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CHAPTER-3: SIZE REDUCTION PROCESSES

BASIC CRUSHING
PLANT FLOW SHEET:
Crushing is the first
mechanical stage in the
process of comminution.
The liberation of the
valuable minerals from the
gangue is the main
objective of crushing. It is
generally a dry operation
and is usually performed
in two/three stages.
Crushing may be in open
or closed circuit depending
on product size. A basic
flow sheet for a crushing
plant is shown in Fig-1.

PRIMARY CRUSHERS:
 Heavy-duty machines.
 Used to reduce the run-of-mine ore down to a size suitable for transport and for feeding
the secondary crushers.
 Always operated in open circuit, with or without heavy-duty scalping screens (grizzlies).
 Mainly two types- a) jaw crushers & b) gyratory crushers. Although the impact crusher
has limited use as a primary crusher.
JAW CRUSHERS:
 Contains two plates which open and shut like animal jaws.
 The jaws are set at an acute angle to each other.
 One jaw is pivoted so that it swings relative to the other fixed jaw.
 Materials fed into the jaws is alternatively nipped and released to fall further into the
crushing chamber. Ultimately it falls from the discharge aperture.
Jaw Crushers are classified based on the pivoting the swing jaw as three categories-

Figure 2: Jaw crusher types

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1. Blake Jaw Crusher- The jaw is pivoted at the top and thus has a fixed receiving area & a
variable discharge opening. There are two forms of the Blake crusher: double toggle and single
toggle.
2. Dodge Jaw Crusher- The jaw is pivoted at the bottom; giving it a variable feed area but fixed
delivery area. It never used in heavy-duty crushing & laboratory use.
3. Universal Jaw Crusher- The jaw is pivoted in an intermediate position, thus giving a
variable delivery & receiving area.

CONSTRUCTION AND PROCEDURE OF JAW CRUSHER:

Construction: Jaw crushers are extremely heavy-duty machines and hence must be robustly
constructed. The main frame is often made from cast iron or steel, connected with tie-bolts. It is
often made in sections so that it can be transported underground for installation. Modem jaw
crushers may have a main frame of mild steel plate welded together.
The jaws themselves are usually constructed from cast steel and are fitted with replaceable
liners, made from manganese steel, or "Ni-hard", a Ni-Cr alloyed cast iron. Apart from reducing
wear, hard liners are essential in that they minimize crushing energy consumption, reducing the
deformation of the surface at each contact point. They are bolted in sections on to the jaws so
that they can be removed easily and reversed periodically to equalize wear. Cheek plates are
fitted to the sides of the crushing chamber to protect the main frame from wear. These are also
made from hard alloy steel and have similar lives to the jaw plates. The jaw plates themselves
may be smooth, but are often corrugated, the latter being preferred for hard, abrasive materials.
The angle between the jaws is usually less than 26º as the use of a larger angle than this causes
slipping, which reduces capacity and increases wear. The speed of jaw crushers varies inversely
with the size, and usually lies in the range of 100-350rev/min.
The maximum amplitude of swing of the jaw, or "throw", is determined by the type of material
being crushed and is usually adjusted by changing the eccentric. It varies from 1 to 7 cm
depending on the machine size, and is highest for tough, plastic material and lowest for hard,
brittle ore. Jaw crushers range in size up to 1680 mm gape by 2130 mm width. This size
machine will handle ore with a maximum size of 1.22 m at a crushing rate of approximately
725t/h with a 203mm set.

Figure 3: A schematic diagram of a jaw crusher.

Working Procedure: Consider a large piece of rock falling into the mouth of the crusher. It is
nipped by the jaws, which are moving relative to each other at a rate depending on the size of the
machine and which usually vary inversely with the size.

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Basically, time must be given for the rock broken at each "bite" to fall to a new position before
being nipped again. The ore falls until it is arrested. The swing jaw closes on it, quickly at first
and then more slowly with increasing power towards the end of the stroke. The fragments now
fall to a new arrest point as the jaws move apart and are then gripped and crushed again. During
each "bite" of the jaws the rock swells in volume due to the creation of voids between the
particles.
Since the ore is also falling into a gradually reducing cross-sectional area of the crushing
chamber, choking of the crusher would soon occur if it were not for the increasing amplitude of
swing towards the discharge end of the crusher. This accelerates the material through the
crusher, allowing it to discharge at a rate sufficient to leave space for material entering above.
This is arrested or free crushing as opposed to choked crushing, which occurs when the volume
of material arriving at a particular cross-section is greater than that leaving. In arrested crushing,
crushing is by the jaws only, whereas in choked crushing, particles break each other. This
interparticle comminution can lead to excessive production of fines, and if choking is severe can
damage the crusher. Since the jaw crusher works on half-cycle only, it is limited in capacity for
its weight and size.

Volumetric Capacit y, [ ]

Where, B = inner width of crusher (m); S = open side setting (m); s = throw (m); a = angle of
nip; n = speed of crusher (rpm); and k is a material constant normally varying between 1.5 and
2.

GYRATORY CRUSHERS:
Construction: The gyratory crusher consists essentially of a long spindle, carrying a hard steel
conical grinding element, the head, seated in an eccentric sleeve.
The outer shell of the crusher is constructed set of the crusher at regular intervals so as to
from heavy steel casting/welded steel plate, compensate for wear on the concaves and
with at least one constructional joint, the mantle.
bottom part taking the drive shaft for the
head, the top and lower shells providing the
crushing chamber. If the spindle is carried
on a suspended bearing, then the spider
carrying the beating forms a joint across the
reinforced alloyed white cast-iron (Ni-hard)
liners or concaves. In small crushers the
concave is one continuous ring bolted to the
shell. Large machines use sectionalized
concaves, called staves, which are wedge-
shaped, and either rest on a ring fitted
between the upper and the lower shell, or
are bolted to the shell. The concaves are
backed with some soft filler material, such
as white metal, zinc, or plastic cement,
which ensures even seating against the steel
bowl. Some gyratory crushers have a
hydraulic mounting that is used to adjust the Figure 4: Gyratory crusher

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Operation: Gyratory crushers are principally used in surface crushing plants, although a few
currently operate underground. The spindle is suspended from a "spider" and, as it rotates,
normally between 85 and 150 rev/min. The spindle is free to turn on its axis in the eccentric
sleeve, so that during crushing the lumps are compressed between the rotating head and the top
shell segments, and abrasive action in a horizontal direction is negligible.
Since the gyratory crushes on full cycle, it has a much higher capacity than a jaw crusher of the
same gape, and is usually favored. In mines with crushing rates above 900 t/h, gyratory crushers
are always selected.
Crushers range in size up to gapes of 1830 mm and can crush ores with top size of 1370 mm at a
rate of up to 5000 t/h with a 200 mm set. Power consumption is as high as 750 kW on such
crushers. Gyratory crushers are generally used where high capacity is required.

Volumetric Capacit y, ( ) ( )

Where, D = diameter of the outer head mantle at the discharge point (m); S = open side setting
(m); s = throw (m); a = angle of nip; n = speed of crusher (rpm); and k is a material constant
normally varying between 2 and 3.

SECONDARY CRUSHERS:
Secondary crushers are much lighter than the heavy-duty, rugged primary machines. Since they
take the primary crushed ore as feed, the maximum feed size will normally be <15 cm in
diameter. It is much easier to handle because most of the harmful constituents in the ore, e.g.
tramp metal, wood, clays, and slimes have already been removed. Secondary crushers also
operate with dry feeds, and their purpose is to reduce the ore to a size suitable for grinding.

COMPERASION BETWEEN PRIMARY, SECONDARY & TERTIARY CRUSHERS:

Primary crushers are heavy-duty machines, used to reduce the run-of-mine ore down to a size
suitable for transport and for feeding the secondary crushers or AG/SAG mills. They are always
operated in open circuit, with or without heavy-duty scalping screens (grizzlies).
Secondary crushers are much lighter than the heavy-duty, rugged primary machines. Since they
take the primary crushed ore as feed, the maximum feed size will normally be less than 15 cm in
diameter. Secondary crushers also operate with dry feeds, and their purpose is to reduce the ore
to a size suitable for grinding.
In those cases where size reduction can be more efficiently carried out by crushing, there may be
a tertiary stage before the material is passed to the grinding mills. Tertiary crushers are of the
same design as secondaries, except that they have a closer set.

CONE CRUSHER:
The cone crusher is a modified gyratory crusher. The essential difference is that the shorter
spindle of the cone crusher is not suspended, as in the gyratory, but is supported in a curved,
universal beating below the gyratory head or cone. Power is transmitted from the source to the
countershaft through a V-belt or direct drive. The countershaft has a bevel pinion pressed and
keyed to it, and drives the gear on the eccentric assembly. The eccentric has a tapered, offset
bore and provides the means whereby the head and main shaft follow an eccentric path during
each cycle of rotation.

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ADVANTAGES OF CONE CRUSHER OVER GYRATORY CRUSHER:

i) Since a large gape is not required, the crushing shell or "bowl" flares outwards which allows
for the swell of broken ore by providing an increasing cross-sectional area towards the discharge
end. The cone crusher is therefore an excellent arrested crusher.
ii) The flare of the bowl allows a much greater head angle than in the gyratory crusher, while
retaining the same angle between the crushing members.
iii) This gives the cone crusher a high
capacity, since the capacity of gyratory
crushers is roughly proportional to the
diameter of the head.
iv) The head is protected by a replaceable
mantle, which is held in place by a large
locking nut threaded onto a collar bolted on
Figure 5: Head and shell shapes of (a)
the top of the head. The mantle is backed
gyratory, and (b) cone crushers.
with plastic cement, or zinc, or more
recently with an epoxy resin.

v) Unlike a gyratory crusher, which is identified by the dimensions of the feed opening and the
mantle diameter, a cone crusher is rated by the diameter of the cone lining. Cone crushers range
in size from 559mm to 3.1 m and have capacities up to 1100 t h -1 with a discharge setting of 19
mm.

RHODAX CRUSHER:
Specialised form of a cone crusher, referred to as an inertial cone crusher. The Rhodax crusher is
based on interparticle compression crushing. It consists of a frame supporting a cone and a
mobile ring, and a set of rigid links forming a set of ties between the two parts.
The following three parameters can be adjusted on the Rhodax crusher:

 the gap between the cone and the ring,

 the total static moment of unbalanced masses, and
 the rotation speed of these unbalanced masses.

GRINDING MILLS:
Grinding is the last stage in the process of comminution; in this stage the particles are reduced in
size by a combination of impact and abrasion, either dry or in suspension in water. According to
the ways by which motion is imparted to the charge, grinding mills are generally classified into
two types:
1. Tumbling mills: Tumbling mills are typically employed in the mineral industry for coarse-
grinding processes, in which particles between 5 and 250 mm are reduced in size to between 40
and 300 μm.
2. Stirred mills: Stirred mills find application in fine (15-40μm) and ultra-fine (<15 μm)
grinding.

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CONSTRUCTION OF MILLS:
1. Shell:
 designed to sustain impact and heavy loading
 constructed from rolled mild steel plates, butt-welded together
 Holes are drilled to take the bolts for holding the liners
 Heavy flanges of fabricated or cast steel are usually welded or bolted to the ends of the
plate shells, planed with parallel faces, for attachment of the trunnion heads.
2. Mill ends/Trunnion heads:
 may be of nodular or grey cast iron for diameters about <1 m
 Larger heads are constructed from cast steel, which is relatively light, and can be welded.
 The heads are fibbed for reinforcement and may be flat, slightly conical, or dished.
3. Trunnions & bearings:
 Trunnions are made from cast iron or steel and are spigoted and bolted to the end plates,
although in small mills they may be integral with the end plates. They are highly
polished to reduce bearing friction. Most trunnion bearings are rigid high grade iron
castings with 120-180⁰ lining of white metal in the bearing area, surrounded by a
fabricated mild steel housing, which is bolted into the concrete foundations.
 The bearings in smaller mills may be grease lubricated, but oil lubrication is favoured in
large mills, via motor-driven oil pumps. The effectiveness of normal lubrication
protection is reduced when the mill is shut down for any length of time.
4. Drive:
 Tumbling mills are most commonly rotated by a pinion meshing with a girth ring bolted
to one end of the machine.
 Large mills can be rotated by a central trunnion drive, which has the advantage of
requiting no expensive ring gear.

5. Liners:
 The internal working faces of mills consist of renewable liners, which must withstand
impact, be wear-resistant, and promote the most favourable motion of the charge.
 Rod mill ends have plain flat liners, slightly coned to encourage the self-centring and
straight-line action of rods.
 Usually they are made from manganese or chrome-molybdenum steels, having high
impact strength.
 Ball-mill ends usually have ribs to lift the charge with the mill rotation. These prevent
excessive slipping and increase liner life. They can be made from white cast iron, alloyed
with nickel (Ni-hard), other wear-resistant materials, and rubber.
 Shell liners have an endless variety of lifter shapes. Smooth linings result in much
abrasion, and hence a fine grind, but with associated high metal wear. The liners are
therefore generally shaped to provide lifting action and to add impact and crushing, the
most common shapes being wave, Lorain, stepped, and shiplap (Fig).

