Minerals Engineering 22 (2009) 613–617

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Minerals Engineering
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/mineng

New developments in cone crusher performance optimization

Jens Lichter a,*, King Lim b, Alex Potapov c, Dean Kaja d
a
Metso Minerals Inc., MBL Process Technology, 621 South Sierra Madre, Colorado Springs, CO 80903, USA
b
Metso Minerals Inc., MBL Large Crushers, 20965 Crossroads Circle, Waukesha, WI 53186, USA
c
Metso Minerals Inc., 621 South Sierra Madre, Colorado Springs, CO 80903, USA
d
Metso Minerals Inc., Comminution Research & Technology Development, 20965 Crossroads Circle, Waukesha, WI 53186, USA

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: This paper shall review Metso Minerals’ current 3D Discrete Element Method (DEM) modeling tech-
Received 3 July 2008 niques, developed to allow a detailed study of the interactions of crushing design variables with actual
Accepted 19 April 2009 rock mechanics.
Available online 12 May 2009
A standard DEM approach cannot be applied to systems where size reduction is an important element
in the flow of particles, such as industrial crushers. In these systems, it is necessary to physically decrease
Keywords: the particle sizes in a realistic way, as they are transported through the device. Metso Minerals has there-
Comminution
fore developed a breakage model that incorporates elements of Population Balance Modeling (PBM) tech-
Crushing
DEM
niques to describe breakage as a function of the loads on the individual rocks. The combination of this
Process optimization breakage model with DEM has therefore allowed the development of a multi physics based comminution
model that can be applied to crusher development. This model is sensitive to all aspects of crusher design
including crusher machine parameters and the ore characteristics.
This physics based virtual comminution model will enable engineers to optimize the design development
of future crushers by allowing a wider range of values for the crusher variables to be investigated in a rapid,
yet more detailed manner, without the need for the traditional expensive and lengthy prototype testing.
Ó 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Crusher design evolution
Compression cone crusher designs today have evolved from the
simple cone crusher first developed in the mid-1920s by Edgar B.
Symons, to the modern high performance crushers. Early crushers
used springs for tramp iron protection and were manually ad-
justed. The newer crushers utilize a safer more reliable hydraulic
tramp release and clearing system in addition to hydraulic setting
adjustment systems. The hydraulic setting adjustment systems al-
low remote setting changes and connection to automation systems
that can automatically adjust the crusher setting as needed to opti-
mize the crusher performance.
Due to the higher power and force levels designed into the new-
er crushers, they are able to operate in a mode referred to as inter-
particle comminution, whereby a bed of feed particles are
interacting not only with the mantle and bowl liner crushing sur-
faces, but also with the surrounding particles. This produces a
much finer particle distribution for any given crusher setting. The
presence of interparticle crushing places additional demands on
the integrity of a physics based virtual comminution model.
With today’s technology, crusher design development is still
somewhat restrictive. The ability to investigate crusher variables
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 719 386 0201; fax: +1 719 386 0431.
E-mail address: jens.lichter@metso.com (J. Lichter).
such as cavity profile, throw, setting, and speed, and their effect
on crushing performance cannot be easily achieved without expen-
sive and lengthy prototype testing programs. Often times, proto-
type testing still requires several iterations before realizing
positive results. As an example, the time it takes to validate the re-
sult of a cavity profile change requires a minimum of eight to ten
months in order to be able to obtain results from a change.
There are computer simulation programs based on zone fall-of-
material flow calculations. These packages evaluate the passage of
single 2D particles (normally discs), moving through the crusher
cavity. But the simulations are not able to easily predict perfor-
mance outside of the field tested database, and are limited in their
ability to handle complex shapes in the crusher cavity. These
empirical models can be used to predict existing crusher perfor-
mance quite accurately, but cannot be used with confidence to de-
sign outside of the experience base.
The virtual comminution model presented has provided a
breakthrough in technology advancement, whereby crusher vari-
ables can be investigated in a rapid, yet more detailed manner
without the need for the traditional expensive and lengthy proto-
type testing. The virtual comminution model provides the neces-
sary tool to dramatically reduce development times through
providing enhanced design confidence.
The new method treats each particle of the feed being modeled
as a separate entity, following the motion and calculating the

0892-6875/$ - see front matter Ó 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.mineng.2009.04.003
614 J. Lichter et al. / Minerals Engineering 22 (2009) 613–617
forces and energy applied to each particle as it travels through the
crusher. When the required breakage energy threshold has been
reached, the particle breaks and daughter particles are generated.
The data required to determine the probability of breakage, and
the resultant fragmentation, is derived from the results of drop
weight breakage tests on the ore being modeled.
The virtual crusher comminution model represents the first true
microscale model, that can provide details of the crushing environ-
ment, and that can be examined in three dimensional space. This
makes it possible to investigate a wider range of crushing condi-
tions in a relatively short period of time and to decide what com-
bination provides the best application results.
2. The multiphysics comminution model
The Discrete Element Method (DEM) (Campbell, 1997) is a
numerical technique in which the equations of motion of every
particle in a system are integrated numerically at every time step.
Thus the motion of every particle in a system is calculated in great
detail. Advances in computer hardware, and DEM algorithms, have
allowed great strides to be made in the detail and scope of a prob-
lem that can be simulated in a reasonable time frame. DEM tech-
niques have always been highly suitable for the simulation of the
flow of unbreakable particles in systems where size reduction
was not required as part of a simulation. Early applications of
DEM, such as charge trajectory analysis in mills, are now routine
within the mining industry. The application of DEM to crushers
is however faced with an additional challenge. Rock cannot pass
through the crusher without being broken. It is therefore necessary
to develop realistic breakage models. These models have to take as
inputs the ore properties, as well as the detailed loading informa-
tion from the DEM simulations, and calculate the resultant size
reduction. In addition to generating size reduction data, these
models are also required to provide accurate data on the forces
that the rock applies to the crusher components.
DEM simulations focus on discrete ‘‘particles” by solving New-
ton’s Second Law of motion applied to a particle of mass mi moving
with velocity vi when it is acted upon by a collection of forces fig
including gravitational forces and particle–particle, particle–fluid
and particle boundary interactive forces, i.e.,
Dðmi v i Þ X
¼ fij ð1Þ
Dt
If particle motion is confined to two directions the simulation is re-
ferred to as 2D-DEM; if full three directional movement is allowed
the simulation is referred to as 3D-DEM. For mineral processing de-
sign applications the ‘‘particles” are generally ore particles, grinding
media pieces or bubbles. Constitutive equations can be provided for
interactive forces, energy dissipation, wear and breakage. For the
crusher simulations under discussion, DEM modeling is done in
3D using polyhedral ore particles.
Early techniques to develop a breakage model used rocks con-
structed of sub particles ‘‘glued” together by contacts that are able
to withstand specific tensile stresses before being broken. This
technique is known as Discrete Grain Breakage (DGB) (Potapov et
al., 1995a,b; Herbst and Potapov, 2004). This technique can provide
good data, but it is restricted in its application due to the very sig-
nificant computational expense associated with its use. Problems
that can be addressed using this technique are therefore largely
limited to coarse crushing applications, or two dimensional
crusher studies, where particle counts can be kept to a reasonable
level. Two dimensional DEM (2D-DEM) can provide useful relative
performance data but is not suitable for providing absolute perfor-
mance data of any kind (actual values as opposed to relative
differences).
The current development of a virtual comminution model has
largely overcome the limitations imposed by DGB modeling. The
approach, currently referred to as Fast Breakage (FB) modeling
(Potapov et al., 2007), combines elements of DEM with elements
of Population Balance Modeling (PBM).
2.1. Description of the Fast Breakage Model
An inherent requirement for a realistic and robust breakage
model is the use of polyhedral particles. ‘‘Glued” spheres, or non
spherical particles generated with the use of super quadratics, have
the implicit non ideality that they cannot conserve both mass and
volume when broken. The virtual comminution model described
here therefore uses randomly shaped convex polyhedral particles.
The breakage component of the model uses a Population Bal-
ance Model (PBM) approach (Herbst et al., 2003). The DEM simula-
tion provides the energy applied to every particle in a system,
either by collision with other particles, or with the crusher bowl
liner or mantle. If the energy of a contact is determined to be suf-
ficient to break a particle, the particle is broken instantaneously
into the sizes calculated from the solution of a set of ordinary dif-
ferential equations, constituting the energy specific PBM. Each
resultant fragment now behaves as a single particle and can be
broken again provided that the applied energy is sufficient, and
that the particle size is larger than the minimum particle size de-
fined for the system. (A minimum particle size has to be defined
to control the time step of the DEM calculations, and the maximum
number of particles defined for the system.) The breakage products
finer than the minimum particle size are added to the bottom size
fraction for the purposes of the DEM model. The breakage model
therefore misses the ‘‘re-breakage” of fines below the minimum
size (but this is a relatively small number in a crusher), and will
distort the % retained in the bottom size class(s) (the minimum
particle size modeled). The product gradation curve is therefore
not shown extending all the way down to the minimum particle
size, but is truncated at approximately 2–3 times the minimum
particle size. For the purposes of any simulation, the feed and prod-
uct size distributions used for the DEM are both truncated at the
same minimum particle size.
The equations describing the primary ore breakage properties
are referred to as the selection function (a n  1 matrix) and the
breakage function (a lower triangular n  n matrix). The first de-
scribes the fracture rate and the second the size distribution of
daughter fragments. These functions are simplified into a func-
tional form that contains three parameters to describe the selec-
tion function, and three parameters to describe the breakage
function. The form of the selection and breakage functions used
for this analysis are given in the following equations
0 " # 1

d  2
d
i i
SEi ¼ exp @f1 ‘n  þ f2 ‘n  A
SE1 ð2Þ
d1 d1
!a2 !

d  a3
d
i i
Bij ¼ a1  þ ð1  a1 Þ  ð3Þ
djþ1 djþ1
where SEi is the normalized selection function and is primarily an
 is the geometric mean of size fraction i, and
ore characteristic, d
i
the breakage function Bij is the fraction passing size di from the
breakage of particles in the size fraction ½dj ; djþ1 . The second order
term in the selection function is typically not required for crusher
applications.
The ore breakage characteristics are determined by means of a
single particle drop weight test. The impact energy as well as the
resultant fragmentation are measured, and used to develop the
parameter estimates for the energy specific PBM model. These
breakage parameters together with the feed ore size distributions,
 J. Lichter et al. / Minerals Engineering 22 (2009) 613–617
ore specific gravity, and a shape description constitute the full data
set for the feed.
The full crusher geometry including the cavity profile, and the
equations of motion for the mantle, are included into the simula-
tion. The results from the DEM simulation provide the applied en-
ergy data specific to each particle and each contact event. No
scaling is therefore required when applying the breakage parame-
ters determined from the drop weight tests.
2.2. Fast Breakage Model validation and examples
One of the strongest attributes of such physics based micro-
scale models is the lack of empiricism. There are no ‘‘fitted” param-
eters, and all values for the model parameters are either derived
directly from breakage tests, or from the machine operating
parameters (e.g. the CSS and the throw). Validation is therefore a
rigorous process with no opportunity to ‘‘fit” data to a desired out-
come. Model development and validation is an ongoing process.
Parameters included in the validation exercises include crusher
throughput, crusher power draw, crushing force and product size
distributions. Two examples of such validation exercises are pro-
vided below.
An initial validation exercise was based on a pilot laboratory
test conducted on a B90 cone crusher. The B90 is a small continu-
ous laboratory scale cone crusher. The feed material used in this
test was a Sorilla granite, which would be classified as a very hard
ore. The tests were conducted at Metso Minerals’ pilot crushing
facility in Tampere, Finland. Crusher throw was 4.3 mm, and CSS
was 5 mm. A sample of the feed was provided for the single parti-
cle drop weight tests conducted at Metso Minerals’ Colorado
Springs facility in the USA.
Fig. 1 shows a snapshot of the B90 simulation.
The measured crusher throughput during the validation test was
40.7 kg/min, and the result from the simulation was 41.5 kg/min.
Agreement was therefore excellent. Fig. 2 shows the comparison
between the measured and simulated product size distributions.
The fine fraction of the simulated product size distributions is
always truncated due to the need to restrict minimum particle size
and control the total particle count. The particle count is heavily
influenced by the minimum particle size selected, which was
1.5 mm in this simulation. This value therefore needs to be chosen
with care and should consider both computation time required and
the need for resolution at the smaller size fractions. In this
Fig. 1. A sectional view of the B90 DEM simulation.
615
Fig. 2. Simulated and experimental product size distributions – B90 crusher.
example, the particle count at steady state was approximately
15,000, but in larger crushers such as an MP1000, the particle
count can swell to 500,000 or above depending on the minimum
particle size being modeled.
A second validation point was provided by data available from a
pilot crushing test conducted on a medium hardness limestone at
the Metso Minerals’ Milwaukee test facility in the USA. The crusher
used in this test was an HP100.
Fig. 3 shows a snapshot of the HP100 simulation, with Fig. 4
showing the comparison between the experimental and the simu-
lated product size distributions. This crusher was operating with a
throw of 42.9 mm, and a CSS of 31.8 mm. The minimum particle
size used in this simulation was 9.4 mm, with a particle count at
steady state of approximately 60,000.
The results from the simulation were compared to continuous
pilot scale crushing tests conducted at Metso Minerals’ crushing
facility in Waukesha, USA. Of interest with this validation exercise
is the distinct change in the breakage parameter estimates as a
function of the size fraction in the feed. Two simulations were
completed, one using the breakage parameter estimates from
50 mm rock, and the second using the parameter estimates from
25 mm rock. The measured throughput for the test was 121 tph.
The simulated throughput with the two sets of ore properties were
111 tph and 131 tph. Current models allow such differences in the
breakage parameters to be included in a single simulation.
Fig. 3. A sectional view of the HP100 DEM simulation.
616 J. Lichter et al. / Minerals Engineering 22 (2009) 613–617
Fig. 4. Simulated and experimental product size distributions – HP100 crusher.
3. Crusher selection and optimization
With current crusher selection procedures, gathering the cor-
rect application information is the key to the proper selection of
cone crushers for a specific application. The information needed in-
cludes the throughput requirements with due consideration for the
expected availability of the overall crushing circuit. Information on
expected feed gradation and product size is required along with
the characteristics of the material being crushed. The material
characteristics should include the specific gravity or bulk density
of the material, impact work index, moisture content, and abrasion
index. Information on how the material breaks is helpful as well.
Actual data from an existing operation, if available, is a valuable
aid in the selection of the secondary and tertiary crushing equip-
ment. For ‘‘Greenfield” projects, information on the material char-
acteristics should be obtained from either laboratory tests in small
samples, or if larger samples are available, a full scale pilot crush-
ing test can be performed. Simulations using the virtual comminu-
tion model use data from drop weight tests. These samples are
always relatively small. Small sample sizes of relatively large rocks
are prone to sampling errors, and may not be representative of an
ore body. Small sample sizes do however allow multiple samples to
be analyzed for their breakage characteristics. Pilot scale tests can
incur similar problems. Experiment repeatability can also be an
issue.
With current crusher selection procedures, application tools
including flowsheet simulators and proprietary models are used
to assist in the flowsheet development and equipment selection.
Crusher selection is typically based on finding a suitably sized
crusher to ‘‘fit” the flowsheet or application. The development of
a virtual comminution model has the possibility to take crusher
design and development to a different level. Predicting results
and optimizing the crusher variables before manufacture is now
realistically feasible. The model will respond to variations in the
feed crushability, feed size distributions, and feed shape. Material
flow calculations using DEM take all aspects of crusher operation
into consideration, including cavity volumes, effect of throw and
speed on particle motion and the resultant rock hold up in the
crusher cavity.
Due to the relative ease of obtaining results in a virtual environ-
ment, it is possible to extensively optimize crusher parameters,
both in terms of machine design and operation, specific to an appli-
cation. It will therefore be possible to evaluate accurately multiples
of parameters such as crusher speed, throw, and cavity design
simultaneously, and have results in weeks.
A key decision in any DEM based modeling exercise is the pre-
determination of the minimum particle size to be modeled. The
number of particles in a simulation has a major implication on
the run time. As a first approximation, halving the minimum par-
ticle size to be modeled can increase the run time by close to an
order of magnitude (the actual value is dependent on the overall
size distribution, and time step requirements). A DEM simulation
is therefore typically tailored to the data required of it. If a product
size distribution down to 30 mm is adequate to meet the objectives
of the simulation, then a minimum particle size of 10–15 mm
would be selected (minimum particle size has to be less than the
desired resolution of the solution). If a finer size distribution is re-
quired, then the minimum particle size would have to be reduced.
Ultimately, the desire for (or value of) the data has to be balanced
with the computational effort (and therefore cost) required for the
simulation. An additional constraint is the CSS of the crusher to be
modeled. The minimum particle size selected has to be substan-
tially less than the CSS of the crusher. In the current phase of model
development and validation, it is common to run simulations at
multiple minimum particle sizes, so as to ensure that the choice
of minimum particle size does not influence the key crusher per-
formance parameters.
With current software and hardware capabilities, crusher simu-
lations such as the HP 100 described above, or an MP1000 in a typ-
ical secondary crushing role, require between 1 and 2 weeks to
complete, and multiple scenarios can be run simultaneously. As
the feed material in the simulations can be tightly controlled, the
results will show true relative performance, without the difficulties
and expense required to run multiple pilot crushing campaigns.
