Based on the commercial CFD software CFX-4.3, two-phase flow of electrolyte in 156 kA drained aluminum reduction cells with a new structure was numerically simulated by multi-fluid model and k-ε turbulence model. The...Based on the commercial CFD software CFX-4.3, two-phase flow of electrolyte in 156 kA drained aluminum reduction cells with a new structure was numerically simulated by multi-fluid model and k-ε turbulence model. The results show that the electrolyte flow in the drained cells is more even than in the conventional cells. Corresponding to center point feeding, the electrolyte flow in the drained cells is more advantageous to the release of anode gas, the dissolution and diffusion of alumina, and the gradient reduction of the electrolyte density and temperature. The average velocity of the electrolyte is 8.3 cm/s, and the maximum velocity is 59.5 cm/s. The average and maximum velocities of the gas are 23.2 cm/s and 61.1 cm/s, respectively. The cathode drained slope and anode cathode distance have certain effects on the electrolyte flow.展开更多
Two finite element(FE) models were built up for analysis of stress field in the lining of aluminum electrolysis cells.Distribution of sodium concentration in cathode carbon blocks was calculated by one FE model of a c...Two finite element(FE) models were built up for analysis of stress field in the lining of aluminum electrolysis cells.Distribution of sodium concentration in cathode carbon blocks was calculated by one FE model of a cathode block.Thermal stress field was calculated by the other slice model of the cell at the end of the heating-up.Then stresses coupling thermal and sodium expansion were considered after 30 d start-up.The results indicate that sodium penetrates to the bottom of the cathode block after 30 d start-up.The semi-graphitic carbon block has the largest stress at the thermal stage.After 30 d start-up the anthracitic carbon has the greatest sodium expansion stress and the graphitized carbon has the lowest sodium expansion stress.Sodium penetration can cause larger deformation and stress in the cathode carbon block than thermal expansion.展开更多
The resistance arrangements of the flexes connecting with the cathode bus bar in aluminum reduction cells were generalized as three modes. In each mode the universal method to select proper resistivity of the flexes w...The resistance arrangements of the flexes connecting with the cathode bus bar in aluminum reduction cells were generalized as three modes. In each mode the universal method to select proper resistivity of the flexes was induced respectively to insure that the current in local group of flexes was equal. Furthermore, a 350 kA aluminum reduction cell based electric field model was developed by finite element method to evaluate the effect of the method. Suggestions on selection of three modes were also put forward. The results show that the methods of resistance optimization can reduce the current variation about 180 A compared with that in original case.展开更多
A fiber Bragg grating temperature sensor network was designed to implement the real-time health monitoring of the aluminum reduction cell. The heat transfer process was simulated using software ANSYS, and an on-line s...A fiber Bragg grating temperature sensor network was designed to implement the real-time health monitoring of the aluminum reduction cell. The heat transfer process was simulated using software ANSYS, and an on-line shell monitoring system was established based on optical sensing technology. According to aluminum reduction cell heat transfer theory, the 2D slice finite element model was developed. The relationship between shell temperature and cell status was discussed. Fiber Bragg grating （FBG） was chosen as the temperature sensor in light of its unique advantages. The accuracy of designed FBG temperature sensors exceeds 2 ~C, and good repeatability was exhibited. An interrogation system with 104 sensors based on VPG （volume phase grating） filter was established. Through the long-term monitoring on running state, the status of the aluminum reduction cell, including security and fatigue life could be acquired and estimated exactly. The obtained results provide the foundation for the production status monitoring and fault diagnosis. Long-term test results show good stability and repeatability which are compatible with electrolysis process.展开更多
Current distribution in a drained aluminum reduction cell is critical due to its influence on the current efficiency, electrolysis stability, anodes and cathodes integrity. A finite element model was developed to simu...Current distribution in a drained aluminum reduction cell is critical due to its influence on the current efficiency, electrolysis stability, anodes and cathodes integrity. A finite element model was developed to simulate the electric field in a 75 kA drained aluminum reduction cell. The current distribution and influences of the cathode inclination angle and anode-cathode distance (ACD) were studied. The results show that relatively large horizontal current density appears in the aluminum film, and the maximum value reaches 600 kA/m2. As the cathode inclination angle increases from 2° to 15°, the maximum current density of the metal pad increases by 15%, while the maximum current density of the aluminum-wettable coating layer decreases by 27%. The influence of the ACD on the current distribution is not obvious.展开更多