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Figure 6: Mill Shell liners.

Advantages of rubber liners:

 Rubber liners have supplanted steel in some operations,
 It have been found to be longer lasting, easier & faster to install,
 Their use results in a significant reduction of noise level.
 Increased medium consumption has been reported using rubber liners rather than Ni-hard
liners.
 Engineering advantage: At relatively low impact forces, rubber will yield, resuming its
shape when the forces are removed.

Drawback of rubber liners:

 Requiring the addition of flotation reagents directly into the mill, or temperatures
exceeding 80⁰C.
 They are also thicker than their steel counterparts, which reduces mill capacity, a
particularly important factor in small mills.
Magnetic Metal Liners: Developed by China Metallurgical Mining Corp. The magnets keep
the lining in contact with the steel shell and the end plates without using bolts, while the ball
"scats" in the charge and magnetic minerals are attracted to the liner to form a 30-40mm
protective layer, which is continuously renewed as it wears. The magnetic metal liner is that as
the liners are thinner and lighter than conventional manganese steel ultimately reduces the mill
weight.
6. Mill feeders: The type of feeding arrangement used on the mill depends on whether the
grinding is done in open or closed circuit and whether it is done wet or dry. The size and rate of
feed are also important. Dry mills are usually fed by some sort of vibratory feeder. Three types
of feeder are in use in wet-grinding mills. The simplest form is the spout feeder
7. Drum feeders: Drum feeders may be used as an alternative to a spout feeder when headroom
is limited. The entire mill feed enters the drum via a chute or spout and an internal spiral carries
it into the trunnion liner. The drum also provides a convenient method of adding grinding balls
to a mill.

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8. Combination drum-scoop feeders: These are generally used for wet grinding in closed
circuit with a spiral or rake classifier. Scoop feeders are sometimes used in place of the drum-
scoop combination when mill feed is in the fine-size range.

TYPES OF MILLS:
 Rod Mills,  Tower mills,
 Centre peripheral discharge mills,  Stirred mills,
 End peripheral discharge mills,  Stirred media detritors,
 Ball Mills,  Roller mills,
 Autogenous mills,  Table and roller mills,
 Vibratory mills,  Pendulum roller mills.
 Centrifugal mills,

ROD MILLS:
 Considered as either fine crushers or coarse grinding machines.
 Capable of taking feed as large as 50mm and making a product as fine as 300μm,
reduction ratio = (15-20):1.
 Often preferred to fine crushing machines when the ore is "clayey" or damp, thus tending
to choke crushers.
 The length of the cylindrical shell is between 1.5 and 2.5 times its diameter
 This ratio is important because the rods, which are only a few centimetres shorter than
the length of the shell, must be prevented from turning so that they become wedged
across the diameter of the cylinder.
 The ratio must not be so large for the maximum diameter of the shell in use that the rods
deform and break.
 Since rods longer than about 6 m will bend, this establishes the maximum length of the
mill.
 Thus, with a mill 6.4 m long the diameter should not be over 4.57 m.
 Rod mills of up to 4.57 m in diameter by 6.4 m in length are in use, run by 1640 kW
motors
 The power required for a certain required capacity may be estimated by the use of Bond's
equation:

 The calculated power requirement is adjusted by utilising efficiency factors dependent on

the size of mill, size and type of media, type of grinding circuit, etc., to give the
operating power requirement

BALL MILL:
The final stages of comminution are performed in tumbling mills using steel balls as the
grinding medium and so designated "ball mills." Since balls have a greater surface area per unit
weight than rods, they are better suited for fine finishing.
The term ball mill is restricted to those having a length to diameter ratio of 1.5 to 1 and less. Ball
mills in which the length to diameter ratio is between 3 and 5 are designated tube mills. These
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are sometimes divided into several longitudinal compartments, each having a different charge
composition; the charges can be steel balls/ rods/ pebbles, and they are often used dry to grind
cement clinker, gypsum, and phosphate.
Tube mills having only one compartment and a charge of hard, screened ore particles as the
grinding medium are known as pebble mills. Since the weight of pebbles per unit volume is 35-
55% of that of steel balls, and as the power input is directly proportional to the volume weight of
the grinding medium, the power input and capacity of pebble mills are correspondingly lower.
Ball mills are also classified by the nature of the discharge.