The models are sensitive to almost all aspects of crusher opera-
tion. It is therefore possible to determine the effect that choke
feeding will have on crusher throughput and product size distribu-
tion. The virtual comminution model will respond realistically to
loads applied to the bowl liner and mantle by the rocks in the
crushing chamber.
Another area of considerable potential for virtual crusher com-
minution models is the inclusion of wear modeling. Metso Miner-
als’ DEM model for mill applications includes a well developed
wear model that allows the accurate prediction of wear life as a
function of shell liner design and mill operation (Hollow and
Herbst, 2006; Qui et al., 2001). The current crusher comminution
model collects data on the shear work expended on the wear sur-
faces, but metal removal and wear life predictions are not available
at this time. These model additions will be the focus of future
developments.
4. Conclusions
The ongoing emphasis by operations on process optimization
and efficiency improvements will take advantage of the latest vir-
tual comminution models. The combination of DEM and a micro-
scale PBM model makes it possible to model the performance of
a crusher at the level of individual breakage events. The DEM pro-
vides detailed information on particle transport, and the magni-
tude of any forces applied to individual ore particles, and the
micro-scale PBM model (with parameter values directly calculated
from single particle drop weight tests) allows this data to be trans-
lated directly into a breakage rate and a resultant fragmentation on
a rock by rock basis. This level of granularity eliminates the need to
rely on empiricism, and model parameters are clearly defined
physical values such as the chamber shape, the crusher speed,
etc. The result is a model that allows questions to be asked and an-
swered on most aspects of a crushers’ design and operation. These
models will therefore allow the design of a ‘‘best fit crusher” for
any given flowsheet or application. The use of the virtual commi-
nution model is not limited to new crusher development alone.
Upgrades of existing crushing facilities will present considerable
opportunities. Existing operations have an advantage in that most
 J. Lichter et al. / Minerals Engineering 22 (2009) 613–617
of the physical parameters associated with the feed are known and
can be measured. This is often not the case for Greenfield applica-
tions. This will allow considerably more ‘‘fine tuning” of existing
applications than might be possible for Greenfield operations.
Areas of ongoing activity will include developing a more thor-
ough understanding of some hard to measure variables such as
friction coefficients, ore stiffness parameter estimates, etc. All evi-
dence to date indicates that provided that the estimates used for
these parameters fall within a reasonable range, the models are
largely insensitive to variations and therefore intrinsically robust.
Validation is an ongoing activity, and faces its own specific chal-
lenges. The values provided by any virtual model are fundamen-
tally different to what is measurable in the field. As an example,
product size distributions are typically measured on screens,
meaning the measurement will include the influences of shape
and orientation. The results from DEM simulations need to reflect
that. Similarly, calculated power is based on work done on the
mantle. The measured value is almost always at the motor, so drive
train and bearing losses all need to be factored in. Motor shaft
power is typically measurable with the correct motor data and
equipment, but bearing losses need to be based on theoretical
calculations.
Current absolute results for variables such as throughput,
power draw and product size distributions are within the range
of the measured values where experimental procedures need to
be analyzed, so as to determine whether the differences between
experimental and simulated results are due to experimental error
or due to the model itself. The current error bar appears to be with-
in 10% for the accuracy of Greenfield predictions, but a greater vol-
ume of data is required before a reasonable confidence interval can
be established.
These challenges aside, the relative values for all measurable
parameters provided by the virtual crusher model have been
shown to track the plant data over large operational ranges. Rela-
tive performance predictions are useful in that they are more for-
giving of field measurement inaccuracies. They also provide a
good indication that the form of the comminution model is funda-
mentally sound and robust. The error associated with relative per-
formance predictions (determining the effect of a change in
crusher operating parameters) has been shown to be less than 5%.
617
The true value of a physics based virtual crusher model is that it
is a micro model and sensitive to all aspects of a crusher design and
operation. The ore crushability can be measured relatively easily
and parameter estimates for the ore crushability do not require
‘‘fitting” as is necessary in the current generation of macro PBM
models.
The data provided by a virtual model can also be highly local-
ized, e.g. the shear and normal work on a liner in a specific location.
This opens up the possibility of fundamental wear modeling that
will be sensitive to ore and crusher parameters.
Virtual crusher model are computationally intensive, and are
unlikely to replace current crusher selection practice in the near
or medium future as a fast analysis method will continue to be re-
quired. These models will however open up numerous opportuni-
ties to aid in fundamental crusher design, and to trouble shoot or
optimize existing installations. For these opportunities, the compu-
tational effort is very reasonable and easily justified.
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