Particle morphology control for spherical powder fabrication using the ball milling process with DEM simulation

Characteristics of spherical particles on copper powder and changing sizes were studied in a ball mill under various experimental conditions, such as different ball diameters, high rotation speeds, and milling times, using a discrete element method (DEM) simulation. This experiment has investigated the characteristics of spherical particle morphology evolution involved in the mechanical alloying of copper powder. The morphological evolution of the copper particle was analyzed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). A spherical copper particle was shown with a roundness value using imageJ software. The DEM was used to simulate the ball motion in a planetary ball mill, and the impact energy and shear energy generated during the collision were analyzed to estimate the contact number between the ball and the ball wall. Therefore, as the size of the ball decreased, the number of ball-to-ball and ball-to-wall contacts increased accordingly, and the spherical shape of the copper powder changed. Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of Chinese Society of Particuology and Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences.