Powder

Technology,

34 (1983)

261

261 - 274

A Comparison of the Bond Method for Sizing Wet Tumbling

Size-Mass Balance Simulation Model
L. G_

AUSTIN

and K. BRAME

Department
of dlineraZ Engineering.
PA I6802
(U_S_A_)

(Received

Ball Mills with a

MineraZ

Processing

Section.

PcnnsyZrionia

State

Lbiuersity,

Cjniuersity

hrk.

March 11,1982)

SUMMARY

INTRODUCTION

A comparison is made of the results from a

ball mill model simulation with those of the
conventional
Bond ball mill design method,
for a material whose breakage characteristics
and Work Index have been determined_ In
order to perform
the simulation,
Zlormal
values were chosen for make-up feed size
distribution, mill residence time distribution,
ball mix, classifier behaviour, etc_ At high
flow rates through a mill (low reduction
ratio), it is necessary to allow for the reduction in breakage rates caused by over-filling of
the mill, using an empirical mass transfer relation: filling dfeed
rate_ By suitable choice
of the constant in this relation, it was found
possible to duplicate the variation of mill
capacity with feed size and product size (in
wet closedcircuit
grinding) predicted by the
Bond method_ The simulation model is then
used to predict the variation of performance
with design variables not included in the Bond
method.

The Bond method [I, 23 for sizing tumbling ball mills has been used successfully for
many years. On the other hand, a more
detaiied method of analysis of the grinding
process has been developed in recent years
[3 - 113, based on mathematical
models of
t.he process. This method of analysis has been
variously
called
the phenomenological
approach 131, the size-mass
balance 14, 121
method or the population
balance met.hod
[5]_ The objective of this paper is to analyze
the advantages and disadvantages of the two
methods, compare the predictions,
and show
how the advantageous
features of each
method can be combined.
The primary purpose of the Bond calculation is to predict the mill size and mill power
to give a desired capacity Q (t/h) from a wet
overflow ball mill in normal closed circuit
operated with a circulation ratio C = T,fQ of
2.5 (see Fig. 1). The input to t-he calculation
is the make-up feed size characterized by the

Make-Up

Feed

Mill Producr

Fig_ 1_ A grinding circuit with recycle of the *aarse stream to the mill feed. The symbols
of solid.
0032-5910/3310000-00001so3.00

represent mass flow rates

0 Elsevier Sequoia/Printed

in

The Netherlands

262

80%-passing size xo, the desired circuit

product size characterized by the SO%-passing
size ;rg, and an empirical grindability number
determined in a standard test: this number is
called the Bond Work Index Wit,,. The
primary purposes of the size-mass
balance
method are not, only to predict the mill size
but to show the influence of the feed size
distribution, the variation of the complete
product size distribution with operating
parameters, the influence of classification efficiency, etc_ The method essentially constructs
a complete simulation model for any circuit,
based on parameters measured in a small
laboratory mill and scale-up laws developed
by tests on small mills.

THE

BOND

METHOD

The standard method used in the U-S-A.

for sizing wet ball mills is that of Bond Cl, 23.
It requires a standard laboratory test on the
material to determine the Bond Work Inda,
using a special mill called the Bond test mill.
The material is first reduced to prepare a feed
of 100% < 6 U-S_ mesh and about 80% <
2000 Mm. 700 cm3 of this feed (tapped down
according to a standard procedure to give a
reproducible bulk density) is ground dry in a
standard cylindrical test mill of 12 in X 12 in
(305 mm X305 mm) with rounded comers,
run at a fixed speed of 70 rpm (85% of the
critical speed)_ The ball charge consists of a
specified number of balls ranging from l/2 to
l?& in in diameter (12.7 to 38 mm), with the
total ball load weighing 20.125 kg. The procedure involves grinding the charge for a short
time, sieving at a desired screen size to remove
the undersize, and replacing the weight of
undersize with an equivalent weight of
original feed. Thisnew mked feed is reground
and the process continued, using estimations
of a suitable grinding time (mill revolutions),
until a constant mass ratio of oversize to
undersize equal to 2.5 is achieved and the net
grams of undersize produced per mill revolution (denoted by GbP) becomes constant.
Screen analysis is performed on the undersize product. Then the Bond Work Index is
calculated, in kilowatt hours per ton, from
the formula

We,.,

= (110)(44
.

5)/ j ( p,O-= )(Gbp)OS2 X

1

(1)
where p1 is the opening of the classifying
screen used in the test; xgT is the 80%passing-size of the product in micrometers;
and #oT the SO%-size of the original feed,
which is near 2000 pm. The factor l-10
converts the original Bond Work Index in
kilowatt ho&s per short ton to kilowatt hours
per metric ton.
Bond correlated the results from the
laboratory mill with those from a wet overflow ball mill which was 8 ft (2-44 m) in
diameter, operated in closed circuit, with a
circulation ratio of 2.5. His tests showed that
the specific grinding energy E was empirically
related to the make-up feed and circuit
product sizes by

(-

- 1

E=WIy!&-g_

(2)

where the value of 10 is actuallypm.

