An Investigation of Charge Shape and Mill Speed on Power Draw in Tumbling Mills

Power draw estimation plays a vital role in sizing, control and optimization of grinding mills. As a result, power draw is considered to be one of the key control parameters in grinding circuits. Most of the equations presented to determine the power draw make use of the torque created by the charge inside the mill. In this research, effect of filling, mill speed, and liner shape on power draw were studied using a 1-m diameter laboratory mill, considering the amount of free flight materials with varying torque arm. The amount of inflight material and mill charge were calculated by image analysis of pictures taken from the transparent end of the mill during operation. The center of mass and the length of torque arm were calculated using Solidworks© software. Results indicated that for 45% filling, due to a reduction in the amount of materials in contact with mill shell, the maximum inflight material was obtained at speed of 100% (relative to the critical speed); whereas, for 15% filling this occurred at speed of 85%. Furthermore, the maximum torque arm for 15% filling was observed when mill speed was 45%; in case of 45% filling, the same obtained at a speed close to 80%. The power draw for a new and a worn liner (5184 h of operation) in Sarcheshmeh copper concentrator were compared. It was observed that at all mill speeds, the mill power draws for worn liners were higher than that of the new liners. For example, for 25% filling and 70% mill speed, the power draw of the worn liner was 10% higher than the new liner.