Automatic Adjustment of Rod Mill Grinding Based on the Frequency Analysis of Acoustic Emission

In the research, the automated adjustment of rod mill grinding based on the frequency analysis of acoustic emission was studied. The comminution process was monitored using acoustic emission surveying (AE) and further spectrum analysis. The aim was to clarify whether the acoustic emission could be used to determine the progress of the comminution process. The experimental campaign was carried out at a rod mill of a minipilot scale mineral beneficiation plant of University of Oulu. The experiments consisted of 8 tests, carried out with wet and dry material. Moreover, the mineral composition was varied by experimenting with gangue and valuable ore. As results, the attenuation of particularly over 1 kHz frequencies could be observed from the spectra. It was concluded that the AE spectrum analysis could be an applicable and useful method for the automated monitoring and control of the rod mill grinding process.