A landmark improvement has been made to JKTech's JK Drop Weight Test and SMC Test® reporting by enhancing the usefulness of the A and b parameters and converting them to a more meaningful specific energy value – the “SCSE”.
Read the technical description of the SCSE parameter here (PDF, 180KB)
For over 20 years, the simulation modelling parameters that are generated from analysis of JK Drop Weight and SMC Test® data have been reported as A and b values and represent an ore's resistance to impact breakage. These parameters however have no physical meaning in their own right, but are ore hardness parameters used by the AG/SAG mill model in JKSimMet which permit the prediction of the product size distribution and the power draw of the AG/SAG mill for a given feed size distribution and feed rate.
Using A*b as the single parameter to describe the impact resistance of a particular ore has been shown to have dual drawbacks. Firstly, A*b is inversely related to impact resistance, which adds unnecessary complication. Secondly, A*b is related to impact resistance in a non-linear manner.
Thus, to give a more intuitive parameter, JKTech Pty Ltd and SMC Testing Pty Ltd have developed a "standard" simulation methodology to predict the specific energy required for a particular tested ore when treated in a "Standard" circuit comprising a SAG mill in closed circuit with a pebble crusher.
The specific energy value for the "standard" circuit, SAG Circuit Specific Energy (SCSE), will be included in future JKTech Pty Ltd reports of JK Drop Weight and SMC Test® results in addition to the traditional A, b, ta,crusher parameters and, in the case of SMC Tests, the DWi and Mi suite of parameters.
Of course, the SCSE quoted value will not necessarily match the specific energy required for an existing or a planned AG/SAG mill due to differences in the many operating and design variables. SCSE will be an effective tool to compare in a relative manner the expected behaviours of different ores in AG/SAG milling.
Read the technical description of the SCSE parameter here (PDF, 180KB)