Using Discrete Element Method to Analyse the Drop Ball Test

The drop ball test (DBT) is a common quality control procedure used in many grinding media manufacturing units to evaluate the quality of manufactured balls. Whilst DBTs have provided reasonable data over many years, the quantitative comparison of the energy that the balls are subjected to during the DBT and in high-impact loading environments such as semi-autogenous grinding (SAG) mills remains a grey area. To that end, DBT experiments were conducted, and the discrete element method (DEM) was used to assess the grinding media collision behaviour and the extent of ball impact loading to determine the impact energy spectra of the ball collisions. The impact energy spectra data obtained were used to quantify the energy that the grinding balls are exposed to in the DBT environment. The results showed that larger balls were exposed to relatively higher energy levels and had a higher probability of fracture than smaller balls. Furthermore, early ball breakage in a grinding environment is mostly attributed to the existence of imperfections or pre-existing defaults within the ball, whilst continuous wear is a gradual consequence that deplete balls in the mill.