E is the specific grinding energy (based on
shaft power) to grind from a make-up feed of
SO%-passing xo to a circuit product of 80%passing size xg, in kilowatt hours per ton.
Equation (1) converts the laboratory result
(c;bP) to a WI*, which is appropriate in eqn_
(2) for the 8 ft i-d. mill circuit,. For another
mill diameter, the scale-up relation is
WI = (WI-)(

D < 3.81 m

2.44/D)-*

D 2 3.81 m >

WZ = (W&,)(0.914)

(3)

The empirical Bond equation for shaft mill

power mP for this type of mill is given, in
kilowatts, by the equation
mP = 7.33 J&(1

0.9375)

P~LD*-~

(4)

where pb is the true density of the grinding

medium (tons per cubic meter), 9, is the fraction of critical speed, J is the fractional
volume of the mill filled by the ball bed
(based on a formal bed porosity of 0.4) and
L is the mill length (meters).
The mill power, desired mill capacity Q and
specific grinding energy E are related by
mP= QE

(5)

265

where Q is in tons per hour. Combining

03-5(L/o)PlJJ

0.937J2)

Q = 6.13
SW&es% -go
(

eqns. (2),
O-10,
2x

& -

-2

(3),

(4) and (5) gives

-)

D d 361

)
(6)

D3-3(L/D)pb(J

0.937J2)

@, I.

Q = 8.00
SWltest go
(
TABLE

-go

2;:;$c

>

D 2 3231 m

Correcting

factors for Bond sizing method

[$(pr

) is desired % less than pr at open circuit I : < = &!I$a&$~

Fineness of grind XQ

Low reduction

(ml

=G

70
60
50
40
30
20
15
10
5
3

1.00
1.02
1.05
1.19
1.17
1.32
1.47
l-77
2.67
3.87

Over-sized

feed: .$a = 1 + ($

ratio

>6
6
5
4
3
2.5
2.25
2.00
l-75
1.50

-7)

(2)

Open circuit

a(p,)

(%I

IxQ

1.00
l-03
1.04
l-05
1.08
1.11
1.14
1-20
l-33
1.9

( 4ooo~~l_l~~13~~~~~~~~

50
60
70
80
90
92
95
9s

1.035
1.05
1.10
l-20
1.10
1.46
1.57
l-70

1)

factor
c is the product
of a series of
empirical correcting factors to WI for different conditions
(see Table 1): (i) fineness of
grind; (ii) low reduction ratio; (iii) over-sized
feed; (iv) open circuit_ Figure 2 gives a typical
result of the calculation_

The

ADVANTAGES

AND

DISADVANTAGES

OF THE

BOND METHOD

-I
f

IOD

IO
GO k-PASSING

1000
SIZE

OF

PRODUCT.

IOOOD
Q.

Fig. 2. Prediction of Bond for mill of 3.8 m diameter

(L/D=
1_6,J=
0_35;&=
70%;&=
7-9 t/m31 for
~w?st = 10 kWhIton_

The method has two major engineering

advantages:
(i) it is very simple; (ii) experience has shown that it works for many
circumstances,
to a reasonable
degree of
accuracy,
because it is based on plant
measurements_
There are two logical problems involved in
the Bond sizing method_ First, the specific
grinding energy required to take a feed with a
certain 8O%passing
size to a product with a

264

SO%-passing size cannot be the same

for a batch test, the standard Bond lockedcycle test, or a steady-state continuous mill
with a real mill residence time distribution,
yet Bond claimed that eqn. (2) was a universal law_ The size-mass balance treatments of
these three cases show that the shape of the
product size distribution and the associated
specific grinding energy is different for the
three cases [ 133, and it is not possible to correlate the three different values exactly without using the size-mass
balance method.
However, these differences are in effect
avoided in the Bond sizing method because
the standard test result is empirically matched
to actual plant data (on the 2.44 m i-d. mill),
and it is thus not really assumed that WI is
the same between the different types of test.
Second, because the Bond method is purely
empirical, it is not possible to assign physical
meanings to the relation of capacity to x0
given in Fig. 2, or to the various correction
factors_
There are other disadvantages of the Bond
sizing method_ First, it is based on a mean
empirical fit of data, and there will be a range
of error for any specific mill and material and
set of operating conditions_ It does not
explicitly include several factors which are
obviously important: (i) recycle ratio and
classifier efficiency; (ii) mixture of ball sizes
in the mill; (iii) variations of residence time
distributions with mill geometzy and slurry
density; (iv) the influence of lifter design; (v)
the influence of slurry density and .slurry
rheology on breakage rates, and chemical
effects on rheology; (vi) variations caused by
underfilling or overfilling of the mill as flow
rate is changed, especially for grate or
peripheral discharge mills.
Again, it is known that the specific grinding
energy E is not independent of ball loading J,
whereas the use of eqn. (2) explicitly assumes
that E is not a function of J. Industrial
practice and laboratory tests IlO] show that
the specific grinding energy (to go from a
specified feed to a specified product) is less
for lower ball loadings than the ball loading
for maximum mill capacity.
The method uses only the 80%-passing sizes
of circuit feed and product to characterize the
size distributions, whereas it is clear that mill
capacity in general must depend on the shape
of the feed size distribution and the product
certain

