Best Practices

BEST PRACTICE DESCRIPTION

BALL CHARGE LEVEL MANAGEMENT

Summary
 PURPOSE
 To adjust the maximum level of the ball charge in a ball mill in such a way as to optimize
production in a sold out market (save power consumption) and to reduce the amount of power
used by a ball mill in a non sold-out market whilst remaining cost-effective.

 BEST PRACTICE

 For a non sold out market, the level of the ball charge should be maintained at 28% of volume
in the first compartment of the mill. When market demand exceeds production, the maximum
level of the ball charge again in the first compartment of the ball mill, should be increased to
34%. Generally, the level of the ball charge in the second compartment of the mill is 2% higher
than in the first compartment.
 The level of the ball charge can be checked by monitoring the power consumption (kWh/t) ;the
mill should be inspected if power consumption is under target for 3 consecutive days by 3%.
 Installing new liners, especially liners of an average thickness, or replacing the intermediate
partitions will affect the tonnage of balls needed to reach a specific volume of ball charge. So,
this sort of work should be taken into account when calculating the level of the ball charge in
the mill.

 RESULT INDICATORS

 Power consumption in kWh/t.

 The fluctuations in the total amount of power used by the mill.
 The amount of t/h.
The most important factor to consider in a non sold out market is power consumption in kWh/t.

 IMPLEMENTATION

The main difficulty with the implementation of this Best Practice is scheduling production in a sold-
out market.

 SIDE EFFECTS
 Establish a production schedule for the mills taking into account stoppages for inspection,
which should be coordinated with the weekly maintenance schedule.
 Mill output.
 Power consumption in kWh/t in a sold out market.
 Description

BALL CHARGE LEVEL MANAGEMENT TYTP POWER BEST PRACTICE

 RECOMMENDED VOLUME LOADING
 The ideal level of ball charge depends on the priorities of the individual plant.
The plant must decide whether their main goal is:
- to reduce mill power consumption (kWh/t) at the mill, or
- to optimize production (t/h).

The recommended level of the ball charge are as follows:

Recommended Volume Loading

1st Compartment 2nd Compartment 3rd Compartment

Minimum kWh/t (*)
26 – 28% 28 – 30% 28 – 30%non sold-out market

1st Compartment 2nd Compartment 3rd Compartment

Maximum Production (**)
32 – 34% 34 – 36% 34 – 36% sold-out market

 It is important to understand that when maximum production rate is the main priority, the level ball
charge is increased which causes an increase in the specific power consumption (kWh/t).

 The level of the ball charge will be limited in some mills because of:
- The power of the mill’s motor (***),
- stress on the mill shell,
- stress on the gearing,
- the efficiency and the capacity of the separator (the repercussions in terms of kWh/t
are less significant if the separator is less efficient),
- the humidity level of the material,
- other constraints.
-
 The size of the inlet trunnion in the mill is another common factor that limits the level of the ball
charge for example, volume loading is limited to 29%). Ball level in the trunnion should not be any
higher than 50-75 mm (2-3 inches). A reversing screw installed in the trunnion sends the balls back
inside mill.
 When the level of the ball charge is higher than 34%, the beneficial effects of the classifying liners
are often lost and it is therefore recommended not to allow the level of the ball charge to exceed 36%
in second compartments equipped with classifying liners.

(*) The recommended volume loading for minimum kWh/t is based on an acceptable compromise with
production.For minimum kWh/t the volume loading can be as low as 22% (22% is also a strict minimum to avoid
possible damages on mill shell liners).
(**) The recommended volume loading for maximum production can sometimes be as high as 40%. It is
therefore important to make sure that the capacity of the mill’s motor is such that it can allow for this increase
 Description
whilst the level of the ball charge should be increased only gradually in stages of 1 – 2 %. Monitor the
parameters:volume loading per compartment, total power consumption (kW) and output (t/h).
(***) It is important to monitor and to keep a track of power consumption in order to determine the maximum
load that a mill can handle.

 BALL CHARGE LEVEL MONITORING

 The free heights should be measured along the center line of the mill from the top of the balls
to the top of the mill (at a minimum of 3 points in the 1st compartment and 4 points in he 2nd
and 3rd compartments).It is recommended to use an instrument similar to the one described in
Appendix II.

Note
The procedure for inspecting a mill is not included in this Best Practice.

 BALL CHARGE LEVEL ADJUSTMENT

Note

This Best Practice does not go into close detail on the method used for sorting and loading the balls
into the mill, the distribution of the balls in terms of their size or the analysis of data on the μ cost-
efficiency of the mill.