Region partition(RP) is the key technique to the finite element parallel computing(FEPC),and its performance has a decisive influence on the entire process of analysis and computation.The performance evaluation index ...Region partition(RP) is the key technique to the finite element parallel computing(FEPC),and its performance has a decisive influence on the entire process of analysis and computation.The performance evaluation index of RP method for the three-dimensional finite element model(FEM) has been given.By taking the electric field of aluminum reduction cell(ARC) as the research object,the performance of two classical RP methods,which are Al-NASRA and NGUYEN partition(ANP) algorithm and the multi-level partition(MLP) method,has been analyzed and compared.The comparison results indicate a sound performance of ANP algorithm,but to large-scale models,the computing time of ANP algorithm increases notably.This is because the ANP algorithm determines only one node based on the minimum weight and just adds the elements connected to the node into the sub-region during each iteration.To obtain the satisfied speed and the precision,an improved dynamic self-adaptive ANP(DSA-ANP) algorithm has been proposed.With consideration of model scale,complexity and sub-RP stage,the improved algorithm adaptively determines the number of nodes and selects those nodes with small enough weight,and then dynamically adds these connected elements.The proposed algorithm has been applied to the finite element analysis(FEA) of the electric field simulation of ARC.Compared with the traditional ANP algorithm,the computational efficiency of the proposed algorithm has been shortened approximately from 260 s to 13 s.This proves the superiority of the improved algorithm on computing time performance.展开更多
Numerical simulations of gas–liquid two-phase flow and alumina transport process in an aluminum reduction cell were conducted to investigate the effects of anode configurations on the bath flow, gas volume fraction a...Numerical simulations of gas–liquid two-phase flow and alumina transport process in an aluminum reduction cell were conducted to investigate the effects of anode configurations on the bath flow, gas volume fraction and alumina content distributions. An Euler–Euler two-fluid model was employed coupled with a species transport equation for alumina content. Three different anode configurations such as anode without a slot, anode with a longitudinal slot and anode with a transversal slot were studied in the simulation. The simulation results clearly show that the slots can reduce the bath velocity and promote the releasing of the anode gas, but can not contribute to the uniformity of the alumina content. Comparisons of the effects between the longitudinal and transversal slots indicate that the longitudinal slot is better in terms of gas–liquid flow but is disadvantageous for alumina mixing and transport process due to a decrease of anode gas under the anode bottom surface. It is demonstrated from the simulations that the mixing and transfer characteristics of alumina are controlled to great extent by the anode gas forces while the electromagnetic forces(EMFs) play the second role.展开更多
基金Project(G1999064903) supported by the National Key Fundamental Research and Development Program of China
文摘Based on the commercial CFD software CFX-4.3, two-phase flow of electrolyte in 156 kA drained aluminum reduction cells with a new structure was numerically simulated by multi-fluid model and k-ε turbulence model. The results show that the electrolyte flow in the drained cells is more even than in the conventional cells. Corresponding to center point feeding, the electrolyte flow in the drained cells is more advantageous to the release of anode gas, the dissolution and diffusion of alumina, and the gradient reduction of the electrolyte density and temperature. The average velocity of the electrolyte is 8.3 cm/s, and the maximum velocity is 59.5 cm/s. The average and maximum velocities of the gas are 23.2 cm/s and 61.1 cm/s, respectively. The cathode drained slope and anode cathode distance have certain effects on the electrolyte flow.
基金Project(50374081) supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China
文摘Two finite element(FE) models were built up for analysis of stress field in the lining of aluminum electrolysis cells.Distribution of sodium concentration in cathode carbon blocks was calculated by one FE model of a cathode block.Thermal stress field was calculated by the other slice model of the cell at the end of the heating-up.Then stresses coupling thermal and sodium expansion were considered after 30 d start-up.The results indicate that sodium penetrates to the bottom of the cathode block after 30 d start-up.The semi-graphitic carbon block has the largest stress at the thermal stage.After 30 d start-up the anthracitic carbon has the greatest sodium expansion stress and the graphitized carbon has the lowest sodium expansion stress.Sodium penetration can cause larger deformation and stress in the cathode carbon block than thermal expansion.
基金Project(60634020) supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China
文摘The resistance arrangements of the flexes connecting with the cathode bus bar in aluminum reduction cells were generalized as three modes. In each mode the universal method to select proper resistivity of the flexes was induced respectively to insure that the current in local group of flexes was equal. Furthermore, a 350 kA aluminum reduction cell based electric field model was developed by finite element method to evaluate the effect of the method. Suggestions on selection of three modes were also put forward. The results show that the methods of resistance optimization can reduce the current variation about 180 A compared with that in original case.
