3D Freeze Shape Study of the Aluminum Electrolysis Cells Using Finite Element Method

摘要

A proper shape of the frozen electrolyte on the sidewall is vital for the aluminum reduction cells. In this paper, a quarter 3-D thermal-electric model ofrnaluminum electrolysis cell is developed by the commercial software ANSYS, so as to successfully fulfill the 3-D calculation for the side-ledge profile. The thermal conductance contact between the melt and the frozen electrolyte is introduced to express the thermal convection. By using the parametric design language, an algorithm was designed to automaticallyrnadjust the nodal location and iteratively calculate the result. The results showed the 3D distribution of the frozen shape, which indicated that frozen electrolyte of the endwall is thicker than the one of the sidewall, and the corner has the thickest side ledge.