 When stopping the mill to add new balls in order to bring the level of the ball charge back up to
the original volume loading (i.e. when the level of the ball charge in absolute % of the volume
load is at least 0.5 % below target):

- the average size of the new balls that are added must be greater than the average size of the
original ball charge, unless the design of the ball charge is to be changed. Usually, the biggest
size balls are used.
- If there is any uncertainty about the current ball charge, a sample of the charge should be
taken in order to determine the correct size of the new balls.
- It is important to determine the mill’s power consumption just before stopping the mill and
before adding the new balls. An important rule of thumb is that one metric ton of balls will
increase the mill’s consumption of power by 10 kWh (in reality however, this value varies
according to each individual mill and it can be as low as 6 kWh).

 In a sold-out market, after monthly mill inspection (see the sheet describes in appendix 1),
when addition of balls is needed to increase the production rate of the mill (t/h):
- A proportional distribution of ball sizes is recommended (ball charge sampling may be
required to determine the ball sizes).

 If it has been decided to reduce the level of the ball charge by a significant amount, (>5%), the
mill must be emptied and the balls resorted.

 Never add wet or snow-covered balls into a cement mill.

 Never allow the mill’s motor to exceed its limits.
 Description
 Never mix different types of balls or balls of different metallurgical composition (e.g. forged
steel and chromium or low and high chromium compositions) together. If in doubt, please
contact yourTechnical Center.

Another method for estimating the level of ball charge

 Another way of estimating the level of the ball charge is to count the number of visible shell
liner plates (n). The ratio of the visible plates (n) to the total number of shell liner plates (N) can then
be used to estimate the level of the ball charge.

The following table shows the level of ball charge as a % of the free height / interior diameter (h/d)
and the number of visible plates / total plates (n/N).

RECORD KEEPING
 In order to ensure a proper management of the level of ball charge in the mill and in
accordance with the training on grinding, records should be kept at the plants of the following
information:
- Monthly inspection sheet on the level of ball charge in the mill
- Ball additions (date, quantity, ball size, etc)
- Results of the sorting of the ball charge, when applicable.
- The original design of the ball charge, or an approximate evaluation (which should be
clearly labelled as such).
- Any unusual events or problems that have affected the mill’s performance.
- Dates when the liner and partitions have been changed.
- Power consumption of the grinding Workshop and the total power consumption of the mill
itself.

Appendices

Appendix 1
Mill inspection sheet

Appendix 2
Free height measuring device
 Appendices
Appendix 1

USING THE MILL INSPECTION SHEET

 INPUT
The mill inspection sheet should be used to verify the ball charge in the mills on a regular (monthly)
basis. Before using the inspection sheet, during the mill inspections, some preliminary information
should be noted: plant, mill, date, inspector, cement type, design volume loading. Operating data
before mill purge should be collected as follows: production, mill power, product fineness, elevator
kW, and C1/C2 sound
.
 DESCRIPTION
The mill inspection sheet has a dual purpose, which is directly related to this BP:
- to keep track of the information that is collected during mill inspections, and
- to automatically calculate the balls to be added based upon the free height measurements in
the mill

The spreadsheet also asks for other information, such as slot opening, the type of ball charge and
coating;this is useful information that should be kept

 OUTPUT

As well as this information, the measured free heights should also be entered on the spreadsheet.
The amount of balls to be added to reach design volume is indicated. The amount of balls that are
added and their size should also be written on the sheet. The ball sizes that should be added are not
given as it varies greatly from mill to mill.
Remember to ensure that the mill motor kW can handle the quantity of additional balls before loading
the mill.
Forms
 Appendices
Appendix 2
 FREE HEIGHT MEASURING DEVICE
TITLE
Measuring the free height in a mill.

INPUT
Before the free heights are measured, the internal dimensions of the mill should be determined.

DESCRIPTION
The free heights are measured along the centerline of the mill from the top of the balls to the average
thickness of the liners at the top of mill. It is important to start on a flat part of the ball charge (avoid
measuring from any obvious high or low spots). For the top of the mill, measure to an average liner
thickness (as an example, generally the top of bolt heads in the case of a Step-lifting liner). The
heights must be measured at a minimum of 3 locations in 1st compartment and 4 locations in 2nd/3 rd
compartments. These locations must distributed evenly throughout the length of the compartment. It
is recommended to use an instrument similar to the one described in this appendix.

OUTPUT
The data generated by this task must be included in the mill inspection
sheet.

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