The Bond’s Operational Work Index tool is designed to estimate the Operational Work Index of a given grinding installation with known dimensions and operating conditions. It is based on the traditional Bond's Law and the Hogg & Fuersteneau Power Model.
The extensive work of Fred C. Bond ("The Third Theory of Comminution", AIME Trans., Vol. 193, p. 484, 1952. Also in Mining Engineering, May 1952) has been widely recognized as a significant contribution to understanding the operational response of conventional ball mills in grinding circuits. His Third Theory or "Law" of Comminution remains the most traditionally accepted framework for evaluating existing grinding operations and designing new installations:
Where:
Bond's Law provides a first approach to estimate the energy demand (kWh) required to grind each ton of ore. This Specific Energy Consumption determines the grinding section's Capacity through the following expression:
F = P / E
Where:
Bond's Work Index can be estimated directly from operational data (when available) through back-calculation from the first equation above. In such cases, it is referred to as the Operational Work Index:
