Empress Catherine II Saint Petersburg Mining University (St. Petersburg, Russia)

O. Yu. Ganzulenko, Сand. Eng., Associate Prof., Dept. of Materials Science and Technology of Artistic Products, Ganzulenko_OYu@pers.spmi.ru

D. E. Vedin, Student, Dept. of Materials Science and Technology of Artistic Products, vedin17@mail.ru

Severstal Management (Cherepovets, Russia)
I. A. Nikishin, Lead Expert, i.nikishin@severstal.com
P. S. Zhitelev, Senior Manager, ps.zhitelev@severstal.com
A. R. Andreev, Senior Manager, ar.andreev@severstal.com

Steel balls used as grinding solid in globe mills are a vital component of grinding equipment in mining, coal, cement, and other industries. Efficient ore processing requires ensuring the quality and reliable operation of steel grinding balls. The key parameters of these balls include hardness, wear resistance, and impact resistance. These parameters should be selected based on the specific features of the grinding process. GOST 7524–2015 “Steel grinding balls for ball mills. Specifications” regulates the requirements for the hardness of steel grinding balls and classifies them into hardness groups. This article considers the possibilities of ensuring a higher hardness group of steel grinding balls by optimizing the heat treatment mode with the selection of the main process parameters. One of the reasons for the reduced hardness of the balls after heat treatment is the presence of residual austenite in the steel structure and surface decarburization. The hardness measuring tests of the balls by cross-section and studies were carried out to determine the amount of residual austenite in the microstructure of the ball, as well as the distribution of residual austenite by cross-section. During the study, a database was formed, statistical processing of the obtained results was carried out, and the bulk hardness of the balls was calculated. As a result of the experiments, the dependence of the grinding ball hardness on the percentage of residual austenite in the microstructure and the dependence of the residual austenite amount in the ball microstructure on the heating temperature for hardening were revealed, and the parameters used for heat treatment of steel balls can be recommended for the production of balls of the 5th hardness group.

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