The motion of granular material in a ball mill is investigated using molecular dynamics simulations in two dimensions. In agreement with experimental observations by Rothkegel [1] we find that local stresses - and hence the comminution efficiency - are maximal close to the bottom of the container. This effect will be explained using analysis of statistics of force chains in the material.
@article{arxiv.cond-mat/0204075,
title = {Force Distribution and Comminution in Ball Mills},
author = {Volkhard Buchholtz and Thorsten Poeschel},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:cond-mat/0204075},
year = {2007}
}