size distribution. The prime example of this is

the use of the reverse closed circuit shown in
Fig. 3, which is advantageous when the makeup feed contains a significant quantity of
material already fine enough to meet product
specifications_ Conceptually, this circuit can
be treated as if there were two identical classifiers, one classifying the make-up feed and
the other classifying the mill product. The
underflow from the fust classifier is the effective make-up feed to the normal closed circuit. To perform the Bond calculation on the
normal closed circuit part of this circuit
requires a knowledge of the classification action of the classifier on the makeup feed. The
reverse circuit is more efficient than the
normal circuit for a given make-up feed and
product specifications (x0 and ~0) because
the shape of the final product size distribution is different, containing a smaller proportion of over-ground fine material_
CLDSSIFER
RECElVlNG
RETURN
FROM
MILL
f

AND

MAKE-UP

FEED

ODUCT

Fig. 3. The reverse

identical
classifiers.

closed

circuit

treated

as two

Finally, the empirical over-size correction

factor applied to a feed with xc = 10 mm for
example gives a very large reduction in mill
capacity at low reduction ratios for materials
with a high Work Index. The mill capacity
according to the calculation procedure is .
almost independent of x0 over a substantial
range (see Fig. 11). This means that a mill operated at a fixed flow rate would give large
changes in product fineness x0 with minor
fluctuations in feed rate or material grindability, which is clearly not in accord with plant
practice or common sense_
Thus, the Bond sizing method does not
incorporate a number of important secondorder effects, and it cannot be used as a guide
to the fme-tuning or optimization of a given
system, from either.the operating point of
view or the economic point of view. It can

only be valid as a gross method for mills operating under normal closed circuit conditions.

Esperimental
batch grinding tests (see Fig.
4) show that the rate of breakage (under
normal conditions) of material sized within a
J?Z upper-to-lower
screen interval f0110Ws a
first-order breakage law:

broken, but if they are measured before rebreakage occurs, the mass fraction arriving in
size interval i from breakage of size interval j
is symbolized
by bi.i, where X$Z?+ 1bi.i = lThis set of numbers varies from one material
to anotherA balance of material being broken into and
being broken out of size interval i is: rate of
accumulation
of size i material = sum rate of
production
from breakage of all larger sizes
(j = 1 to i - 1) - rate of breakage of size i to
smaller sizes. In symbols, this is

rate of breakage to smaller sizes = Szu(t)W

dw,(r)W

THE SIZE-MASS BALANCE METHOD:

FIRST-ORDER BREAKAGE

where w(t) is the mass fraction of the mill

charge (hoid-up)
W which is of the size
interval examined,
t is the time of grinding,
and S is the specific rate of breakage of this
size, with units of fraction per unit time. In
order to construct a complete
size-mass
balance, it is convenient to split the total size
range into ,/T screen intervals, numbered 1
for the top size, 2 for the second, etc, down
to interval n for material les than, say,
400 mesh (38 pm).
Using this symbolism,
a size interval which
is breaking can be denoted by j, and a smaller
size interval which is receiving the products of
this breakage can be denoted by i, where
R > i > j. It has been found experimentally
that the mean set of primary breakage fiagments produced from breaking sizej does not
change with the grinding time- These fragments mix into the charge, and can in turn be

o
-

EXPERIMENTAL
CALCULATED

GRiNDING

TIME

@WdUTESI

Fig. 4. First order pIot for batch grinding of 16

mesh quartz in laboratory mill.

20

dt

ri=l
C
i=l
1 i>

bi_jSjWj(t)?V
1

-SjWi(t)W
I

or
i-

dw,(t)
=

df

-Siwi(t)

+ C
i=,
i>l

bi_jSiwi(t),

TZ2 i Z 1
('7)

This is the basic set of equations for firstorder batch grinding_ The set of numbers Si is
a precise index of the weakness or ease of
grindability of each size, and varies from one
material to another_ The solution of the equations with a known starting feed of w,(O),
wZ(0), etc, for time t, gives ml(t), wz(t), etc.,
thus giving the size distribution produced.
This set of equations would apply to a
continuous
mill operating at steady state if
the entering solid flowed through the mill as a
plug with all material staying in the mill for
the same residence time T_ However, ball mills
have a residence time distribut.ion (RTD) because forward and backward mixing occurs
along the mill axis. The model must therefore
be extended to allow for the actual RTD, as
first described by Reid [14]_ If a fraction
Q(t) dt of the feed stays in the mill for a time
t, and leaves between t and f + dt, this fraction will be broken as if it were batch g-round
for time t. Its size distribution upon leaving
will be the set of numbers wi(t), obtained by
the solution of eqn_ (7) for each value of i.
Simultaneously,
material that has been in the
mill for different lengths of time will also be
leaving; at steady state. the total product in
size interval i, Fpi, which leaves the mill will
be the weighted sum of all fractions of size i
product:
PiF=

