ACTIVE POT CONTROL USING ALCOA STARprobe™

摘要

To run an aluminum smelting cell, routine bath sampling andrnsubsequent chemistry analysis are required along with potrntemperature measurement. The sampling and analytical process isrnlengthy, tedious, and very often results are delayed as long as 24rnhours. In addition the results are not coupled to other criticalrninformation (e.g. noise, automatic resistance adjustments, etc) atrnthe time of the sample. Alcoa STARprobeTM, which wasrnpreviously described (1), corrects these deficiencies whilernproviding a means to more efficiently and effectively control arnsmelting pot. This paper presents the background philosophy forrnan advanced control that has been enabled by the newrnmeasurement technique. The control method has been applied inrnmultiple plants and demonstration of improved performance willrnbe shown.