Comparative Study of Carbon Steel and Stainless Steel Media on Fracture and Morphological Characteristics of Glass during Binary Grinding

This study investigated the influence of media material on the fracture behavior and morphology of glass particles in binary grinding systems using carbon steel and stainless steel of nearly identical sizes and densities. Dry grinding experiments were conducted in an attritor-type stirred mill, and the products were analyzed using particle size classification, population balance modeling, X-ray fluorescence, microscopy, surface analysis, and discrete element method (DEM) simulation. In both systems, glass breakage primarily occurred through surface-related fracturing. The glass–carbon steel system exhibited faster grinding at 10 and 40 min, whereas both systems showed temporary stagnation at 20 min, followed by renewed grinding at 40 min. The carbon steel system produced glass particles with slightly higher circularity, whereas the stainless-steel system produced particles with higher aspect ratios. Surface analysis indicated greater roughening and stronger adhesion of the glass-derived species on stainless steel. The DEM results showed a higher collision frequency and lower collision energy in the carbon steel system, but a lower frequency and higher energy in the stainless-steel system, indicating that more frequent low-energy collisions are more effective for promoting glass breakage than less frequent high-energy impacts. These results demonstrate that the media material significantly affects the grinding kinetics and particle morphology in binary-grinding systems.