J
0

w,(t)@(r)Fdt

266

or
pi = j Wi(t)@(t) dt
0

RELATIONS

(8)

This is the basic equation of steady-state,

continuous, first-order grinding. The integral
limit of infinity is, in practice, a time long
enough to include all significant contributions
to pi, and must be at least three mean
residence times, 37. Note that there are two
important additional assumptions implicit in
eqn. (8). First, it is assumed that all particle
sizes in the mill have the same distribution of
residence time. Second, it is assumed that the
slurry reaching the discharge flows out with
no preferential return of larger sizes back into
the mill; that is, there is no size classification
due to discharge_
In order to incorporate this mill model into
a closed circuit as shown in Fig. 1, it is necessary to describe the action of the classifier(s)
in the circuit_ Under any given condition, it is
assumed that the fraction of size i in the feed
to the classifier which is recycled to the mill
feed is si: the feed to the mill is then obtained
from
Ffi = Qgi * FiSi

(9)

where fi is the fraction of size i in the mill

feed and gi the fraction of size i in the makeup feed (see Fig_ 1 for symbolism). The set of
si values &es the action of the classifier on all
size intervals, and the values are called the
classifier selectivity values. Luckie and Austin
[ 153 showed how eqns. (7), (8) and (9) could
be combined and computed sequentially starting at i = 1, to determine the size distributions
around the circuit for a given value of mean
residence time T, for specified Si, bi_i, gi,
RTD and SiThe computation gives the circulation ratio
C, and since the mean residence time is
related to the solid flow rate through the mill
F and the c~erall mill hold-up W by T = W/F,
the mill capacity follows from
Q = W/7(1 + C)

FOR S AND B VALUES

A series of investigations [ lo,16 - 191 in

laboratory mills has shown that the values of
Si vary with mill conditions according to the
following relations. The variation of Si values
with particle size can be described by the
empirical expression
Sic=

( I(
xi

X0

l*

1
(xi/ilA

n>i>l

(11)

where xi is the upper size of interval i, and x0

is a standard dimension, here taken as 1 mm.
The parameter CYis a characteristic of the
material which does not vary with rotational
speed, ball load, ball size, mill hold-up or
slurry density over the normal recommended
test ranges. The term U(xi/xo)= is the left-hand
straight line portion in the log-log plot of
Fig_ 5 The term l/l1 + (Xi/~)]
is 1 at smaller
values of Xi, but is less than 1 at larger vahe~
of Xi and makes the curve bend over to the
right-hand side. The parameters P and A describe the size at which the bendover occurs
and how steeply it falls to the right of the
maximum in S: p is the size at which the term
is 0.5.
The value of a also depends on the material
and it is determined [16] for laboratory test
conditions of Dr, d,, Jr, Gr and QcT, where
dr is the ball diameter in the test mill and Ur
is the formal interstitial filling of the ball
charge with powder: it is converted to the
desired pilot or full-scale mill conditions by
the following equations. The effect of ball
and powder fiiing is

(10)

In practice, the computation is normally

performed to find the value of-r which will
give a desired one-point match (e.g. 80%
minus 100 mesh) in the circuit product.

Fig- 5_ Specific rates of breakage used in simulation:

D=3m,J=0.35;U=1,~,=0_7;Bondballmix,
2 in make-up ball.

aa

1
l+66J2_3

(12)

=~(--1.32w

This applies for grinding at normal slurry

densities with water, over the range J = 0.2 to
0.5 and U = 0.5 to 2.5. Because a specific rate
of breakage is a fractional rate of breakage,
the breakage per unit of mill volume is proportional to the specific rate times the
amount of charge in the volume, which is
proportional to aJU. Equation (12) shows
that QJU goes through a flat maximum between U = 0.5 to 1.1, but decreases for high
values of U, Le. the mill is over-filled, leading
to cushioning_
The effects of ball diameter and mill diameter are:
(i)

a a (l/cZ~)

(ii)

a=DNa

No=

1.0

(13)
(14)

N, is close to 0.5 for D < 12.5 ft (3.81 m),

and by analogy with the Bond method, is 0.3
for D > 12.5 ft (see eqn. (6)).
(iii) p a d 2DN:

(15)

where N2 is O-1 to O-2. This allows for the

effect of ball size and mill diameter on
breakage of large feed sizes. The values of the
exponents N,-, and N+ may vary with the type
of lifters, since the test mill will not tumble a
given size of ball in exactly the same way as a
larger mill with different lifter configuration_
Mill capacity can change as lifters wear down
in operation_
The value of (I can be corrected for rotational speed by
a =(&-OS)

1
1+ exp[15_7(+,

-0.94)]

