THERMO-ELECTRIC DESIGN OF A 400 kA CELL USING MATHEMATICAL MODELS: A TUTORIAL

This paper presents a typical application of thermo-electric mathematical models to produce a thermally balanced aluminum reduction cell lining design, specifically focusing on a modern prebaked PBF cell operating at 400 kA. The objective is to demonstrate the feasibility of retrofitting an existing 300 kA cell to achieve this amperage, employing a structured tutorial approach. Methodologically, the study utilizes a combination of steady state thermo-electric 3D full cell slice modeling and dynamic process models, including the newly developed dynamic thermo-electric 2D+ full cell slice process model. Results indicate that using appropriate numerical tools allows the design of a thermally balanced cell at 400 kA, showcasing that thermal balance considerations do not hinder increases in cell amperage as initially hypothesized. The retrofit study emphasizes the critical validation of base models through various thermal blitz campaigns, ensuring accurate predictive capabilities for the retrofitted cell performance. This research ultimately illustrates that achieving a well-balanced cell lining design for higher amperage operations is technically viable with the right methodologies in place.