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Ball Milling Process

The document discusses the process of making ceramic powder using a ball mill, including an overview of the ball milling procedure, a comparison of ball milling to other powder making processes, advantages and disadvantages of ball milling, and the particle size distribution of ball milling compared to other processes.

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KASHFI UDDIN
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331 views5 pages

Ball Milling Process

The document discusses the process of making ceramic powder using a ball mill, including an overview of the ball milling procedure, a comparison of ball milling to other powder making processes, advantages and disadvantages of ball milling, and the particle size distribution of ball milling compared to other processes.

Uploaded by

KASHFI UDDIN
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Department of Materials Science & Engineering

Chittagong University of Engineering & Technology


Experiment no.: 01
Experiment name: Making ceramic powder by using a ball mill
Kashfi Uddin (1912019)

Objectives:
• To know about the Ball milling procedure.
• To Compare the ball milling process with another powder-making process.
• To know about the advantage and disadvantages of ball milling.
• To know about the particle size distribution of ball milling compared to another powder-
making process.

Ball Milling Procedure:


A ball mill is commonly used in the process of making ceramic powder. The ball mill is a grinding
device that uses rotating cylinders filled with ceramic balls or other grinding media to break down
materials into fine particles. Here is a general overview of the process of making ceramic powder
using a ball mill:
1. Selection of Materials: The raw materials for the
ceramic powder, such as clay, minerals, or oxides, are
selected and prepared according to the desired
composition and properties of the final ceramic
product.
2. Mixing: The selected raw materials are mixed
together to achieve a homogenous blend. This can be
done manually or using a mixer or blender.
Fig 1.1: Raw materials for the ceramic powder[2]
3. Loading the Ball Mill: The mixed raw materials are transferred into the ball mill. The ball mill
consists of a cylindrical container filled with ceramic balls or other grinding media. The container is
rotated, causing the balls to cascade and grind the raw materials.
4. Milling: The rotation of the ball mill causes the grinding media to collide with the raw materials,
resulting in the reduction of particle size. This grinding process continues until the desired particle
size distribution is achieved.
5. Sieving: After milling, the ceramic
powder is often sieved to remove any larger
particles or agglomerates and to ensure a
uniform particle size distribution.
6. Drying: Depending on the specific
requirements of the ceramic powder, it may
be necessary to dry the powder to remove
any moisture. This can be done using drying
ovens or other drying equipment. Fig 1.2: Ball milling process [3]

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7. Final Product: The resulting ceramic powder is now
ready for further processing, such as forming into
desired shapes (e.g., by pressing or extrusion) or
undergoing additional treatments (e.g., sintering) to
achieve the desired ceramic properties.
It's important to note that specific parameters, such as
the milling time, ball-to-powder ratio, and milling
speed, can vary depending on the type of ceramic
material and the desired particle size distribution. These
parameters are typically optimized through
experimentation to achieve the desired results.[1]
Fig 1.3: Final product of ceramic powder [4]
Comparison of the ball milling process with another powder-making process: [5]
There are three basic types of methods for the preparation of ceramic powders. They are mechanical,
chemical, and vapor phases. Ball milling is one of the processes of a mechanical type of preparation.
• Comparisons with other mechanical types of processes are given below:

Properties Ball-Milling Fluid-energy Vibratory milling Attrition milling


process milling process process process
Time Duration Relatively slow Grinding can be 10 times faster than ball The rapid milling
process done in sonic milling as the powder is time, because of the
velocity. vigorously shaken use of small media
Energy efficiency Low because 2% of Energy used for Energy losses because More energy
the energy input creating high- of the violent collisions efficient than the
goes into creating velocity fluid by between the media other methods
new surfaces compressed air
Contamination Can add impurities The design of the Polymer balls The rapid milling
to the powder from chamber and can be used as media time helps to reduce
the media and the coating minimizes and this means any contamination.
inside of the mill particle–wall contamination
impact & reduces can be burned off during
contamination. subsequent firing.
Milling Chamber Rotates Rotates Rotates Does not rotate

Fig 1.4: Ball milling process[4] Fig 1.5: Vibratory milling process[4]

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Fig 1.6: Fluid-energy milling process[4] Fig 1.7: Attrition milling process[4]

Advantages and Disadvantages of the ball milling process: [5]


The advantages of ball milling include the following:
• Simple (while the experimental aspects are simple, there are numerous theoretical aspects that
are fairly complicated)
• Cheap (at least for small batch volumes)
The following are the disadvantages of ball milling:
• It is unable to generate ultrafine particles.
• It has the potential to introduce contaminants into the powder from the media and the mill's
interior.
• It is inefficient; only around 2% of the energy input is used to create new surfaces.

The particle size distribution of ball milling compared to another powder-making process:

Fig1.8: Ball Milling Process Particle Size Distribution

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Fig1.9: Ball Milling Process vs Jet Milling (Fluid Energy) Process Particle Size Distribution

Fig1.10: Different Milling Process Particle Size Distribution

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Discussion:
From Fig 1.8 we can say that after the ball milling process, the raw materials particle size decreased
but not uniformly. But after the Microfluidizer process, the raw materials’ size decreased uniformly at
a high volume fraction than in the ball milling process. So Microfluidizer is far better than the ball
milling process.
Fig 1.9 indicate that the Fluid Energy milling (JET milling) process is also better than the ball milling
process as the jet milling process has uniformly decreased the particle size.
Fig1.10 shows us the range of different milling processes and we can easily differentiate the other
process from the ball milling process.

References
Pictures and Information have been exerted from the sources given below:

[1] [Online]. Available: https://www.reade.com/products/ceramic-powders-nanoceramic-particles.

[2] [Online]. Available: https://www.ntkcuttingtools.com/jp/column/en/ceralab3-2/.

[3] [Online]. Available: http://solutionsinmotion.clevelandvibrator.com/eight-steps-of-ceramics-


processing-and-industrial-vibration/.

[4] S. . Meyers, “Powder-based additive manufacturing of technical ceramics,” , 2016. [Online]. Available:
https://lirias.kuleuven.be/handle/123456789/548503. [Accessed 13 6 2023].

[5] C. Carter, Ceramic Materials: Science and Engineering.

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