C,=
c

1 + 6-6&Z-31 + 6.652-3

0.1 1 + exp[15_7(&

= 4, s

esp[---1_32(U-

@CT- o-1

1 + exp[ 15_7(& -

Ur)]
-

(17d)

O-94)]
O-94)]
(i7e)

Z&(d) is the specific rate of breakage for ball

size d_

For a mixture of balls of mass fraction m,

of size d,, m2 of size d,, ___, mb of size d,,
etc., the overall values of breakage rates are
given by

where sj is the overall. specific rate of breakage of size i for amisture of m different ball
sizes. (Note that S, = 0, since material cannot
break out of the sink interval.)
If the values of bi_i are cumulated from i =
n, the cumulative values B&=
Zi=,, bk_j)
have the form shown in Fig_ 6_ This can be
expressed as the sum of two straight lines of
slope y and /3, with a fraction Q, of slope y and
a fraction 1 - @ of slope /3s
Biej

x22

aj;
i

Lri

t+
1

(1 -

X,-,.3
61,) Xi

( 1
n>i>j

(19)

It is found for many materials that ai, y and @

are not dependent upon the breaking size j, so
that the descriptive parameters are G, y and &

(16)

Again, it is expected that this equation may

not apply precisely for different types of
lifters.
Combining eqns. (12) - (16) gives
S,(d)

aT

where
N2 = 0.1 to O-2
(17a)
C2 = (dT/d)No

ATo1

(17b)

c, = (D/DT)N,

N1 = O-5

(17~)

Fig_ 6_ Cumulativeprimarvbreakagefunction for

quartz: 1 in balls.

266
from
which biSj are readily calculated. It is
assumed that the biSj values do not change
with mill diameter or mill conditions, providing that rotational speeds are reasonably close
to the maximum power condition so that the
balls are cascading properly, and that the
slurry viscosity is low enough to avoid
changes in 7 [19]. However, the values change
somewhat for different ball diameters [ 191.
Figure 7 shows the agreement betweeen
computed batch grinding results (using the
solution of eqn. (7)) and the experimental
data, for the characteristic breakage parameters given in Table 2, which were determined
in a small laboratory mill with 25.4 mm diameter steel balls.

TABLE

Characteristic breakage parameters for wet grinding

of quartz: Bond Work Index = 19 kWh/metric ton
Weight of solid
True specific gravity

= 1.16 kg
= 2.65

Slurry density

= 64 wt.% soiid
= 40 vol.% solid

Ball charge:

d = 25.4
J = 0.35

Mill:

D=195mm
V = 5200 cm3
r.p.m. = 72 = 70%

Breakage parameters:

D = 0.35 min-
fY = 0.80
$1 ;y65 mm

mm

critical

y = 1.25
Q = 0.55
RTD, MASS

TRANSFER

AND

HOLD-UP

Measurements of residence time distribution in mills [20] indicate that the residence
time distribution in full-scale wet overflow
ball mills can be approsimated by the simple
equivalent system of one larger fully-mixed
reactor in series with two equal smaller fullymixed reactors_ However, when the measured
values of mean residence time r are used to
calculate mill hold-up W from r = W/F it is
also apparent that many mills are operated in
an over-filled condition. At high mass flow
rates through the mill, i-e_, short residence
times, the values of interstitial filling U
exceeds 1, and the values of a and W to be

&~Iiaed

in the simulation
are functions
of flow
rate.
It is convenient to perform the computations of the simulations using a constant a
value corresponding to U = 1, aI say. The
value of r thus obtained is a formal or false 7,
rf say. It is clearly related to the real -r by
used

The real value of W is related to the formal

hold-up W, by W = UWI_ From eqn (10)
then, the circuit capacity is obtained from

Q = Wreall~rea~U+ Cl
= &W-JTf(l
+ C)

(20)

where
Equation (12) gives a,,&,
thus

as a function of U,

K. = U exp(-1_32U)/exp(-1.32)

SIZE.

PC=

Fig. 7_ Size distributions for quartz wet ground in

batch laboratory mill (J = O-35, d = 25.4 mm, D =
195 mm): 40% solid by volume, 64% by weight.

(21)

Figure 8 shows K. as a function of U: K. is

the over-filling factor, which gives a decrease
in capacity as U becomes greater than l_
Marchand et aL 1211 have concluded that
mill hold-up is related to flow rate through a
mill (for constant feed slurry density) by the
approximate empirical relation
U CEF-5

(22)

269

TABLE

Slowing-do&x

U-05

FFOM

TO

factors for quartz at 40% volume

initial feed 16 x 20 mesh

solids (65% weight solids):

1.0

80%passing
tvm)

Slowing-down

size

1.0
0.97
0.91
0.53
0.74
O-61
0.5-i
0.5-l

> 100

oi0 _

_.I._

.._

05

_.~ I _..___I
1.0

INTERSTITIAL

90
80
70
60
50
40
t30

_____I:.......~
x.5

20

FlLLlNG

Fig. 8. The over-filling factor K.

interstitial filling by po-wder.

