Effect of counterpart material on glass particle morphology in binary component attrition milling evaluated by experiment and DEM simulation

This study investigated the fragmentation of glass particles in binary mixtures with alumina, steel, and lead during attrition milling. The fragmentation kinetics, particle size distributions, and fragment morphologies were evaluated experimentally, and kinetic parameters were extracted using a population balance model. Discrete element method simulations clarified the dynamic interactions governing the material-dependent fragmentation. The results indicated that the mechanical properties of the counterpart materials strongly affected the collision intensity and fragment morphology. Alumina induces frequent high-energy collisions and efficient size reduction, producing irregular angular fragments. When lead was used, glass exhibited minimal fragmentation because the collision energy dissipated through plastic deformation during prolonged contact. Steel exhibited moderate fragmentation and generates fragments with low aspect ratios and high circularities suitable for recycling applications. The integration of experiments and simulations elucidated selective comminution mechanisms in heterogeneous systems and demonstrated that fragmentation efficiency and particle morphology can be tuned by the choice of counterpart material.