Experiment No.

7
Aim : To verify the laws of Crushing and Grinding.
Chemicals & Apparatus : Ball Mill, Jaw Crusher, Hammer Mill
Objective : Size reduction refers to an operation wherein particles of solids are cut or broken
into smaller pieces. The necessity of size reduction is to increase the surface in order to
increase the rate of a physical or chemical process. Also, to meet stringent specifications
regarding the size of commercial products, size reduction is done. To accomplish intimate
mixing and increase the rate of dissolution, solubility, etc.
Principle : Size reduction is a mechanical process of breakdown of solids into smaller size
particles. Size reduction is mainly achieved by impact, attrition, rubbing or cutting.
Theory : Crushing and grinding are carried out in various types of machines. The machines
for crushing are different whereas grinding is done in other type of machines. The size of feed
for crushers is more than 5 feet in diameter and the size of feed for grinders is not more than
20 inches.
Ball Mill : The ball mill is classified as an intermediate and fine grinder where the action of
the grinding is based on impact and attrition. The ball mill consists of a cylindrical shell
slowly turning about a horizontal axis and filled to about half its volume with a solid grinding
medium. The shell is usually steel lined with silica rock and rubber. When the mill is rotated
the balls are picked by the mill wall and carried nearly to the top where they break contact
with the wall and fall to the bottom to be picked up again. Centrifugal force keeps the ball in
contact with the wall and with each other during the upward movement.
At low speeds of rotation the balls simply roll over one another and little crushing
action is obtained. At slightly higher speeds, they are projected short distances across the
mill, and at still higher speeds balls are thrown greater distance and considerable wear of the
lining of the mill takes place. At very high speeds the balls are carried right round in contact
with the sides of the mill and little grinding takes place, the mill is then said to be
centrifuging. The speed of the mill at which centrifuging occurs is called Critical speed. For
efficient operation of the mill, it should always be run at a speed less than the critical speed
and hence determination of critical mill speed becomes important.
Jaw Crusher : Jaw Crushers are slow speed machines for coarse reductions and can break
large lumps of various hard materials as in the primary and secondary reduction of rocks and
ores. In a jaw crusher, the feed is admitted between the two jaws, said to form v open at the
top. One jaw is fixed and the other is movable. It makes an angle of 200- 300 with the fixed jaw.
The movable jaw is driven by eccentric motor so that it applies great compressive force, large
lumps caught in between the upper part of the jaw are broken then drop into the narrow space
below and are crushed again at the bottom of the jaw. After sufficient reduction, they drop out
from the bottom of the machine.
The jaws are usually made of manganese, steel or some other material that can
withstand abrasion. The faces of the jaws are usually corrugated. In addition to the jaws,
crusher consists of a pitman, toggle bars, eccentric shaft, springs frame, etc. The eccentric
causes the pitman to oscillate in a vertical direction, and this vertical movement is
communicated horizontally to the movable jaw by the toggle bars. The speed of operation

should not be high because then the fines produced cannot escape the machine and get
reduced repeatedly.
Hammer Mill : The hammer mill contain a high speed rotor turning inside a cylindrical
casing. The shaft is usually horizontal. Feed drooped into the top of the casing. The particles
are broken by sets of swing hammers pinned on a rotary disk. A particle of feed entering the
grinding zone cannot escape being struck by the hammers. It shatters into pieces, which fly
against a stationary anvil plate inside the casing and break it into smaller fragments. The
material is beaten by the hammers until it is small enough to fall through the screen which
covers on the discharge opening.
Several rotor disks each carrying four to eight swing hammers are often mounted on a
single shaft. As the hammers are hinged the presence of any hard material does not cause
damage to the equipment. The hammers are readily replaced when they worn out.
There are number of laws that are put forward to estimate accurately the amount of
energy required in order to effect a size reduction of a given material. These laws include the
Rittingers Law, Kicks Law and Bonds Law.
The Rittingers Law states that Work required in crushing is proportional to the new
surface created. This law is applicable where new surface is created and holds for fine
grinding where increase in surface area per unit mass is large.
The Kicks Law states that Work required for crushing a given mass of material is
constant for the same reduction ratio. This law holds good for coarse crushing and amount
of surface produced is less.
The Bonds Law states that Work required to form particles of a particular diameter
from very large size of feed is proportional to the square root of surface-to-volume ratio of
the product.
Application : Size reduction operation is carried out in coal washeries, ore processing,
cement industry, paint industry, chemical industry and food processing industry. Ball Mill is
mainly used in paint industry. It is used for grinding coal, pigments and felspar for pottery. It
can be used either wet or dry. The jaw crusher is used in rockery and mining industries. They
are used for crushing hard rocks and coal. The hammer mill is employed for tough fibrous
solids like the bark or leather, steel turnings, hard rock, sticky clay, etc. They are limited to
soft materials for fine reduction.
Result : Thus, we have verified the laws of crushing and grinding.