Torque Analysis of a Gyratory Crusher with the Discrete Element Method

Comminution by gyratory crusher is the first stage in the size reduction operation in mineral processing. In the copper industry, these machines are widely utilized, and their reliability has become a relevant aspect. To optimize the design and to improve the availability of gyratory crushers, it is necessary to calculate their power and torque accurately. The discrete element method (DEM) has been commonly used in several mining applications and is a powerful tool to predict the necessary power required in the operation of mining machines. In this paper, a DEM model was applied to a copper mining gyratory crusher to perform a comprehensive analysis of the loads in the mantle, the crushing torque, and crushing power. A novel polar representation of the radial forces is proposed that may help designers, engineers, and operators to recognize the distribution of force loads on the mantle in an easier and intuitive way. Simulations with different operational conditions are presented and validated through a comparison with nominal data. A calculation procedure for the crushing power of crushers is presented, and recommendations for the selection of the minimum resolved particle size are given.