Modeling the effect of anode change in a modernprebaked aluminium reduction cell

摘要

A multi-physics model has been developed on the scale of full reduction cell, which simulates the electrical andthermal transients occurring in the cell. The model is able to quantify the thermal and electrical effects of anodesetting, when the anode is cold and when the anode has some degree of preheat. In the case of a preheated anode,the effect of the imposed temperature gradient is also examined.The simulated values of current pick up and temperature response of the new anode compare well with theexperimental values reported in the literature. The time to pick up full current and reach steady state temperature foran anode preheated to 400oC is a third of the time required compared to the base case of setting a cold anode. Forthe cases of a rapidly heated anode and an anode with a linear temperature gradient produced by insulating afterbake-out, the current pick-up responses are also significantly better than the cold anode setting.