BALL MILL ABSTRACT: The influence of grinding conditions on the production of fine particles and the width of the

particle size distribution produced during ball mill grinding was investigated. The grinding experiments were carried with feed varying in size under dry and wet conditions keeping the rpm of ball mill and number of balls constant. The mass of undersize versus particle size of feed, product after dry grinding and product after wet grinding was plotted. It was observed that mass fraction of ground product increased under wet condition over dry condition. THEORY: The ball mill consists of a rotating hollow cylinder, partially filled with balls, with its axis either horizontal or at a small angle to the horizontal. The material to be ground may be fed in through a hollow trunnion at one end and the product leaves through a similar trunnion at the other end. The outlet is normally covered with a coarse screen to prevent the escape of the balls. The inner surface of the cylinder is usually lined with an abrasion-resistant material such as manganese steel, stoneware or rubber. Less wear takes place in rubber-lined mills, and the coefficient of friction between the balls and the cylinder is greater than with steel or stoneware linings. The balls are therefore carried further in contact with the cylinder and thus drop on to the feed from a greater height. The ball mill is used for the grinding of a wide range of materials, including coal, pigments, and feldspar for pottery and it copes with feed up to about 50 mm in size. The efficiency of grinding increases with the hold-up in the mill, until the voids between the balls is filled. Further increase in the quantity then lowers the efficiency. The balls are usually made of flint or steel and occupy between 30 and 50 per cent of the volume of the mill. Apparatus Required: Ball Mill, Sieve Shaker, Sieve, Mass Balance, Steel balls, Wash Bottle. Material Specification: Concrete material containing particle varying in size Procedure: 1. Sieve the feed using sieve of different mess number, effectively shake using shaker and plot (mass fraction * average particle size) of different mess number versus average particle size. 2. For dry grinding, take feed with steel balls inside the ball mill and grind for 5 minutes with fix rpm. 3. Remove the grinded product and sieve the product and plot the graph as in Step 1. 4. For wet grinding, take feed and mix it with water to form slurry and grind for 5 minutes with fix rpm.

5. Remove the grinded product and use wash bottle to remove the product stuck on the walls of mill. 6. Place the product in oven for 2 days after partial drying at room temperature. Sieve the product and plot the graph as in Step 1.

Observation: Total number of steel balls in grinding (same size): 100 Time for which feed is grinded: 5 mins Observation table of feed: mesh mass of no. underflow(gms) 0 992.2 10 282.3 22 89.7 30 125.4 60 48.9 72 262.8 Total mass=1801.3 mass fraction 0 0.550824405 0.156720147 0.049797369 0.069616388 0.02714706 0.145894632 1 screen size(mm) 12.9 6.35 1.8 0.63 0.5 0.25 0.22 average particle size(mm) 9.625 4.075 1.215 0.565 0.375 0.235 mass fraction * avg particle size 0 5.301684894 0.638634597 0.060503803 0.039333259 0.010180148 0.034285238 Avg particle size = 6.050336701 mm

Observation table for dry grinding product: mesh no. mass of mass fraction underflow(gms ) 0 0 144.4 0.28230694 25.5 0.049853372 8.7 0.017008798 32.4 0.063343109 27.4 0.053567937 273.1 0.533919844 Total 1 mass=511.5 screen size(mm) 12.9 6.35 1.8 0.63 0.5 0.25 0.22 average particle size(mm) mass fraction * avg particle size 0 2.717204301 0.203152493 0.020665689 0.035788856 0.020087977 0.125471163 Avg particle size = 2.996899316 mm

10 22 30 60 72

9.625 4.075 1.215 0.565 0.375 0.235

Observation table for wet grinding product: mesh no. mass of underflow(gms) 0 91.9 17.3 7.1 15.2 18.2 347 Total mass=496.7 mass fraction screen size(mm ) 12.9 6.35 1.8 0.63 0.5 0.25 0.22 average particle size(mm) mass fraction * avg particle size 0 1.780828468 0.14193175 0.017367626 0.017290115 0.013740689 0.164173545 Avg particle size =1.971158647 mm

10 22 30 60 72

0 0.18502114 0.034829877 0.014294343 0.030601973 0.036641836 0.698610831 1

9.625 4.075 1.215 0.565 0.375 0.235

Feed dry grinding product wet grinding product

mass fraction * avg particle size

0 0 2 4 6 8 10

Particle size in mm

Calculations: Taking case of dry grinding, mesh 22 Mesh 22 corresponding screen size: 0.63 mm

Mass of underflow of mesh 22: 8.7 gms Mass fraction: 0.017008798 Average particle size for underflow in mesh 22: (Screen Size of (mesh 10+mesh 22)/2) = (1.8+0.63)/2=1.215 mm Average particle size * mass fraction = 1.215*0.017=0.020 Overall Average particle size = (Average particle size * mass fraction)/ (mass fraction) = (2.717+0.203+0.020+0.035+0.020+0.125)/1 = 2.996 mm Result: Average product particle size after dry grinding: 2.996 mm Average product particle size after wet grinding: 1.971 mm Conclusion: In this experiment, we conducted batch grinding tests of concrete particles varying in size with a ball mill and studied the influence under dry and wet grinding on the fineness and the particle size distribution of the ground product. The conclusions obtained are summarized as follows: 1. The product size distribution produced by ball milling was minimal in wet grinding. Product fineness increase in wet condition. Average particle size in wet grinding is less than as in dry grinding keeping the RPM and number of steel balls constant during grinding. This proves that wet grinding has more efficiency than dry grinding. 2. Although the product size distribution produced in ball milling was minimal in wet grinding condition but it requires a lot of time for drying of product for sieving leading to disadvantage of wet condition in grinding. As in our experiment, 2 days of drying heating in oven was required after partial drying at room temperature. 3. Graph plotted from the data obtained from experiment shows that mass fraction of particle in feed in higher range of particle size reduces in dry and wet condition grinding. Result was drawn that mass fraction in lower ranger of particle size is as follows: Feed<dry ground product<wet ground product.