Correlation between Acoustic Intensity and Ground Particle Size in Alumina Ball Mill Process

In the ball milling process of ceramic powders, according to economic considerations for industrial applications, it is very important to quickly determine the optimum process condition with the maximum grinding efficiency. However, it is still difficult to determine the optimum condition for a ball mill with respect to the various process parameters, such as the rotational speed and the milling time. Ball milling was carried out at the same starting conditions with given amounts of alumina powders, balls and water, and was conducted slower or faster or a critical rotational speed was just determined by observing the angular position of the slurry in a semi-translucent polyethylene laboratory container. With respect to the different rotational speeds, which were slower or faster than the critical rotational speed, the particle size distribution of the grained powders and the acoustic intensity caused by cascading of the balls led to various behaviors. From the results of the particle size distribution and the acoustic signal analysis in the ball milling, there was one rotational speed that made the finest milled powder with maximum acoustic intensity. As a result, there was a correlation between the ground particle size and the acoustic intensity, which yields the interpretation that it can be possible in-situ to determine the optimum condition of ball milling by acoustic signal without repeated measurement efforts.