 Simple trunnion overflow mills- operated in open or closed circuit, used for most ball
mill applications, especially for fine grinding and regrinding.
 Grate discharge (low-level discharge) mills- discharge grates between the cylindrical
mill body and the discharge trunnion.

Figure 7: Simple closed-grinding circuit Figure 8: Grate discharge mill

Ball mills are rated by power rather than capacity. Today the largest ball mill in operation is 7.3
m in diameter with a corresponding motor power of more than 11 MW.
Several factors influence the efficiency of ball mill grinding.

 The pulp density of the feed should be as high as possible, consistent with ease of flow
through the mill.
 The balls are coated with a layer of ore.
 Too dilute a pulp increases metal-to-metal contact, giving increased steel consumption
and reduced efficiency.
 Ball mills should operate between 65 and 80% solids by weight, depending on the ore.
 The viscosity of the pulp increases with the fineness of the particles, therefore fine-
grinding circuits may need lower pulp densities.
The efficiency of grinding depends on the surface area of the grinding medium. Thus, balls
should be as small as possible and the charge should be graded such that the largest balls are just
heavy enough to grind the largest and hardest particles in the feed. A seasoned charge will
consist of a wide range of ball sizes and new balls added to the mill are usually of the largest
size required. Undersize balls leave the mill with the ore product and can be removed by passing
the discharge over screens. Various formulae have been proposed for the required ratio of ball
size to ore size. The correct sizes are often determined by trial and error, primary grinding
usually requiring a graded charge of 10-5 cm diameter balls, while secondary grinding requires
5-2cm.

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TOWER MILL:
Tower mills are very effective in fine and ultra-fine grinding due to their relatively low power
intensity. Motion is imparted to the charge by the movement of an internal stirrer while the
shells are stationary.
In a tower mill (Figure 7.29) steel balls or
pebbles are placed in a vertical grinding
chamber in which an internal screw flight
provides medium agitation. The feed enters
at the top, with mill water, and is reduced in
size by attribution and abrasion as it falls,
the finely ground particles being carried
upwards by pumped liquid and overflowing
to a classifier. Oversize particles are
returned to the bottom of the chamber, and
final classification is by hydrocyclones,
which return underflow to the mill sump for
further grinding.
Advantages of tower mills are-

 a small installation area,

 low noise levels,
 efficient energy usage,
 minimal overgrinding, and
 low capital & operating costs.
Product sizes may be 1-100 µm at capacities
of up to 100 t/h or more. Figure 9: Tower mil

GRINDING CIRCUIT:
The feed can be wet or dry, depending on the subsequent process and the nature of the product.
Dry grinding is necessary with some materials due to physical or chemical changes which occur
if water is added. It causes less wear on the liners and grinding media and there are a higher
proportion of fines in the product, which may be desirable in some cases.
Wet grinding is generally used in mineral processing operations because of the overall
economies of operation. The advantages of wet grinding are:

 It consumes lower power per tonne of product.

 It has higher capacity per unit mill volume.
 It makes possible the use of wet screening or classification for close product control.
 It eliminates the dust problem.
 It makes possible the use of simple handling and transport methods such as pumps,
pipes, and launders.

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Circuits are divided into two broad classifications: open and closed.
Open Circuit: In open circuit the material is fed into the mill at a rate calculated to produce the
correct product in one pass (Figure 10). This type of circuit is rarely used in mineral processing
applications as there is no control on product size distribution.
The feed rate must be low enough to ensure that every particle spends enough time in the mill to
be broken down to product size. As a result, many particles in the product are overground, which
consumes energy needlessly, and the product may subsequently be difficult to treat.

Figure 10: Single-stage open circuit Figure 11: Simple closed-grinding circuit

Closed Circuit: In closed circuit (Figure 11), in which material of the required size is removed
by a classifier, which returns oversize to the mill.
In closed-circuit operation, no effort is made to effect all the size reduction in a single pass.
Instead, every effort is made to remove material from the circuit as soon as it reaches the
required size. When grinding to a specified size, an increase in capacity of up to 35% can be
obtained by closed-circuit operation.
Closed-circuit grinding reduces the residence time of particles in each pass. This decreases
overgrinding and increases the energy available for useful grinding as long as there is an ample
supply of unfinished material present.

Drawback of Open Circuit:

 No control of product size distribution.