基金Project(61174018) supported by National Natural Science Foundation, ChinaProject(ZR2011FQ025) supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province ChinaProject(2010GN066) supported by the Independent Innovation Foundation of Shandong University, China
文摘A fiber Bragg grating temperature sensor network was designed to implement the real-time health monitoring of the aluminum reduction cell. The heat transfer process was simulated using software ANSYS, and an on-line shell monitoring system was established based on optical sensing technology. According to aluminum reduction cell heat transfer theory, the 2D slice finite element model was developed. The relationship between shell temperature and cell status was discussed. Fiber Bragg grating （FBG） was chosen as the temperature sensor in light of its unique advantages. The accuracy of designed FBG temperature sensors exceeds 2 ~C, and good repeatability was exhibited. An interrogation system with 104 sensors based on VPG （volume phase grating） filter was established. Through the long-term monitoring on running state, the status of the aluminum reduction cell, including security and fatigue life could be acquired and estimated exactly. The obtained results provide the foundation for the production status monitoring and fault diagnosis. Long-term test results show good stability and repeatability which are compatible with electrolysis process.
基金Project(2005CB623703) supported by the National Basic Research Program of China
文摘Current distribution in a drained aluminum reduction cell is critical due to its influence on the current efficiency, electrolysis stability, anodes and cathodes integrity. A finite element model was developed to simulate the electric field in a 75 kA drained aluminum reduction cell. The current distribution and influences of the cathode inclination angle and anode-cathode distance (ACD) were studied. The results show that relatively large horizontal current density appears in the aluminum film, and the maximum value reaches 600 kA/m2. As the cathode inclination angle increases from 2° to 15°, the maximum current density of the metal pad increases by 15%, while the maximum current density of the aluminum-wettable coating layer decreases by 27%. The influence of the ACD on the current distribution is not obvious.
基金Project(61273187)supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of ChinaProject(61321003)supported by the Foundation for Innovative Research Groups of the National Natural Science Foundation of China
文摘Region partition(RP) is the key technique to the finite element parallel computing(FEPC),and its performance has a decisive influence on the entire process of analysis and computation.The performance evaluation index of RP method for the three-dimensional finite element model(FEM) has been given.By taking the electric field of aluminum reduction cell(ARC) as the research object,the performance of two classical RP methods,which are Al-NASRA and NGUYEN partition(ANP) algorithm and the multi-level partition(MLP) method,has been analyzed and compared.The comparison results indicate a sound performance of ANP algorithm,but to large-scale models,the computing time of ANP algorithm increases notably.This is because the ANP algorithm determines only one node based on the minimum weight and just adds the elements connected to the node into the sub-region during each iteration.To obtain the satisfied speed and the precision,an improved dynamic self-adaptive ANP(DSA-ANP) algorithm has been proposed.With consideration of model scale,complexity and sub-RP stage,the improved algorithm adaptively determines the number of nodes and selects those nodes with small enough weight,and then dynamically adds these connected elements.The proposed algorithm has been applied to the finite element analysis(FEA) of the electric field simulation of ARC.Compared with the traditional ANP algorithm,the computational efficiency of the proposed algorithm has been shortened approximately from 260 s to 13 s.This proves the superiority of the improved algorithm on computing time performance.
基金Project(2010AA065201)supported by the High Technology Research and Development Program of ChinaProject(2013zzts038)supported by the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities of ChinaProject(ZB2011CBBCe1)supported by the Major Program for Aluminum Corporation of China Limited,China
文摘Numerical simulations of gas–liquid two-phase flow and alumina transport process in an aluminum reduction cell were conducted to investigate the effects of anode configurations on the bath flow, gas volume fraction and alumina content distributions. An Euler–Euler two-fluid model was employed coupled with a species transport equation for alumina content. Three different anode configurations such as anode without a slot, anode with a longitudinal slot and anode with a transversal slot were studied in the simulation. The simulation results clearly show that the slots can reduce the bath velocity and promote the releasing of the anode gas, but can not contribute to the uniformity of the alumina content. Comparisons of the effects between the longitudinal and transversal slots indicate that the longitudinal slot is better in terms of gas–liquid flow but is disadvantageous for alumina mixing and transport process due to a decrease of anode gas under the anode bottom surface. It is demonstrated from the simulations that the mixing and transfer characteristics of alumina are controlled to great extent by the anode gas forces while the electromagnetic forces(EMFs) play the second role.
