Aluminum Reduction Cell Based On Ansys Electric Field Distribution Calculation And The Electrode Structure Optimization Study

Aluminum reduction cell is the key equipment to produce electrolytic aluminum. Distribution of electric field, magnetic field, and flow field in aluminum reduction cells has a significant influence on critical performance criteria such as the current efficiency, energy consumption and the cells life. When an aluminum reduction cell is running, electric field is the basis of energy, and it is also the origin to form other physical fields. Hence, it has great significance to focus the research on electric field. As it is difficult to measure the electric field distribution directly, computer simulation of the electric field in the aluminum reduction cells is very important for designing aluminum reduction cell aluminum and electrolysis production.To overcome the disadvantage of high energy consumption in aluminum reduction process, a new cathode of aluminum reduction cell which running with a low ACD is designed and optimized. Comparative analysis computing of the electric field distribution between traditional aluminum reduction cells and reformed aluminum reduction cells is finished by ANSYS software. Analysis results verify the feasibility and advantage of the reformed cells.The main research is as follows:(1)On the basis of the practical condition of aluminum reduction cell, the mathematical model of electric field in aluminum reduction cell is created by using the basic laws of electric field. Then the three-dimensional (3D) finite element model is implemented and the electric field is simulated by ANSYS. The current density distribution in aluminum reduction cell is calculated, and the electric field distribution also be researched.(2)To reduce the horizontal current of the metal pad and decrease the energy consumption, two kinds of reformed pre-baked aluminum reduction cell were designed, in which current flow vertically from the bottom of the aluminum reduction cell, are designed. The three-dimensional finite element models of the reformed aluminum reduction cells were built by ANSYS to calculate the electric field distribution of the reformed aluminum reduction cells. The electric field distribution of the reformed aluminum reduction cells and traditional aluminum reduction cells are compared. The results prove the practicability and advantage of the design scheme.(3)To minimize horizontal current of the metal pad, the position of vertical steel bars embedded in cathode of reformed aluminum reduction cells is optimized by using the ANSYS software. The best position is obtained.