25

as a function

of ball

The value of the proportionality

factor
depends on slurry density, ball charge and
size, etc_, as well as mill size_ It seems a
reasonable approximation
that relatively low
flow rates to a mill can be considered to give
U = 0.5 to 1.0, which from Fig_ 8 gives K.
essentially equal to 1, while very high flow
rates lead to over-filling of the mill and
K,<
1.
Equation (22) can be written as

u=

[(F/w,)T,J0-5

71 1~~ = U exp[ 1.32( U -

l)]

(23)

is known for a given system, a value of rf

the corresponding value of U from eqn_
and hence K. and Q follow from eqns_
and (20).

SLOWING-DOWN

EFFECT

Examination
of the long grinding times of
Fig. 7 shows that the simulation predicts a
finer grind than that obtained experimentallyThis results from a slowing down of breakage
rate as the charge becomes fine, due to the
development
of high effective viscosity in the
slurry [ 22,231.
-4ustin and Bagga [24] have
shown that the results can be simulated using
false first-order grinding times 8, giving a
slowing-down
factor K defined by
I

= Sg(t)/Si(O)

Table 3 gives the values of K as a function

of the xP of the mill charge_ Mill capacity can
be approximately
corrected for this slowingdown effect by assuming that t.he slurry leaving the mill is characteristic of the slurry in
the mill. This is valid for mill RTDs which are
reasonably close to fully-mixed,
as found for
wet overflow ball mill& The normal capacity
is reduced by multiplying by K_

COMPARISON
BALANCE

OF BOND

_4XD SIZE-MASS

SIMULATIONS

(2M

where T, = IV, /F,, with F1 being the flow rate

which gives U = 1. Since F = (1 + C)Q, eqns.
(20), (21) and (22a) give

If 71
gives
(23),
(21)

factor X

= de/dt

(24)

It is not possible to perform an exact

comparison because the conditions in the test
mill and circuit used by Bond have never been
published_ Therefore, a number of reasonable
assumptions have to be made to construct- the
equivalent simulation model. It was assumed
that the mixture of balls in the mill corresponds to the equilibrium Bond [l] mixture
with a top size of 2 in, at J = 0.35 The RTD
used was the equivalent one-large/two-small
model with relative sizes of 7, c: O-7, rl_ =
O-15. The classifier selectivity values were
assumed to fit the empirical relation (25):
Si=~

~(l-b)

1
1 -i- (xJdso)-h

(25)

where X is related to the Sharpness Index by

SI = expl-2_1972/h]_
Reasonable values of
the by-pass fraction zi and Sharpness Index SI
were taken as O-3 and 0.5, respectively_ The
value of d,, was varied to give C = 2.5 for any
desired product size xB_
B values for a m-kture of ball sizes were calculated from eqn_ (19) using y = l-10,
@ =
O-65 and fi = 5.8. The breakage parameters of

270

quartz of Table 2 were scaled to a mill of

3.8 m diameter with an L/D of l-5, usingNz =
0.2. The make-tip feed was assumed to fit a
Rosin-Rammler
distribution with a characteristic Schuhmann slope of s = 0.75. Initially an SOY&passing size of the feed was chosen
to be 2 mm_ The value of K0 was taken initially as unity; U = 1 gives Wf = 14.4 metric
tons. A comparison
of the Bond calculation
with the circuit simulation at low feed rates
suggested that the simulation was predicting
about 10% too low capacity values: since the
mill and classifier conditions were arbitrary
estimates, it would be fortuitous if the Bond
and simulation results were identical. Therefore, the simulation values were multiplied by
1.1 (a increased by l-1) to give good agreement for low flow rates. Figure 9 shows the
result.
It is~clear that variation of the capacity
with fineness of grind for the simulation and
Bond methods agree quite closely in the
capacity range of 10 to 50 t/h. Especially, the
Bond fineness-of-grind
correction factor is the
natural consequence of the mill simulation_ It
is also clear, however, that the simulation
method
w+h K0 = 1 over-predicts
mill
capacity for low degrees of size reduction_
This is not surprising since a circuit capacity
of 200 t/h corresponds to a solids flow rate
through the mill of 700 t/h, which would
clearly lead to over-filling of the mill.
To allow for this factor, it was assumed
that 175 t/h through the mill corresponds to
the

loo0

, i I ,:*i

---7---z

i
l0l---!--LL_LliL_
10

PRODUCT

Fig- 9_ Comparison
simulation methods

100

GO X-PASSING

I : i LLLI/

,000

SIZE, a,

pm

of mill capacities by Bond and

(D = 3.8 m, L/D = 1.5; J = 0.35;

70% critical speed): feed 80%passing 2 mm, quartz

WI-

= 19 kWh/metric

ton.

