Influence of some rock strength properties on jaw crusher performance in granite quarry

The influence of rock strength properties on Jaw Crusher performance was carried out to determine the effect of rock strength on crushing time and grain size distribution of the rocks. Investigation was conducted on four different rock samples namely marble, dolomite, limestone and granite which were representatively selected from fragmented lumps in quarries. Unconfined compressive strength and Point load tests were carried out on each rock sample as well as crushing time and size analysis. The results of the strength parameters of each sample were correlated with the crushing time and the grain size distribution of the rock types. The results of the strength tests show that granite has the highest mean value of 101.67 MPa for Unconfined Compressive Strength (UCS) test, 6.43 MPa for Point Load test while dolomite has the least mean value of 30.56 MPa for UCS test and 0.95 MPa for Point Load test. According to the International Society for Rock Mechanic (ISRM) standard, the granite rock sample may be classified as having very high strength and dolomite rock sample, low strength. Also, the granite rock has the highest crushing time (21.0 s) and dolomite rock has the least value (5.0 s). Based on the results of the investigation, it was found out that there is a great influence of strength properties on crushing time of rock types. © 2010 China University of Mining and Technology.