R&M Nro 2:R&M Nro 1 19.11.

2008 14:49 Sivu24

Improving aggregates
plant economics
By applying modern methods of analysis to an aggregate production plant and
combining these with practical experience, significant benefits in terms of the
cost of wear parts and yield can be achieved. Optimization of the process and
associated equipment also supports an environmentally-sustainable future.
n this article, Jarmo Eloranta, VP, One of main components in the While the message in figures 2

I Research, and Tero Onnela, De-

velopment Engineer, highlight
the present state of the art in
crusher cavity design by Metso
Minerals. Results from a case study
show how the economics of operat-
ing an aggregates plant can be im-
proved.
The importance
of wear part costs
In the typical quarrying
operation shown in Fig-
ure 1, the crushing and
screening operations in-
dicated by a yellow cir-
cle represent about 40%
of total costs. A break-
down of these costs is
shown in Figure 2.
Figure 1: Typical quarrying operation.
crushing and screening process is a
cone crusher, and a typical cost distri-
bution for this element is shown in
Figure 3. The calculation reported
here employs a typical average case
with an Abrasion Index of 0.5g/ton
which translates into four sets of wear
and 3 is the relevance of wear part
costs, it should be noted that costs
are not the whole story; plant yield is
also relevant. Higher costs can be jus-
tified if the resulting yield corre-
sponds to higher levels of sales rev-
enue.
parts each year.
Less waste, higher profit
An important bonus resulting from a
better yield of aggregate is reduced
waste, and as this usually consists of
fine material there will also be less
dust. Improved yield also means that
less energy is required per ton of end
product because energy is not con-
sumed in producing the waste. A
good rule of thumb is that a 1% im-
provement in yield corresponds to a
4% improvement in operating profit.
Reducing the amount of dust gener-
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R&M Nro 2:R&M Nro 1 19.11.2008 15:07 Sivu25
Figure 2: Example of quarrying cost
distribution.
ated also makes the working environ-
ment healthier.
In basic terms, wear parts in crush-
ers are the only components need-
ing replacement as all other elements
Figure 3: Example of cost distribution in a cone crusher over a 10-year
period.
either support the wear parts and/or
move them to produce the crushing
action. Matching new wear parts to
the process is an important part of
keeping production as constant as
possible over their entire lifetime.
As well as having a strong influ-
ence on production and yield of the
desired fractions, wear parts in crush-
ers also have an immediate connec-
tion to direct operational costs, levels
of sales revenue and environmental
factors. Extensive research and the
employment of modern calculation
tools mean it is now possible to opti-
mize crusher performance through
accurate wear part design and kine-
matics.
Latest models use selection
and breakage functions
The first models for predicting jaw
and gyratory crusher performance
were published in the 1950s. In these,
crusher capacity was estimated by
calculating the flow of material in the
crushing chamber. Sub- Two categories
sequent models use of input parameter
equations of motion
and take into account Input parameters for the simulation
selection and breakage program are divided into two cate-
functions derived from gories: crusher and feed material. The
laboratory tests and crusher parameters are the crushing
verified in practice. chamber geometry, crusher model,
The model devel- crusher setting, crusher stroke and
oped by Metso Minerals the eccentric speed. Information on
research is based on material characteristics - feed size dis-
mechanical principles tribution, feed material crushability
and predicts size reduc- and feed specific gravity - and the
tion by employing se- flow model is then used as input for
lection and breakage the size-reduction model.
functions. These functions are de- Outputs of the simulation pro-
rived in empirical form through ex- gram are product grading, through-
tensive and on-going laboratory tests put capacity, power draw, material
that include both single-particle and density in the crushing chamber, an
particle-layer compression tests on estimation of the wear profile in the
cavity, crushing pressure / force, and
key values for estimating product
quality. Figure 4 shows some of
these results. Although practical ex-
perience is necessary when interpret-
ing them, the calculated results
quickly provide an idea of how crush-
er and cavity performance can be op-
timized.
Assessing crusher
performance - case study
Rock crusher performance is a func-
tion of the size reduction achieved,
throughput capacity, energy con-
sumption and quality (i.e. grading
and particle shape). The parameters
used in assessing performance in-
different materials. Simulation tech- clude the characteristics of processed
niques are fine-tuned to a high level rock material, feed material size distri-
of accuracy using the results from bution and feed material characteris-
hundreds of full-scale crushing tests tics such as moisture levels etc.
carried out in-house. Crusher parameters assessed include
crusher kinematics and crushing
chamber geometry.
Figure 4: Examples of calculation results.
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Significant improvements in proportion of the saleable 5/11.2

aggregate plant performance in a mm product and reducing the
large Scandinavian quarry have amount of waste.
been achieved through use of the
Metso Minerals simulation model. Major improvement in
Production at the quarry consists overall plant economy
of several size fractions, two of
which were selected for the per- Modifications indicated by the
formance assessment. Size frac- simulation were carried out. Data
tion 0/2 is waste material, while collected both before and after
market demand for the 5/11.2 adjustment of the crusher is
mm fraction is good and produc- shown in Figure 5. As this opera-
tion of this should therefore be tor utilizes belt scales, fraction ca-
maximized. Before the assess- pacity - the compared perform-
ment began, the GP500 crusher ance value - is given here as an
was producing size fraction 5/11.2 average value during the lifetime
mm as 15.3% of crusher through- of one set of liners. After remov-
put. ing the influence of feed material,
The crusher cavity perform- the proportion of saleable 5/11.2
ance program was used to simu- mm was improved by 16%. The
late and analyze this case. Results proportion of waste material fell
of the simulation indicated that fine Figure 5: Cone crusher performance by 18%.
tuning of the crusher offered consid- - original set-up and after modifica- The results achieved - a 16% in-
erable potential for increasing the tion. crease in production with basically
the same crushing costs - has had a
major effect on overall plant econo-
my. Estimates indicate that operating
profit has risen by 64%. This supports
other studies by Metso Minerals
which indicate that if plant output in-
creases, costs increase by only a frac-
tion of the extra revenue generated
due to better utilization of assets and
lower variable costs. The reduction in
waste means better yield which is
good for business and for the envi-
ronment. The cost of wear parts per
ton of saleable material is also lower.

A true
“Win-Win” concept

The example given here shows that

significant benefits related to the cost
of wear parts and production yields
can be achieved by utilizing modern
simulation methods and combining
these with practical experience. Es-
sential prerequisites are an analysis of
current plant/machine performance
and an in-depth understanding of
how each of the processes being as-
sessed works and how it can be fine-
tuned.
While these calculation tools are
clearly of great value in process and
plant optimization, there is also an-
other real benefit - optimizing per-
formance supports an environmen-
tally-sustainable future. Improved
profitability through environmentally
friendlier solutions is a true Win-Win
concept that is possible today. •

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