TESTING ABRASIVE WEAR IN MINERAL COMMINUTION

The abrasive wear properties of materials in sliding and impact contact with solid mineral particles during the comminution process have been studied with two experimental techniques. The equipment used has a wide pressure and velocity range, and can be used to simulate the triboconditions inside pulverizers. Using the experimental apparatus, a number of different materials have been tested and classified according to their resistance to abrasive wear in rubbing contact with particulate coal. The investigation was divided into two parts. In each part the different shape of grinding bar (tested material) was was used in order to focus attention on the different wear phenomena. Tests with triangular bar can provide useful information about wear properties of various materials. Apart from the maximum wear resistance, MWR, the initial drop of wear resistance, ID WR, can be determined. The value of ID WR gives information about the contribution of the brittle fracture of the sharp edges and asperities to the local wear of the bar. A comparison between industrial data and simulated tribo-testing results shows a very good correlation. This proved that the results from relatively simple rigs may be used in predicting the service life of the machine elements.