U = Is this gives 7, = 4.94 min. The new

values of Q are also shown in Fig. 9. They
agree quite well with the Bond prediction. It
seems possible, therefore,
that the Bond
method applies when the mill is over-filled at
high flow rates. Figure 10 shows the agreement between the model simulation results
and the Bond results for the same shape of
feed size distribution but xG of 1 mm or
500 pm_ Again, the agreement is excellent,
showing that the agreement of Fig. 9 is not
fortuitous.
OOOL
t o

& 7

l-XT

: : 9.

*I

SIMULATIDN

!
4
1
1
1
7
3
2
2
1

,oi

: i , : ,,.i

10

t!

XI,.

100
PRODUCT

GO X-PASSING

IODO
SIZE.

x0.

III

Fig. 10. Comparison of Bond and simulation results:

feed SO%-passing 1 mm and 0.5 mm (see Fig. 9).

Figure 9 also shows the open circuit results

predicted by the model simulation.
Because
the mass flow rates through the mill are only
l/3.5
of those in closed circuit, the overfilling factor does not come into effect until
Q is greater than 175 t/h. Thus the increase of
efficiency normally obtained by closing the
circuit to prevent over-grinding of fines is
offset at low reduction ratios (high flow rates)
by the decrease of efficiency caused by overfilling of the mill. At low flow rates and fine
grinds, the increase in output obtained by
closing the circuit to C = 2.5 is approximately
2, which agrees with the result quoted by
Taggart [26]_ It does not agree with the Bond
sizing method (see Table 1) if the size at
which the Work Index was determined
is
taken as 75 pm.
Table 4 shows the model simulation results
obtained

by

varying

the

classification

effi-

ciency as defined by by-pass and Sharpness

Index. Although more efficient ciassification
(low &, high S.I.) gives significantly improved

TABLE

Effect of classifier efficiency

at C = 2.5 (350% circulating

SI = 0.5,
Product

on closed circuit output

load):
base condition

Q 0: D=(L]D)

Simulation:

Q = Wa a D3*x-

(L/D)
D<

b = 0.3

by-pass
xs,,

By-p&

S-I_

Capacity

factor

Q/Q-

(pm)
420 to 38

0.6
0.6
0.6
O-5
OS
0.5
o-4
o-4
0.4

l-10
1.04
0.97
l-05
1.00
0.94
l-00
0.95
0.89

0.2
0.3
o-4
0.2
o-3
0.4
o-2
0.3
0.4

Even though the Bond method has been of

great use in sizing mills fox closed-circuit

i
.

. . . . .i

.:

. . . . . 1

PRODUCT

Fig_ 11. Comparison

for a large feed (see

GO X-PASSING

of Bond
Fig. 9).

ID00

100
SIZE.

x0.

ym

and simulation

scale in the
Since IV, = 0.5, both methods
same way with respect to mill diameter and
length and the conclusions from Fig_ 9 are unchanged, providing that the mass transfer/
over-filling relation scales in the same way_

operation,

IO

3-81

DISCUSSION

output, the change is not sufficient to explain

t.he discrepancy between model closed/open
circuit ratios and Bond closed/open
circuit
ratios. However, if the screen size used in the
Bond calculation is taken as 300 pm, and the
percentage less than 300 pm taken from the
simulation, the agreement between simulated
and Bond capacity results is excellent,
as
shown in Fig. 9. The Bond calculation stops
atxo=
75 pm for this case as correction
factors are not given for finer grinds.
Figure 11 shows the model predictions
vexsus Bond predictions for a feed with oversize particles, x F = 10 mm. Again, the two
methods give substantially
different results
for relatively low reduction ratios.
It should be noted that the scaling laws fox
mill diameter are

10 j

D < 3.81 m

Bond:

results

the

concepts

behind

the

method

contain certain logical contradictions

consistencies.
It was claimed by Bond
Third Law of Comminution
for batch
ing was a fundamental law related t.o
physics:

and inthat the

grindfracture

(26)
His argument
can be reduced to this:
eliarnination of the variation of 80%passing
size of the product (xx) in a batch grinding
test shows the E a lO&&relation
to apply,
and the Griffit.h crack theory of fracture [27]
contains a l/(crack
length)*
term, therefore
eqn. (26) must be a fundamental
law_ Such
reasoning is clearly inadequate, but it is often
repeated without question; for esample [ 283 :
The Bond theory states that work input is
proportional
to the new crack tip length
produced in particle breakage___., which is an
essentially meaningless statement.
Even if
eqn. (26) were generally true, it should
logically be applied to the feed to the mill and
the product from the mill not the circuit feed
and circuit product_ Since it. was deduced for
batch grinding, it should apply to a mill in
plug flow, whereas RTD esperiments
show
mills to be closer to fully-mized.
Again, if it
were a fundamental
law, why should it be
necessary to use fineness-of-grind
and low
reduction ratio corrections to the law?
It must be concluded that the so-called
Third Law of Comminution
is not a fundamental law; and therefore it does not have to
hold under all circumstances as it is entirely
empirical_ The results presented in Fig. 7 do
indeed fit eqn. (26) (assuming E grinding
time, ie_ constant mill power), but they are