 Low feed rate
 Many particles in the product are overground, which consumes energy needlessly.

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TYPICAL GOLD RECOVERY GRINDING CIRCUIT:

It is universal in gold recovery plants, where coarse-free gold is present, to incorporate some
form of gravity concentrator into the grinding circuit. Native gold is extremely dense, and is
invariably returned to the mill via the classifier. Being extremely malleable, once liberated it is
merely deformed in the mill with no further breakage, so is continually recycled in the circuit.

Figure 12: Typical gold recovery grinding circuit.

The mill feed is first classified to remove fines, which are sent to the cyanidation plant in order
to leach out the gold. The coarse fraction is fed to tube mills, the discharge being classified, and
the fines returned to the primary cyclone. The classifier oversize, which contains any free gold
present, is then treated by gravity concentrators, the tailings being returned to the primary
cyclone, while the gravity concentrate is sent for further treatment by amalgamation.

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CHAPTER FOUR: SIZE SEPARATION

PURPOSES OF SIZE SEPARATION IN MINERAL INDUSTRY:

Size separation is a unit operation that involves the separation of a mixture of various size
particles into two or more portions by means of screening surfaces. There are a wide range of
screening objectives. The main purposes in the minerals industry are:
i) Sizing or Classifying- to separate particles by size, usually to provide a downstream unit
process with the particle size range suited to that unit operation;
ii) Scalping- to remove the coarsest size fractions in the feed material, usually so that they can be
crushed or removed from the process;
iii) Grading- to prepare a number of products within specified size ranges. This is important in
quarrying and iron ore, where the final product size is an important part of the specification;
iv) Media Recovery- for washing magnetic media from ore in dense medium circuits;
v) Dewatering- to drain free moisture from a wet sand slurry;
vi) Desliming or De-Dusting- to remove fine material, generally below 0.5 mm from a wet or
dry feed; and
vii) Trash Removal- usually to remove wood fibres from a fine slurry stream.

REDUCED SCREEN EFFICIENCY EQUATION OR, PROOF: ( )

The efficiency of screening is determined by the degree of perfection of separation of the

material into size fractions above or below the aperture size. An efficiency equation can be
calculated from a mass balance across a screen as follows:
Consider a screen (Figure-1) in which the feed is F th-1. Two products are generated. A coarse
product of C th-1 overflows from the screen, and a fine product of U th-1 passes through the
screen.
material above the cut point size in the
overflow; and u be the fraction of material
above the cut point size in the underflow. f,
c, and u can be determined by sieving a
representative sample of each of the
fractions on a laboratory screen of the same
aperture size as the industrial screen and
Figure-1: Mass balances on a screen assuming this to be 100% efficient.

Let, f be the fraction of material above the

cut point size in the feed; c be the fraction of

The mass balance on the screen is:

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()
The mass balance of the oversize material is:

( )
and the mass balance of the undersize material is:
( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

On putting in equn (iii) we get,

( ) ( ) ( )( )

( ) ( )

( )
Similarly,
( )

The recovery of oversize material into the screen overflow is:

( )
( )
( )
and the corresponding recovery of undersize material in the screen underflow is:
( ) ( )( )
( )
( ) ( )( )
A combined effectiveness, or overall efficiency, E, is then obtained by multiplying equations
(vi) and (vii) together:
( )( )( )
( )
( ) ( )
For screens where the aperture and the cut point are similar (and if there are no broken or
deformed apertures), the amount of coarse material in the underflow is usually very low. By
assuming u = 0,

( )
( )
This formula is widely used and implies that recovery of the coarse material in the overflow is
100%.

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FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE THE PERFORMANCE OF SCREEN:

Screening performance is affected by factors that influence the probability of particle passage,
and factors that influence the number of opportunities the particles are given to pass through the
screen mesh.
i) Particle size iv) Particle shape vii) Moisture
ii) Feed rate v) Open area
iii) Screen angle vi) Vibration

SHORT NOTE ON- FEED RATE, SCREEN ANGLE, VIBRATION, OPEN AREA:
The probability of passage for a single spherical particle size d passing a square aperture with a
size x bordered by a wire diameter w in a single event is given by the Gaudin equation:

( ) ()

( ) ( )

Where, fraction of open area, ⁄( )

The probability of passage for n presentations is calculated by:

( ) ( )

FEED RATE: The principle of sieve sizing analysis is to use a low feed rate and a very long
screening time to effect an almost complete separation. In industrial screening practice,
economics dictate that relatively high feed rates and short particle dwell times on the screen
should be used. At these high feed rates, a thick bed of material is presented to the screen, and
fines must travel to the bottom of the particle bed before they have an opportunity to pass
through the screen surface. The net effect is reduced efficiency. High capacity and high
efficiency are often opposing requirements for any given separation, and a compromise is
necessary to achieve the optimum result.

