SIZE REDUCTION

8
th
Edition

Section 21
Pages 21-8 to 21-11
Pages 21-45 to 21-73

7
th
Edition

Section 20
Pages 20-5 to 20-7
Pages 20-10 to 20-56
Involves the production of smaller mass units
from larger mass units of the same material.
Application of pressure on the larger solids is
required to cause a fracture to take place.
Fracture can be caused by compressive loads
because of the irregularity of the orientation
of crystals of the solid matter. Equipment for
size reduction uses compression or shear or
both as the disrupting force.

1. Particle Size and Shape
Volume of any particle (any shape),
Surface area of any particle,

where: arbitrarily chosen characteristic
dimension of any particle
a & b = geometric constants (dependent on the
shape of the particle)
where: shape factor
(independent of size)
Sphericity,

For spheres and cubes 1.0 and us = 1.0
aDp Vp =
2
6 Dp b Sp =
Dp =
6
6
2
3
Dp
bDp
aDp
Sp
Vp
= =
=

a
b
=

1
= u
s
=
2. Specific Surface and Number of Particles in a Mixture
For uniform particles of mass m:

where: mass of particles
density of particles
For a single particle:


Number of Particles:


Total Surface Area

p
m
volume

=
= m
=
p

3
aDp Vp =
3
p
p
aD
p m
N =
( )
2
3
6
p
p
p
p
bD
aD
m
NS A
|
|
.
|

\
|
= =

Dp
m
A
p

6
=
Specific Surface of a Mixture, , ft2/lb mixture

1. Based on Differential Screen Analysis




2. Based on Cumulative Screen Analysis

Aw
(

A
+ +
A
+
A
=
n
n
p
Dp Dp Dp
Aw
| | |

.......
6
2
2
1
1
}
=
1
0
6
Dp
d
Aw
p
|

Number of Particles in Mixture,

1. Based on Differential Screen Analysis



2. Based on Cumulative Screen Analysis
Nw

A
=
N
n
n
p
Dp
a
Nw
1
3
1 |

}
=
1
0 3
1
Dp
d
a
Nw
p
|

3. Average Particle Size

a. Volume-surface mean diameter



b. Arithmetic Mean Diameter


c. Mass-means diameter
p
v
Aw
D
s

6
=
Nw
dN Dp
D
Nw
N
}
=
0

}
=
1
0
| Dpd D
w
4. Particle Size Distribution in Comminuted
Products
For particles too fine to sieve accurately:

This equation is used to
extrapolate screen analysis data
Integrating and simplifying,
equation of a
straight line
a. evaluate the value of (k+1) m (slope)
b. evaluate the value of B y intercept
k
p
p
BD
dD
d
=
|
( ) ' log log 1 log
1
B n Dp k
n
+ + = A|
1. Rittingers Law which states that the work required in
crushing is proportional to the new surface created.


where: P = theoretical power
T = flow rate of the feed
= specific surface area of product
= specific surface area of feed
N = Rittingers No. new surface
produced per unit of mechanical
energy absorbed by the material
being crushed.
N
Aw Aw
T
P
a b

=
b
Aw
a
Aw
2. Bonds Crushing Law which states that 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.




where: K = constant which depends on type of
machine & material

k k
Dp Vp
Sp
T
P 6
= =
|
.
|

\
|
=
|
.
|

\
|
=
1 2
1 2
1 1
3162 0
1 1
46 1
X X
Ei .
T
P
X X
Ei .
T
P
ft in X & X h/ton; - kW in Ei
n in tons/mi T Hp; in P
2 1
mm in X & X h/ton; - kW in Ei
in tons/hr T kW; in P
2 1
3. Kicks Law states that energy required for
crushing is proportional to the leg of the
initial and final diameters.





where: = size reduction ratio

b
a
Dp
Dp
k
T
P
log =
b
a
Dp
Dp
In order to achieve successful size reduction,
every lump or particle must be broken down
by contact with other particles or with the
moving parts of the machine. However, as
the average particle size decreases, the
number of particles increases therefore
requiring more contacts for unit mass. Hence
a solid has to undergo stages of size
reduction.
Size range of feed is 1.5 in. to 96 m. in diameter
or larger.
1. Jaw Crusher
consists of a swinging jaw which moves back and
forth, working against a stationary surface called
the anvil jaw, with which it forms a V-shape
chamber. It is wide at the top and narrow at the
bottom, where the crushing takes place. Jaws are
lined with tough abrasion resistant material such as
manganese.
employs a compressive force


a. Dodge Type Jaw Crusher
- swinging jaw pivoted at the bottom
- made of smaller size
- less wide use because of its tendency to choke
b. Blake Type Jaw Crusher
- swinging jaw is pivoted at the top
- toggle plates in the driving mechanism is relatively
weak so that if any large stress is set up , it will just break
- crushing faces are either manganese steel or chilled
cast iron.
- more commonly used than the Dodge type


