Russian Scientists Develop Scanner to Monitor Internal Stress in Grinding Balls
The high-precision system visualizes how internal stresses are distributed without damaging the product.
Researchers at the scientific research center of AO EVRAZ Nizhnetagilskiy Metallurgicheskiy Kombinat and scientists from the Institut Fiziki Metallov UrO RAN (Institute of Metal Physics of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences) have developed and implemented a system that analyzes the strength of grinding balls.
Grinding balls are solid steel or cast-iron spheres, ranging from 1.5 to 12 centimeters in diameter, used as “impact elements” in drum mills to crush ore, cement, coal, and other materials. The new equipment measures internal stresses in finished products without destroying them. According to EnergyLand.info, no comparable industrial installation currently exists worldwide.
Breaking Point Stress
EVRAZ is Russia’s leading producer of grinding balls, which are widely used in both ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy to grind ore. The company’s plants in the Urals and Siberia manufacture more than 350,000 tons of balls annually in various sizes and specifications, including products that exceed the fifth hardness grade under GOST standards.
The durability of these balls directly affects the efficiency of mineral processing. During production, heating and quenching create internal stresses. These stresses are unevenly distributed and can cause a ball to fracture under intense impact loads. Until now, there has been no industrial non-destructive method for monitoring this critical parameter.
EVRAZ specialists and researchers developed a high-precision magnetic scanner that automatically reads and visualizes the distribution of internal stresses across the surface and inside each grinding ball. The system’s algorithms conduct electromagnetic analysis, and the scanner generates a high-resolution 3D map of stress distribution. For the first time, engineers can assess strength levels based on a three-dimensional model of the product’s internal microstructure.
The installation has been tested at the plant.
Guaranteeing Reliability and Durability
In the coming months, the system will analyze more than 500 balls from different production batches. This will help determine how specific heat-treatment parameters influence stress distribution. Based on the findings, specialists plan to develop a standardized inspection methodology and issue recommendations for optimizing the manufacturing process.
Earlier, we reported that the Kovdorskiy Gorno-Obogatitelnyy Kombinat in the Murmansk region implemented the ML Sense machine-vision system. The digital assistant helps monitor ore flow quality and ensures that production risks are minimized.