272
TABLE
Effec:

5
of Bond

Test Work
(kwhit)

Index

oversized

feed

Feed
s G

correction
Product

factor
Oversized
feed factor

Low reduction
ratio factor

-&-&

Capacity
(t/h)

(mm)

X8
(mm)

14

10
10

1
2

1.92
2.83

1.0
1.04

0.216
0.124

216
247

19

10
10

1
2

2.96
4.90

1.0
1.04

0.216
0.124

104
105

24

10
10

1
2

4.33
7.64

1.0
1.04

0.216
0.124

56
53

factor

also fitted by the simulation model. On the

other hand, the closed circuit analysis suggests
that it applies under closed-circuit conditions
purely as a result of decreasing breakage rates
due to over-filling of the mill and consequent
cushioning. The region requiring the finenessof-grind correction factors is actually the
natural result of efficient breakage at proper
filling level, while the lo/&
relation should
properly be considered as a corrected result.
Similarly, Fig. 10 shows that the low reduction ratio correction is also a natural result of
the simulation.
Another logical problem occurs in the
conversion of the law to open circuit. The
correction factors involved (see Table 1) are a
function of the percentage of product less
than the sieve size used in the Work Index
test, yet the Work Index is often virtually
independent of the screen used in the test,
over a considerable range of screen sizes.
Thus, the prescribed Bond method of calculation will give a different open circuit mill
capacity for the same material depending on
the arbitrary screen used in the test procedure
for the Work Index The open circuit results
predicted by the mill simulation model (see
Fig. 9) agree with the Bond calculation only if
the screen size is taken as 300 pm (even
though the Work Index was actually determined using 75 pm).
The simulation model shows that the
reason that closing the circuit does not give
such a big increase in output for coarse grinds
as for fine grinds is that the high flow rates
required to give the short residence times
needed for coarse grinding in clcsed circuit
leads to over-filling of the mill. This leads to
cushioning and reduced breakage efficiency,

which counteracts the normal advantageous

effect of closing the circuit.
It is clear that the Bond oversized feed
correction factors become escessively large
for high Work Inde... For example, Table 5
shows the predicted capacities for Work
Indices of 14,19 and 24 kWh/metric ton. In
the last case, the calculation gives a lower
capacity for a coarser grind, demonstrating
that the empirical Bond expression cannot be
used for high Work Index.
Figure 12 shows the size distributions
predicted by the model simulation for the
oversized feed case, for grinding to 80%
passing 50 mesh (300 pm). The notable
characteristic is that the mill product still
contains 9% of material above 10 mm, with a
region from 1500 pm to 10 mm with only
small amounts of material in each size
interval. Figure 5 shows that the fastest breakage rates occur about 5000 pm, so material
which is much larger than this will persist in
the mill, while material of about this size will
disappear most rapidly. In practice the size of

Fig. 12. Size distribution

around
closed circuit
25) for over-sized
feed 80% < 10 mm, product
300 pm.

(C =
80% <

make-up ball to the mill would be increased

to give higher breakage rates for the large
sizes.

CONCLUSIONS

Although the Bond method for sizing mills

has been very valuable, there are several
logical inconsistencies involved in the dcrivation of the method_ A. detailed comparison
with model simulations suggests that the socalled Bonds Third Law is the fortuitous
consequence of decrease of breakage rates
caused by mill over-filling at high flow rates.
The Bond result, including his fineness-ofgrind correction factors, agrees with the model
simulation for fine grinds and low flow rates
where there is no over-filling. If it is further
assumed that the Bond result under normal
conditions gives the correct answer, the variation of mill hold-up with flow rate can be
deduced by comparison with model simulations, assuming hold-up is proportional to
solid feed rate through the mill to the halfpower, thus giving the proportionality
constant for this relation.
The simulation model can then be used to
esamine the effect of variation of milling conditions, e.g. the effects of classifier efficiency,
ball size, etc., whereas the empirical Bond
method applies only .for mean conditions over
limited ranges. It can also be used under circumstances where the Bond method clearly
does not give a sensible answer.
Analysis of the milling process using sizemass balance simulation models instead of the
Third Law of Comminution has the great
advantage of forcing a consideration of the
physical reasons behind mill and circuit capacity variations from the norm. When these
reasons are understood, it is possible to make
adjustments to mill conditions based on
educated guesses as to behavior, thus speeding
up the process of fine tuning of a circuit by
the operators. For example, closed-circuit
operation with a classifier with a high level of
solid by-pass will have an optimum circu!ation
ratio for relatively coarse grinds. Attempts to
improve efficiency by increasing the circulating load will lead to further over-filling of the
mill and reduced efficiency. Again, the
slowing-down effect seen for very fine grinding must be taken into account, otherwise the

Bond method will over-predict capacity, unless the slurry density is reduced and appropriate additives used.
ACKNOWLEDGEhIENTS

We thank the sponsoring firms of the Coal

Cooperative Program of The Pennsylvania
State University for financial support of this
study.
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4
.5

10

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