- employs a crushing head in the frame of truncated core,
mounted on a shaft
- employs a compressive force
- the crushing action takes place around the whole of the
core
- power consumption is lower
- it has a large capacity per unit area of grinding surface
- suitable only where large quantities of material are to
be handled because of its high cost
with openings of 4 in. to 2 ft. can be determined by
the Taggart Formula: T = 0.6 LS
where: T = capacity (tons/hr)
L = length of feed opening (in)
for: jaw crushers (L) = normal to gape gyratory
(L) = perimeter of the circle
S = greatest width of discharge
opening
About the same, but the gyratory load is
somewhat more uniform since its crushing is
continuous whereas jaw crusher works
intermittently.
Taggarts Rule states that if the hourly tonnage
to be crushed divided by the square of the
gape in inches is less than 0.115, use a jaw
crusher; otherwise, a gyratory.
For soft materials like coal, gypsum, some types of
limestone, ice, fire clay and shales.
1. Bradford breaker for coal
- combines the two features of breaking and
screening
- the coal enters through the chute at the far end, is
lifted, falls and is broken by the impact as the cylinder is
rotated perforations into the chute below;
- rocks and refuse are plowed out
2. Toothed roll crusher
- breaking by pressure of the teeth against the larger
lumps of the material
3. Hammer Mill
- the hammer deliver heavy blows to the feed material while it is
in suspension, driving it against a breaker plate until it is fine
enough to pass through the openings
4. Squirrel-cage disintegrator
- for fibrous materials such as wood blocks and asbestos
- two concentric cages rotate in opposite direction
- the feed is introduced into the inner cage
- centrifugal force drives the material into the spaces between
the rotating cages where it is torn apart
This class covers machines that will take indefinitely
coarse feeds or produce materials that will pass
through 200 mesh screen
1. Crushing Rolls
- Two rolls, one in adjustable bearings, rotate in
opposite directions. The clearance between them can
be adjusted according to the size of feed and the
required size of product. The machine is protected by
spring loading against damage from very hard
material. Materials to be crushed is fed from above
and is discharged from beneath the rolls.

2.Cone Crushers
- Consists of a conical crushing head similar to that of the
gyratory crusher. Operation is also similar to the latter. However
what is different about the cone crusher is that the outer
stationary crushing plate flares outward to provide increasing
area of discharge so that the machine can quickly clear itself of
the reduced product. This stationary crushing plate is held in
position by a nest of heavy helical tension springs so that when
tramp iron or other uncrushable objects enter the crushing zone,
the plate is lifted preventing fracture of plate and injury to the
machine.

3. Edge Runners
- The only commonly used crusher of this general type
is the one in which the pan rotates and the horizontal
axis of the grinding wheels is stationary.
- This machine is widely used in the clay industry, but
little anywhere else and is usually known as dry pan or
wet pan according to whether the clay is crushed with
or without the addition of water.
- This is not suited for hard rock crushing

Size reduction in the finer ranges is usually termed
fine grinding. This is due to the fact that most of the
older devices used for reduction in this range
consisted of two parts, a stationary surface and a
surface rubbed against the stationary surface. Such
machines causes size reduction mainly by the
application of shear loads. However more recent
devices in fine size reduction, such as ball mills,
depend more on impact than on shearing forces.
1. Pebble Mill
- Is a steel cylinder lying on its side and rotated
about its long axis and containing an
appropriate grinding medium. The material is
introduced through a manhole in the center of
the shell length after which the opening is
closed hermetically by a cover plate. The
discharge is through the same opening after
replacing the cover plate with a grate with wide
slots to hold back the balls.

2. Rod Mill
- Rod mills are similar to pebble mills and ball
mills except that the grinding media are steel
rods rather than balls. The rods are always
longer than the diameter of the mills and
therefore lie in the mill parallel to the axis. As
the mill turns, the rods drop on to lower ones,
reducing the charge partly by impact and
partly by grinding.

3. Ball Mills
- consists of a horizontal cylinder whose diameter is roughly equal to its
length, lined with heavy liner plates. The feed end consists of a helical
feed scoop which lifts feed into the spiral feed liner from which it enters
the mill. The load of the balls, the speed of revolution, the size of the balls
and the rate of feed are all factors that are controlled so that the
discharge leaving the discharge screen and the discharge funnel is of the
desired size. The discharge screen is a coarse-mesh screen, not to screen
out particles that have not been ground to the correct size but to keep
back the any of the balls that may have entered the discharge end of the
mill. The mill is rotated by the gear. The mill in operation will contain balls
of various sizes. They are not put in various sizes but, since the balls are
being continually worn away by attrition, new balls must be supplied from
time to time.

The rate of rotation of ball mills should be less
than the speed at which the charge is held
against the inside surface by centrifugal force,
since no size reduction will take place unless
the balls fall upon the material to be crushed.
At low speeds where the balls simply roll over
each other and are not carried up and dropped,
only the smallest particles are affected. The
critical rate at sea level may be ascertained
from the expression:




where: N = revolution per minute
D = diameter of the mill (ft)
d = average diameter of the balls (ft)
At low speeds where the contents are simply tumbled
or rolled over, the power required to drive the mill
varies directly with the speed of rotation.

d D
N

=
65 . 76
Depends on the reduction ratio as well as on
the hardness of the material, and it cannot
accurately be calculated
The normal capacity of cylindrical ball mills in
tons per 24 hours may be estimated as
Capacity volume of mill (cu. ft)/20C where C
varies from 1 to 2