a 200-mesh screen with a 74 m opening.
An ultrafine grinder accepts feed particles no larger than 6mm and the product size is typically 1
to 5 m.

Cutters give particles of definite size and shape, 2 to 10mm in length.

The principal types of size-reduction machines are as follows:
A. Crushers (coarse and fine)
1. Jaw crushers
2. Gyratory crushers
3. Crushing rolls
B. Grinders (intermediate and fine)
1. Hammer mills; impactors
2. Rolling-compression mills
3. Attrition mills
4. Tumbling mills
C. Ultrafine grinders
1. Hammer mills with internal classification
2. Fluid-energy mills
3. Agitated mills
D. Cutting machines
1. Knife cutters; dicers; slitters

Criteria for size reduction

An ideal crusher would (1) have a large capacity; (2) require a small power input per unit of
product; and (3) yield a product of the single size distribution desired.

Energy and power requirements in size reduction

The cost of power is a major expense in crushing and grinding, so the factors that control this cost
are important.

Crushing efficiency
Crushing laws: Kicks law ,Rittingers and Bonds law
Kicks law: the work required for crushing a given mass of material is constant for the same
reduction ratio, that is the ratio of the initial particle size to the finial particle size

where Kk is Kicks coefficient.

Limitations of Kicks law

It is ridiculous to say that the energy required for reducing a 100 mm to 5o
mm will be same as that for reducing 1mm to 0.5 mm. In fact, higher amount
of energy is required for reducing fine particles to still finer than for breaking
large pieces of rocks.
Kicks law can be applied without much serious error to coarse crushing.
A more accurate law has been proposed by Rittinger

Rittingers law-work required for size reduction is directly

proportional to the new surface created.
E / M = KR (Sp SF)
Sp, SF = specific surfaces of product and feed
KR = Rittingers constant
The reciprocal of KR is called Rittingers number.
Thus E / M = (Sp SF) / (Rittingers number)
Rittingers number-designates the new surface created per unit
mechanical energy absorbed by the material being crushed. Its
value is determined by drop weight test.
Drop weight test-a standard weight, m is allowed to fall freely
on a given mass of feed from a given height h. The specific surface
of crushed product and that of feed are determined. Energy input =

mgh * no of falls of the weight, the value of Rittingers number can

be computed from equation {E / M = (Sp SF) / (Rittingers
number)}.
Another form is
E 6K R

M
s

1
1

Dvs , P Dvs .F

sp

6
Dvs

this is obtained by substituting

( sP is specific
surface or surface area per unit mass
6
sp
Dvs
(derivation is shown below)

where Dvs,p & Dvs,F are the sauter diameter (or volume surface
diameter) of product and feed respectively.

Or

1
E
1
K 'R

M
Dvs , P Dvs.F

Where KR = (6 KR / s)

Dvs = Sauter diameter is defined as the diameter of a spherical

particle having same specific surface (surface area per unit volume)
as the particle under consideration.

(surface area per unit volume)

D
4 vs
2
s'P
4 Dvs

3 2

Dvs 2
6

3
Dvs
Dvs
6

(surface area per unit mass) sP =

6
Dvs s

specific surface ratio n = surface area per unit mass of the particle /
specific surface of a spherical particle of the same diameter. Let avg
size of the particle be davg.

sp
6 / s d avg
sp

6n
s d avg

In a mixture of particles when separated into a number of fractions,

each fraction consisting of a given size davg i

Let mi designate the total mass of ith fraction

surface area of ith fraction si=

6 ni mi
s d avg i

specific surface of the mixture of particles

sP =

6n1 m1
6n 2 m2

.....
s d avg 1 M s d avg 2 M

or sP = (6/s)

ni x i
d
avg i

ni x i
d
Dvs 1 /
avg i

where xi is mass fraction of ith species

{ since sP =

6
}
Dvs s

It is to be noted that Rittingers law does not account for the

mechanical losses (due to friction and inertia) in the comminution
equipment.

The energy efficiency of a crushing equipment can be defined in two

ways.

Overall energy efficiency = (Energy required to create new surface)

(Total energy supplied)
Theoritical effectiveness = (Energy required to create new surface)
Energy supplied - that required to run empty
mill)

Rittingers law is best applicable to coarse and intermediate size

reduction

Bond crushing law and work index

The work required to form particles of size Dp from very large feed is proportional to the square
root of the surface-to-volume ratio of the product, sp/vp.
By relation Sp/Vp = 6/sDp, from which it follows that

where Kb is a constant that depends on the type of machine and on the material being crushed.
The work index, wi, is defined as the gross energy required in KWH per ton of feed to reduce a
very large feed to such a size that 80% of the product passes a 100 m screen. If Dp is in
millimetres, P in KW, and
in tons per hour, then

If 80% of the feed passes a mesh size of Dpa millimetres and 80% of the product a mesh of Dpb
mm, it follows that

Example: What is the power required to crush 100 ton/h of limestone if 80% of the feed pass a
2-in screen and 80% of the product a 1/8 in screen? The work index for limestone is 12.74.
Solution:

=100 ton/h, wi =12.74, Dpa =2 25.4=50.8 mm, Dpb =25.4/8=3.175 mm