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

Attrition; 4). Cutting.

3.1 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.
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.
3.2 Crushing efficiency
3.2.1 Empirical relationships: Rittingers and Kicks law
The work required in crushing is proportional to the new surface created. This is
equivalent to the statement that the crushing efficiency is constant and, for a giving
machine and material, is independent of the sizes of feed and product. If the
sphericities
a
(before size reduction) and
b
(after size reduction) are equal and the
machine efficiency is constant, theRittingers law can be written as

where P is the power required, is the feed rate to crusher, is the average
particle diameter before crushing, is the average particle diameter after crushing,
and K
r
is Rittingers coefficient.
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 K
k
is Kicks coefficient.
3.2.2 Bond crushing law and work index
The work required to form particles of size D
p
from very large feed is proportional to
the square root of the surface-to-volume ratio of the product, s
p
/v
p
. Since
s
= 6/D
p
, it
follows that

where K
b
is a constant that depends on the type of machine and on the material being
crushed.
The work index, w
i
, 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 D
p
is in millimetres, P in KW, and in tons per hour, then

If 80% of the feed passes a mesh size of D
pa
millimetres and 80% of the product a
mesh of D
pb
millimetres, 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, w
i
=12.74, D
pa
=2 25.4=50.8 mm, D
pb
=25.4/8=3.175 mm

3.3 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