Keeping an eye out for grinding mill dropped charge and two ways to prevent it

Dropped charge, also known as frozen or locked charge, occurs when solidified material inside a horizontal grinding mill does not cascade when the mill starts rotating at start up. Instead, it is lifted and then free falls onto the mill shell. Dropped charges experienced in large ball mills can be heard and felt hundreds of meters away and can be confused with an explosion or earthquake on-site, such is the force of the impact. In many cases, these types of events can cause permanent damage and deformations to the mill shell and its flanges, leading to unplanned downtime.

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