SCREEN ANGLE: The Equation (ii) assumes that the particle approaches the aperture
perpendicular to the aperture. If a particle approaches the aperture at a shallow angle, it will
"see" a narrower effective aperture dimension and nearmesh particles are less likely to pass. The
slope of the screening surface affects the angle at which particles are presented to the screen
apertures. Some screens utilise this effect to achieve separations significantly finer than the
screen aperture. For example, sieve bends cut at approximately half the aperture size. Where
screening efficiency is important, horizontal screens are selected.
The screen angle also affects the speed at which particles are conveyed along the screen, and
therefore the dwell time on the screen and the number of opportunities particles have of passing
the screen surface.

Ref: Wills' Mineral Processing Technology

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OPEN AREA: The chance of passing through the aperture is proportional to the percentage of
open area in the screen material, which is defined as the ratio of the net area of the apertures to
the whole area of the screening surface. The smaller the area occupied by the screen deck
construction material, the greater the chance of a particle reaching an aperture.
Open area generally decreases with the fineness of the screen aperture. In order to increase the
open area of a fine screen, very thin and fragile wires or deck construction must be used. This
fragility and the low throughput capacity are the main reasons for classifiers replacing screens at
fine aperture sizes.

VIBRATION: Screens are vibrated in order to throw particles off the screening surface so that
they can again be presented to the screen, and to convey the particles along the screen. The right
type of vibration also induces stratification of the feed material, which allows the fines to work
through the layer of particles to the screen surface while causing larger particles to rise to the
top. Stratification tends to increase the rate of passage in the middle section of the screen.
The vibration must be sufficient to prevent pegging and blinding. However, excessive vibration
intensity will cause particles to bounce from the screen deck and be thrown so far from the
surface that there are very few effective presentations to the screen surface. Higher vibration
rates can, in general, be used with higher feed rates, as the deeper bed of material has a
"cushioning" effect which inhibits particle bounce.
Vibration can be characterised by the vibration frequency, f cycles per second, and amplitude, a
metres. The term "stroke" is commonly used and refers to the peak-to-peak amplitude, or 2a.
The intensity of vibration is defined by the vibration g-force, Γ:

( )

Vibrating screens typically operate with a vibration force of between 3 and 7 times the
gravitational acceleration, or 3G-7G.

TYPES OF VIBRATING SCREEN:

Vibrating screens have a rectangular screening surface with feed and oversize discharge at
opposite ends. They perform size separations from 300mm in size down to 45 µm.
a) Inclined screens f) Banana screens
b) Grizzly screens g) Modular screens
c) Horizontal screens h) Mogensen sizers
d) Resonance screens i) High frequency screens
e) Dewatering screens

Ref: Wills' Mineral Processing Technology

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VIBRATING SCREENS ARE IMPORTANT-WHY?

Vibrating screens are the most important and versatile screening machines for mineral
processing applications. The success of the vibrating screen has made many older screen types
obsolete in the minerals industry including shaking and reciprocating screens. Vibrating screens
have a rectangular screening surface with feed and oversize discharge at opposite ends. They
perform size separations from 300mm in size down to 45 µm and they are used in a variety of
sizing, grading, scalping, dewatering, wet screening, and washing applications.
Vibrating screens of most types can be manufactured with more than one screening deck. On
multiple-deck systems, the feed is introduced to the top coarse screen; the undersize falling
through to the lower screen decks, thus producing a range of sized fractions from a single screen.

OTHER SCREEN TYPES:

a) Static screens g) Flip-flow screen
b) Mogensen divergators h) Circular screens
c) Trommels i) Sieve bend screens
d) Rotaspiral j) Linear screen
e) Bradford Breaker k) Pansep screen
f) Roller screen

COMPARISON OF BANANA SCREEN WITH RESONANCE SCREEN:

BANANA SCREEN RESONANCE SCREEN

Banana or Multi-slope screens have become
widely used in high-tonnage sizing applications
where both efficiency and capacity are important.
Banana screens typically have a variable slope of
around 40-30º at the feed end of the screen,
reducing to around 0-15º in increments of 3.5-5º.
Banana screens are usually designed with a linear-
stroke vibrator. The steep sections of the screen
cause the feed material to flow rapidly at the feed
end of the screen. The resulting thin bed of
particles stratifies more quickly and therefore has a
faster screening rate for the very fine material than
would be possible on a slower moving thick bed.
Towards the discharge end of the screen, the slope
decreases to slow down the remaining material,
enabling more efficient screening of the near-size
material. The capacity of banana screens is
significantly greater and is reported to be up to
three or four times that of conventional vibrating
screens
Resonance Screens are a type of horizontal
screen consisting of a screen frame
connected by rubber buffers to a
dynamically balanced frame having a
natural resonance frequency which is the
same as that of the vibrating screen body.
The vibration energy imparted to the
screen frame is stored up in the balancing
frame, and re-imparted to the screen frame
on the return stroke. The energy losses are
reduced to a minimum, and the sharp
return motion produced by the resonant
action imparts a lively action to the deck
and promotes good screening.
Ref: Wills' Mineral Processing Technology
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CIRCULAR MOTION (SINGLE-SHAFT) SCREENS:

When the shaft of an inclined screen is located precisely at the screen's centre of gravity, the
entire screen body vibrates with a circular vibration pattern (Figure 8.6a). Occasionally, the shaft
is installed above or below the centre of gravity as in the system shown in Figure 8.6b. This
placement results in an elliptical motion, slanting forward at the feed end; a circular motion at
the centre; and an elliptical motion, slanting backwards at the discharge end. Forward motion at
the feed end serves to move oversize material rapidly out of the feed zone to keep the bed as thin
as possible. This action facilitates passage of fines which should be completely removed in the
first one-third of the screen length. As the oversize bed thins down, near the centre of the screen,
the motion gradually changes to the circular pattern to slow down the rate of travel of the solids.
At the discharge end, the oversize and remaining near-size materials are subjected to the
increasingly retarding effect of the backward elliptical motion. This allows the near-size material
more time to find openings in the screen cloth.
LINEAR-VIBRATION (DOUBLE-
SHAFT) SCREENS:
A linear vibration is induced by using
mechanical exciters containing matched
unbalanced weights rotating in opposite
directions on two shafts as shown in Figure
8.6c. Linear stroke screens can be installed
on a slope, horizontally or even on a small
up-hill incline. The angle of stroke is
typically between 30 and 60 ~ to the screen
deck. Linear-vibration exciters are used on
horizontal screens and banana screens. Oval
motion (Triple-shaft) screens. A three-shaft
exciter design can be used to generate an
elliptical vibratory motion as shown in
Figure 8.6d, which can also be used on
horizontal and banana screens. The three
shafts are connected by gears and one of the
shafts is driven. The elliptical motion is
claimed to offer the efficiency benefit of a
linear vibrating screen with the tumbling
action of a circular motion screen. Higher
capacities and increased efficiencies are
Figure 2: Vibration patterns generated by
claimed over either linear or circular motion
various exciter designs. The star represents
machines.
the location of the screen's centre of gravity

TYPES OF SCREEN SURFACES:

There are many types of screening surface available for industrial vibrating screens. Screening
surfaces are usually manufactured from steel, rubber, or polyurethane, and can be classified
according to how they are fixed to the screen.
a) Bolt-in screening surfaces
b) Tensioned screening surfaces

Ref: Wills' Mineral Processing Technology

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c) Woven-wire cloth
d) Self-cleaning wire
e) Tensioned rubber and polyurethane mats
f) Modular screening surfaces

SELF CLEANING SCREEN SURFACE WITH PROPER DIAGRAM:

Traditionally, blinding problems have been countered by using wire with long-slotted apertures
or no cross-wires at all (piano-wire) but at the cost of lower screening efficiency.

Self-cleaning wire (Figure 8.20) is a

variation on this, having wires that are
crimped to form "apertures" but individual
wires are free to vibrate and therefore have a
high resistance to blinding and pegging.
Screening accuracy can be close to that of
conventional woven wire mesh; and they
have a longer wear life, justifying their
higher initial cost.
There are three main types of self-cleaning
weave:
Figure 3: Various types of self-cleaning (i) diamond, (ii) triangle, and (iii) wave or
wire mesh zig-zag shaped apertures.The triangle and
diamond weaves give a more efficient
separation.

Ref: Wills' Mineral Processing Technology